Natural Reflections

"My first experiences of the natural world were with my grandfather in the woodlands of Appalachia. Those experiences sparked a lifelong curiosity of and connection to nature that set in motion a process of discovery that continues to this day." Johnson invites the reader on a personal journey into the natural world through his and other's explorations of the outdoors. From a dream like winter landscape on an excursion into the Colorado Rockies, to reflections on family and life while paddling a river, Johnson weaves a tapestry of natural, cultural, and personal history. "The sun is drying the dew from the goldenrod. A few monarch butterflies flutter by on their last leg in that ancient migration. The monarchs know, by instinct, where they are going, unlike me, a human, who is just beginning to understand where I have been. The old markers no longer point a direction. Each must find his or her own way, and the destination is not as clear as it was before." Johnson's essays range from backpacking with his grandson, to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, to hikers in pursuit of thier Holy Grail on the Appalachian Trail. His stories capture the intersection of changes in American lifestyles and the universal yearning for exploring something beyond ourselves. Johnson subtly suggests the complex connections between humans and the natural world with the fate of both inextricably interwoven.