By Ken Robinson
Managing Editor
Sitting at a fire, an open fire of burning wood, is one of the elemental joys of being human. It is a basic skill taught to young scouts. It is a form of magic.
At Indian Creek Campground site No. 56 in Yellowstone last week, my pal and I had many fires, each one a unique event. I call it an event because each fire has a beginning, middle and end. Each fire is a three-act play.
Setting a good campfire requires a certain grace. My friend, Sparky (for his training as an electrician), has both the temperament and experience for this. I watched him find the best available thing for ignition. Sometimes it was dried pine needles. Or a scrap of newspaper. Placed under the teepee of kindling, it was set to burn.
Each fire has a character different from others. Each fire yields something to our benefit.
Inside the black vastness of Yellowstone, under the stars, the Big Dipper shines strongly. It can make you feel small.
It is the beginning of summer and already the parade of motor homes carrying America's families is lined up at the entrances to Yellowstone. So are there people from Japan and Germany, Florida and Pennsylvania. They are here for the same reason we were there: to find treasure.
The treasure is an unparalleled geologic form, alive and changing slowly through millennium. It is the free-roaming of Bison, elk, bears and deer and many other species.
It is the real thing and most of us get that. If is is true that the current president wants to open Yellowstone to hunting, consider putting some positive energy toward how you feel about that idea.
