A few years back, I took my family on an adventure to Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone is amazing and earns its reputation as being one of the most incredible, beautiful, and geologically diverse national parks in the world. If you haven’t been, I highly encourage you to create the opportunity to experience all that Yellowstone has to offer.
We flew into Jackson Wyoming. After renting a car and picking up supplies we headed north toward Yellowstone. As we traveled, in the distance we could see dark smoke clouds billowing up from the forest ahead. As we got closer to Yellowstone’s south entrance, it became increasingly evident that we were heading toward something on fire. A big fire that was sending giant columns of smoke into the sky.
The distinctive smell of something burning became more and more present. The smoke permeated the air and altered all the hues of colors in the sky and all around us. My family and I became increasingly uneasy at the idea that the beautiful and majestic Yellowstone National Park could be destroyed by a forest fire! Even more concerning was that we were heading right toward it!
We contemplated if continuing in our current direction toward Yellowstone was a wise choice. For a moment we considered turning around. Would our grand plans of exploring this national treasure have to be completely abandoned? The other cars on the highway heading in the same direction made us wonder if they knew something we didn’t know. Were we all ignorantly following one another into danger and not turning around because no one else was? Perhaps were these other travelers local residents of the area who knew that a giant turn in the road shortly up ahead would steer us away from driving into a fire? Or perhaps there was a very small and controlled burn happening that looked much worse than it was? Although we didn’t know what to expect ahead, we reluctantly continued our course toward Yellowstone.
As we drove ahead, I wondered if the United States was potentially in danger of losing one of its most beloved and iconic national parks. Would Yellowstone ever be able to overcome a forest fire? How many generations will be deprived of the majestic forest and nature of Yellowstone while it recovers from the destruction of a forest fire? These thoughts and concerns weighed heavily in our minds as we approached the south entrance to the National Park.
At the entrance gate the park ranger greeted us warmly with a smile. “Hello everyone! Welcome to Yellowstone.”
Surprised at his pleasant and carefree demeanor, we nervously inquired, “It looks like there is lots of smoke up ahead, is everything okay here? Is it safe to continue forward?”
“Oh sure, it’s just a forest fire in the southwest corner of the park”, the ranger nonchalantly replied.
What?!?! A forest fire?!?! Run! Alert everyone! Evacuate and head for low ground!!! Flee and fly like the wind!!! Go! Go!! Go!!! - This was exactly what I may have said if it had not been for the calm and unalarmed tone of the park ranger’s words. I assumed this park ranger would know much more about these things than I and if the ranger was not too concerned, then perhaps we shouldn’t be either.
The ranger reassured us that forest fires are very common in Yellowstone and even an important part of the growth cycles for the area. We were told the park rangers would prevent access to any areas that were potentially dangerous and we should proceed and enjoy our adventure.
Good enough for us! Vacation on!
During our time there we had the opportunity to see and experience so many different and truly incredible things like boiling mud pots, rainbow-colored geothermal pools, waterfalls, geysers, canyons, wide open prairies, bears, elk, and bison. Yellowstone is truly a breathtaking and beautiful national park offering visitors some of the most amazing and majestic sites and experiences nature has to offer. Yes, I am clearly a huge fan of Yellowstone. It is easy to understand why this park and so many other national parks are considered our “nation’s treasures”.
Fortunately for us, during our time at Yellowstone, the fire remained sequestered to a specific area of the park and did not impact our plans other than the exception of smelling smoke in the air and seeing unnaturally spectacular sunsets as the smoke reflected the setting sun.
Yellowstone spans 2.2 million acres making it one of the largest national parks in the United States. It took us a week to visit the main areas of the park, and even then there is so much we missed.
As we drove from one destination in the park to another, we could see evidence of numerous fires that scorched the land years before. While most of Yellowstone is covered in towering timbers (the most common being the lodgepole pine tree), we came across some patches of land where no trees stood and the earth was still black from the ashes of a relatively recent fire.
Other patches of land showed evidence of a fire just several years ago. In these plots of land stood what appeared to be young adolescent trees reaching toward the sky not much taller than me. In other plots of land, there stood young adult trees. These trees have been growing much longer than adolescent trees, yet were still small compared to the majority of trees in Yellowstone. I would guess their size indicates a fire burned down the mature trees and new trees began to grow about 15 years ago and are now about 30 feet tall, still less than half the size of a full-grown lodgepole pine tree.
We were witnessing a beautiful personification of the fact that life grows from destruction and devastation.
In fact, in the case of the lodgepole pine tree, new life ONLY grows from destruction and devastation.
It is accurate to say that destruction is necessary for the health and new growth of Yellowstone Park. And ya know, perhaps it is also accurate to say that destruction and death are necessary for health and new growth. PERIOD.
Like other pine trees, the lodgepole pine tree embeds its seeds in the pinecones that grow on the limbs of the trees. In the lodgepole pine tree, the seedlings are encased in the cone which is then sealed shut by a resinous bond between the cone scales. The only way this resinous bond can be opened and release the seedlings is by being exposed to temperatures that exceed about 120-140 degrees Fahrenheit. These cones are designed so only extremely high temperatures can melt the resin of the cone, allowing the seedlings to be released, fall to the ground, and take root. The temperatures necessary for this are only achieved naturally by a forest fire.
Once the seedling is released and falls to the ground, the seedling will only grow in sunlight. If a seedling fell to the ground among mature trees where their canopy blocks out the light of the sun on the ground, the seedling would not survive. A seedling will only be able to receive the sunlight it needs to grow if the bigger mature trees are not there to block the light. Again, this can only be achieved naturally by a forest fire.
I find all this amazing.
Without a doubt, nature has it all figured out… as always.
What an amazing and effective system of “checks and balances.”
The seed for a new life is only released by the death of what was there before.
The seed can only thrive when there is space for it to grow.
The space for a new seed to grow can only be achieved by the death of what was there before.
When we first entered Yellowstone, the idea of a fire was scary. We thought a fire brought only the death and destruction to the trees and natural beauty of the park. When we left Yellowstone, the idea of a fire was very different. While a forest fire did mean death and destruction, we now know this also allowed for the beginning of life.
The lodgepole pine is just one example of the balance of all things in Yellowstone.
Yellowstone is just an example of the balance of all things in nature.
We are nature.
I suspect we have all experienced some type of death, destruction or ending. Perhaps it looks like the loss of a loved one. Or maybe the ending of a relationship. Perhaps it is the death of an idea, a dream, a belief system, or a way of being. Maybe it is the ending of a job position, a role, or a title.
Perhaps with every ending, there is a new seedling ready to thrive.
Article by Quinn Akira Takei, Doctor of Oriental Medicine(NM), Licensed Acupuncturist, Chinese Herbalist, Functional Medicine Practitioner, and Holistic Health & Wellness Coach.
The Center: Natural Health Specialists, 8404 Six Forks Road, Suite 201, Raleigh, NC 27615. (919) 848-0200. www.TheCenterNHS.com
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