In early March, I received a belated graduation gift from my family: a trip to Snow Lodge in Yellowstone National Park. I honestly had no idea what I was getting into.
Yellowstone is approximately 60 miles long by 50 miles wide, or almost 3500 square miles. And in winter, the road is only plowed to Mammoth Hot Springs, located just inside the park’s north entrance. To go further, one goes on skis, snowmobiles, or takes a snowcoach—a converted bus for driving on snow. There are limited trips in and out each day, meaning if you get to the only open site in the interior, Snow Lodge near the Old Faithful Inn, you are one of a few hundred people in this entire expanse.
So there I was, on the Yellowstone Caldera, in winter, with my geyser-a-holic mother. There was no crowd, no traffic, no noise. It was just us in this apocalyptic-like scenery, where formations of all kinds hiss, gurgle, and erupt to let heat and water out of the earth. We adventured to features under the stars to use the senses of smell and hearing to get to know different formations. My favorite was red spouter, a mudpot that sounded like the ocean. One morning we hiked to Morning Glory hot spring and found that the slanted morning light hits the walls of the pool so one can see translucent blue far below the surface. We also learned that morning how quickly one could become trapped in the middle of a bison herd on the move. On a ski to Lonestar Geyser, I saw a pine marten eat a mouse beside me on the trail. My blisters and bruised toes are almost healed, but the memories of wildness and wonder, and especially of earth’s formations under the big night sky, are still vibrant.
We happened to be there on the 150th anniversary of the park. It was a poignant reminder of the impact of what we are capable of when we lead while looking beyond our own time. It’s something I’m holding close as Earth Day approaches. I’ve had the privilege of working with UU Ministry for the Earth for the past few years, and I sat in on their Earth Day service planning meeting this week. As part of their theme—Spring for Change: A Season for Sacred Activism—they are providing a free virtual worship service on Earth Day, Friday April 22, at 11 a.m. The service includes a commissioned hymn and the composer shared that she believed in Pete Seeger’s statement that the right song at the right time can change history. She is putting that energy into developing the song. You can learn more about the service and sign up to view it at:
https://www.uumfe.org/resources/spring-for-change-2022/worship/
In spending time in the raw power of earth’s formations and working with UU Ministry for Earth and the UU at the UN Intergenerational Spring Seminar, I’ve never been more aware of the implications of a warming planet. And although it will take all of us, I’ve never been more hopeful that we can weather the storms of climate change and shift into a community that believes in safeguarding the future earth that generations will inherit in 150 years. I have been to one of those promised lands, and it is good.
In peace, Stacy Craig