Journal #2: Fort Worth Botanical Gardens

Today our adventures led class to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. I had never been to the gardens before, and after today’s visit, I can say that I would like to go back. After a little trek, the class found an open grassy area to hold our discussion. As we sat and began our discussion, my mind began to wander a little—taking in the sounds and sights of the scenery. I could not help but notice how lush and green the forest was. Small, white flowers scattered around the trees, where the roots met the ground. Two small, black birds were perched on the limb of a large tree, their necks resting on each other. I could hear the rustling of the squirrels as they scurried through the underbrush, collecting nuts and acorns.

Our class discussion was centered around two readings. The first was a compilation of journal entries from Meriwether Lewis. My initial reaction to the reading was amazement at how vivid and clear the descriptions and imagery were. I felt as though I was standing beside Lewis, watching as the buffalo storm by. The writing spoke often of fertile plains and vast amounts of animals. He was always encountering and interacting with the wildlife. I also noticed the lack of grammar and spelling in the text, which made it a little difficult at times to comprehend. My favorite scene was when Lewis had reached the waterfall and described the “beauty of [the] majestically grand senery.” He questioned his writing, not feeling as though he had the capacity to describe such a grand object. He longed for a “crimee [camera]” that would have helped him capture the moment. I think Lewis’ thoughts are relevant in so many situations. I often find myself with a great idea in my head, a perfect vision, but when I try to convey my thoughts onto paper, the result is less than great. Language fails. We all have had a time when we were trying to tell a comical story, but it does not come across nearly as funny to our listener, and we feel embarrassed because we just could not find the right words to describe the experience.

The second reading was the beginning of Wilderness and the American Mind by Robert Nash. Nash’s writing was particularly interesting to me. I have always thought of natures as a place of peace and tranquility, somewhere where you can go to escape the realities of the “real world.” It never crossed my mind that “wilderness was a place to be feared, fought, and flattened.” Today’s technologies and urbanization has eliminated the labor of clearing dense forestry by hand. Nash points out that “wilderness” is an evolving concept, a verb. I began to think how wilderness has evolved from the vast unknown of the Western world and may one day become a concrete slab—a thought that is unsettling in my mind. The text provoked me to think about wilderness is to me. My mind immediately goes to trail climbing in Colorado. Hiking through the mountains and finding an opening in the woods, next to a stream. I am sitting there on a large rock, listening as the water flows gently downstream, smoothing the pebbles it passes over. Every now again, a small splash as the fish make their way to the surface. The leaves are a bright green, almost the color of a neon highlighter. The previous day’s rainfall has created a moist sensation in the air. This is wilderness.

I also thought it interesting that the first Americans imagined and feared savage men, wild beasts, and creatures lurking in the wilderness. It reminded me of when I was a child who feared the monsters that were lurking under my bed. It seemed a little foolish to me, but I had to put the thought into perspective. There are many scenarios that I imagine and fear in my mind that probably would seem ridiculous to the same early Americans. I liked what Dr. Williams mentioned today about the imagination and how it “conceives of horrible creatures and then puts them right on the edge of the map.” His thought made me think about some of things that I fear and if I am imagining them or if they are real, tangible fears. What creatures does your imagination create?