Need for Nature

Last weekend I spend a few days in Portland, OR – a lovely city despite the driving rain that pounded us all weekend. My husband and I, without kids, were ready to explore the sights, experience some art and culture and enjoy a bit of the great outdoors. After the first couple of days of doing too much driving and parking, walking the sidewalks looking for galleries, and drinking more coffee than is healthy for any human body, I noticed we weren’t in the best of spirits. Was is it the non stop rain? Were we missing the kids? What was going on?

The next day we took a trip east to explore the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. A short 30 minute drive landed us at Multnomah Falls. We fled the confines of the car and scampered up the trail to check out the falls. The cascading water dropping at us from hundreds of feet above was just spectacular. The rain had stopped and the falls were spraying a light mist in our faces as we hiked up the trail checking out the moss covered trees and the landscape drenched in green. I finally realized the cause of our funk. We needed our nature fix! We needed to get out of the concrete jungle and get back into something that smelled fresh and felt invigorating. Sometimes we don’t realize our tremendous need to get outside, while at work, on vacation, enmeshed in our daily routine. In this case, as in most for me, nature provided the reward of a renewed spirit and attitude. Just what we needed to enjoy the rest of our weekend away.