Grasses Gone Wild

Grasses

Ok.  It’s time to turn away from state grasses.  Let me guess.  No one was riveted.  Admittedly, even I, who is the biggest fan of grass I know, found it hard to get excited about the botanical finer points, and I mean no disrespect to botany.  I am fully aware that the plants of the world can exist just fine without us, but we cannot exist without them.

So for the record, and just to finish off the list, the state grass of Oklahoma is Indian Grass and the state grass of Texas is Side Oats Grama Grass.  That covers the Great Plains states for state grasses.

Gone Wild

So, state grasses are ho hum you say?  Well, what could be something that’s more exciting?  I know.  Hollywood!  The movie, Wild, just entered theaters this week, and while it does not have anything to do with the Great Plains, it has everything to do with long distance trails.  The movie stars Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed, a woman who embarks on a thru hike of the Pacific Crest Trail in order to heal herself after a series of family, marriage, and drug problems.

Where does the Great Plains Trail fit in?  We fit in because the healing power of long distance trails is really the most important supporting character in this story.  It doesn’t matter if it’s the PCT, the CDT, the AT, or the GPT, taking that long “walkabout” can be a transformative event in someone’s life.  The stories are everywhere.  From Wild to the Warrior Hike “Walk Off the War” program that gets returning war vets out on the long trails, tens of thousands of people from all walks of life have sought solace and inspiration on the long distance trails of America.

The Great Plains Trail will be no exception.  It will be another choice, a different aesthetic, but the transformational powers will be the same.