Flathead Valley Montana, located on the western edge of Glacier National Park, is one of the most breathtaking, rustic places in the country. Every year it attracts thousands of tourists who are drawn in by its astonishing mountains and vast freshwater lakes. Only a lucky few are fortunate enough to grow up in such an extraordinary place; my family and I happen to be some of those lucky few.
The boundaries there are not defined by large cities or amusement parks but instead the splendid natural wonders: the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River, Flathead Lake, and the “The Crown of the Continent,” better known as Glacier National Park. Growing up in a place as rugged and beautiful as the Flathead Valley made me into the outdoorsy environmentalist that I am today, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“The Crown of the Continent” earned this nickname in 1855 by George Bird Grinnell after he explored its untamed wilderness, but he wasn’t the first to enjoy its beauty. Its incredible glacier-carved peaks were first sacred to the Blackfeet Indians, who were the first inhabitants of this pristine area. To this day Glacier National Park is still sacred to the Native Americans of this region because of its astonishing beauty. It even earned the tribal name of the “Backbone of the World.”
Glacier Park has remained an outdoor paradise, and it attracts an average of two million visitors each year. Tourists are drawn to its preservation of more than one million acres of meadows, alpine lakes, rugged peaks and glacial-carved valleys. The park’s most prominent attraction is its glacier-carved terrain that features the melting remnants of glaciers that formed in the last ice age 10,000 years ago.
Growing up in an area close to Glacier National Park opened my eyes to climate change and pollution. I have witnessed the effects of climate change because of my close proximity to Glacier Park. I’ve seen the glaciers slowly retreat and disappear. Of the 150 glaciers in GNP that existed in 1900 only 25 now remain.
Preserving the beauty of nature should not only be applied to in National Parks. It should permeate all walks of life. I gained my perspective about the environment from growing up close to this incredible place, and I am fortunate to have it. Glacier National Park is home to some of my favorite memories, from fly-fishing and whitewater rafting in the summer, to cross country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. Without these fond memories I might view Glacier National Park and the wilderness simply as something to be developed, rather than viewing it as something to be cherished and protected, and for that I am truly thankful.
Throughout my life I have been exposed to the amazing aspects of nature that live right in my backyard. I no longer question or doubt how crucial it is to preserve and respect our world. A majority of the world’s population is disconnected from the planet we inhabit, and I am one of the lucky few that doesn’t feel that disconnect.
I have spent the larger part of my young life outdoors because of the Flathead Valley. I live my life completely immersed by the nature and wilderness that surrounded my hometown. Many ignorant people criticize this rural life as “too boring” or “too small” but little do they know about what they are missing out on. Growing up in Montana did have its drawbacks, but the positives out weighed the negatives. Where else could the size of our backyard be determined by how adventurous you felt that day or how much you were intent on exploring. While I didn’t grow up 20 minutes away from Disneyland, I did grow up with the freedom to explore and develop my own imagination. There were no boundaries of what I could discover by spending the day outside hiking in GNP or camping on the edge of Flathead Lake.
I have experienced the positive effects of growing up in the outdoors and it changed me for the better. Because of this I have formulated a strong opinion about the environment and the world we live in. Someday I hope to protect the quality of the natural environment and educate the population about environmentally harmful human activities. My connection to the environment comes from my fond memories in my past and it helps me make more environmentally conscious decisions in the present. The Flathead Valley reminds me how important our natural world is, and how incredibly lucky we are to have it.
The wilderness is a magnificent and unfinished place and growing up in the Flathead Valley taught me that. Even though I have physically left the Flathead Valley to start college, it will always be a part of who I am today. Montana and the Flathead Valley will always be home to me, and will forever live in my heart and my mind. Now my current address may say Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, but I still wake up every morning knowing where my true home is, I am thankful that Montana showed me what life is really about.