A magazine with the lead story "What Inspires Me" sat on the counter at my aunt's house. As I read the words, images of places I'd been and people I've met ran through my memory. Finally, they settled on visions of nature's perseverance.
In the Yukon we drove past some of the most sorry looking pines I have ever seen. These tiny spruce trunks grew to no more than three inches in diameter and seldom grew over 15 feet tall. The taller trees drooped over as if they were drunk. When I learned their story, though, I was amazed. Those tiny trees were probably more than 100 years old. They were so small because they grew in permafrost. These small, black spruce were determined to grow in some of the most inhospitable soil around.
Salmon in Alaska are the most fearless swimmers I can imagine. While we were in Valdez, we watched these intrepid fish dodge humans, bears, eagles, seals, and waterfalls to spawn upstream in the precise rivers where they had been born. How do they know where to go? How do their bodies adjust to the different types of water? How do they swim through such powerful currents? I will never understand the mysteries of these fish. Nor will I forget their fortitude.
In Washington fireweed was in full bloom. Their purple flowers lined the roads and trails. The most tenacious ones, though were the few I saw pushing up though the highway’s asphalt. And in Oregon, beautiful purple and orange starfish hung onto rocks along beaches. Their hardy legs held them steadfast as tremendous waves slammed over their bodies, and children worked to pry the starfish from their rocks.
The coastal redwoods are another example of determination. They grow miraculous burls along their trunks that sprout a new tree whenever the original tree is threatened by fire or any other force. The sequoia are equally amazing. Their thick bark is fireproof, protecting their trunks from fire. However, even when the trucks succumb to the fire and are burned through, somehow many of these trees survive. I walked into openings at the trees' base where the trunk was burnt out. When I looked up, the tree was still growing over 200 feet above me.
Here in Yosemite I see yet another example of nature’s resolve. Mountains of solid granite surround the famous Yosemite Valley. Along the top of these boulders grow trees. Their roots push right through the granite. Even though the wind blows violently, these enduring trees stand firm atop solid rock.
In the Yukon we drove past some of the most sorry looking pines I have ever seen. These tiny spruce trunks grew to no more than three inches in diameter and seldom grew over 15 feet tall. The taller trees drooped over as if they were drunk. When I learned their story, though, I was amazed. Those tiny trees were probably more than 100 years old. They were so small because they grew in permafrost. These small, black spruce were determined to grow in some of the most inhospitable soil around. 
Salmon in Alaska are the most fearless swimmers I can imagine. While we were in Valdez, we watched these intrepid fish dodge humans, bears, eagles, seals, and waterfalls to spawn upstream in the precise rivers where they had been born. How do they know where to go? How do their bodies adjust to the different types of water? How do they swim through such powerful currents? I will never understand the mysteries of these fish. Nor will I forget their fortitude.
In Washington fireweed was in full bloom. Their purple flowers lined the roads and trails. The most tenacious ones, though were the few I saw pushing up though the highway’s asphalt. And in Oregon, beautiful purple and orange starfish hung onto rocks along beaches. Their hardy legs held them steadfast as tremendous waves slammed over their bodies, and children worked to pry the starfish from their rocks. 
The coastal redwoods are another example of determination. They grow miraculous burls along their trunks that sprout a new tree whenever the original tree is threatened by fire or any other force. The sequoia are equally amazing. Their thick bark is fireproof, protecting their trunks from fire. However, even when the trucks succumb to the fire and are burned through, somehow many of these trees survive. I walked into openings at the trees' base where the trunk was burnt out. When I looked up, the tree was still growing over 200 feet above me.
Here in Yosemite I see yet another example of nature’s resolve. Mountains of solid granite surround the famous Yosemite Valley. Along the top of these boulders grow trees. Their roots push right through the granite. Even though the wind blows violently, these enduring trees stand firm atop solid rock.
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