Before They're Gone
A Family's Year-Long Quest to Explore America's Most Endangered National Parks
Michael Lanza
- A
- lifelong
- backpacker,
- Michael
- Lanza
- knows
- our
- national
- parks
- like
- the
- back
- of
- his
- hand.
- As
- a
- father
- of
- two,
- he
- hopes
- to
- share
- these
- special
- places
- with
- his
- kids.
- But
- he
- has
- seen
- firsthand
- the
- changes
- wrought
- by
- global
- warming
- and
- understands
- what
- lies
- ahead:
- melting
- glaciers,
- disappearing
- species,
- and
- inundated
- coastlines.
- To
- Lanza,
- it
- feels
- like
- the
- house
- he
- grew
- up
- in
- is
- being
- looted.
- Painfully
- aware
- of
- the
- ecological--and
- spiritual--calamity
- that
- global
- warming
- will
- bring
- to
- our
- nation's
- parks,
- Lanza
- is
- determined
- to
- show
- his
- children
- these
- wonders
- before
- they
- have
- changed
- forever.He
- takes
- his
- nine-year-old
- son,
- Nate,
- and
- seven-year-old
- daughter,
- Alex,
- on
- an
- ambitious
- journey
- to
- see
- as
- many
- climate-threatened
- wild
- places
- as
- he
- can
- fit
- into
- a
- year:
- backpacking
- in
- the
- Grand
- Canyon,
- Glacier,
- the
- North
- Cascades,
- Mt.
- Rainier,
- Rocky
- Mountain,
- and
- along
- the
- wild
- Olympic
- coast;
- sea
- kayaking
- in
- Alaska's
- Glacier
- Bay;
- hiking
- to
- Yosemite's
- waterfalls;
- rock
- climbing
- in
- Joshua
- Tree
- National
- Park;
- cross-country
- skiing
- in
- Yellowstone;
- and
- canoeing
- in
- the
- Everglades.Through
- these
- adventures,
- Lanza
- shares
- the
- beauty
- of
- each
- place,
- and
- shows
- how
- his
- children
- connect
- with
- nature
- when
- given
- "unscripted"
- time.
- Ultimately,
- he
- writes,
- this
- is
- more
- their
- story
- than
- his,
- for
- whatever
- comes
- of
- our
- changing
- world,
- they
- are
- the
- ones
- who
- will
- live
- in it.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
