Prodcuer Notes (Outdoor Idaho: The Next Generation)
The Next Generation
|
While on a recent Outdoor Idaho shoot, I found myself watching the sun rise
over the Tetons. It was cool, crisp morning. The sky was an ice clear blue.
And as we watched the sun come up, I was brought back to all the summers I
spent in the Tetons as a child.
When I was young, my family lived only a couple of hours away and we often
canoed, camped and hiked here. I always felt Grand Teton National Park was
actually mine. I mentally claimed it as a second home. It was a place in
which I could always find peace and from that, a sense of pure joy.
I now wonder if my two children will have that same sense of place. What will
their "second home" be? And if I'm asking this question, are other parents
thinking about this too? That curiosity inspired me to work on this episode
of Outdoor Idaho.
We who live in the West are blessed with access to magnificent public lands.
Almost any outdoor activity is within our reach. But unless you work
day-to-day in the out-of-doors, you often forget about the importance of
taking your children into nature. This program is designed to be a reminder
that it is easy and important to take your family on an outdoor adventure.
While I do hope this show encourages parents to start thinking about making
the out-of-doors a real part of their children's lives, I also hope this
program will encourage other adults to act. Take your niece and nephew
camping. Go boating with a young neighbor. Teach your grandchildren to fish.
If you help bring nature into a child's life, you have given them the best
gift any adult can give.
My husband and I are now planning a trip back to the Tetons this summer. The
kids may be too young to share my love for the place, but by getting to know
those mountains, they will grow to understand me a little better. And
hopefully, they will find the same joy I've found and pass that along to the
next generation.