The Importance of Nature

Nicholas B.

Tonia P.

ENGL 1102

9 February 2020                                                                                                  

Dear Grandson,

            Nature is such a thing of beauty. The environment really is a special place when you take the time to look closely at all the details. There are so many factors that go into nature including: the shapes of mountains/rocks, the unique colors of trees/animals, and the smooth and rough textures of various objects. The many different environments take years of collective work to get to how they look like now. Environments do not change over night because they need continuous work put into them to stay successful. Therefore, we need to appreciate the environments given to us and keep the tradition going. I am writing this letter to you, my grandson, to share my most memorable experience in nature and how it went.

            Eighty years ago, in 2019, my family went on a trip out west during the summer. My mother, father, sister, and I visited multiple cities in the rocky state of Colorado. We chose to do something different and not go to the beach again, but to explore places that we have never seen before. My mother lived in Colorado briefly when she was at a young age, so she wanted to go back and show the rest of us the beautiful mountains. I usually do not care a lot about nature and do not enjoy seeing sights of nature. However, the idea of visiting Colorado intrigued me as I wanted to see the enormous mountains that I do not get to see often. Now I wanted to visit the western ruins that have been unknown to me. In June of 2019 my family and I took a plane ride to stay in the diverse cities of Colorado.

            After the plane landed, we got a rental car for our trip and drove to Breckenridge, Colorado. Breckenridge is well known for its ski resorts and their mysterious mountains. Using our rental car, we drove up the steep and windy roads up the mountain to see most of the town. Correspondingly, I got the chance to see The Continental Divide which passes through the mountains in Colorado. When you are higher up on the mountains, the fascinating views get even better as you can take in the sights of the whole town. Later that day, my sister and I went hiking up a smaller mountain; snow began to fall from the sky and the crisp white color of the snow made the mountains look even better. Two days after, we visited Boulder, Colorado which is where The University of Colorado is located. I went on a tour of the campus and the college was nice and well put together. The best part of the tour was seeing the mountains in the background of the football stadium as it created an admirable sight. The next day, we made it to the Pikes Peak Summit which is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains (in North America). We took a jeep tour up Pikes Peak and made stops along the way. At the beginning, there were some small lakes and some wildlife animals like deer. The temperature continuously lowered as we kept on going up the mountain. A couple hours later, we reached the top of the mountain which is 14,115 feet tall. It took a few minutes to take in the views, but it was very peaceful at the top and amazing to look down at the rest of the environment. Seeing nature from over 14,000 feet high is a very different perspective that really shows you the hard work it takes to keep our environment safe, yet still look so beautiful.

            Not to mention, our trip is not even over yet. Then, we appeared in Colorado Springs to see the Garden of the Gods. Garden of the Gods is a popular tourist location that contains many natural landmarks and some wildlife. The park is filled with numerous landmarks that are amazing to see. For example, The Siamese Twins are rock formations that are about the same size and combine into one rock. My mom and I were able to stand next to the Siamese Twins and get a picture with the spontaneous mountains appearing in the background. Another cool landmark is the Kissing Camels, which are rock formations on top of a mountain that makes the shape of two camels kissing each other. We went when the sun was starting to set, so this made a romantic view seeing the Kissing Camels as the sun was beginning to set behind them. We stayed in Loveland, Colorado while we visited The Garden of the Gods with one of my mother’s close friends. Loveland is more on the countryside as it has flat land and not much around in the area. The Garden of the Gods was the most unique attraction because there were plenty of landmarks to see and separate from the rest of the town. After Colorado Springs and visiting Colorado for eight days, we went back home to Georgia for the rest of summer.

            Throughout my trip to Colorado, I saw many attractions that I have never seen before that I am forever changed by. During the eight days I was in Colorado I was filled with breathtaking views that I did not know even existed. Once I arrived back home, I came to the realization that I enjoy nature and seeing the dazzling sights that take your breath away. Therefore, I am writing this letter to you, my grandson, so you can appreciate nature and one day visit these places in Colorado. I hope you will find many memorable experiences in your lifetime of you visiting nature sights to acknowledge their greatness. Soon, you will be telling your kids and grandkids about your most memorable experience in nature and how it changed you point of view.

Sincerely,

Grandpa Nicholas Baldini