Desert Solitaire and Friday afternoon environmental literature

“A man on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourists can in a hundred miles.” ― Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

I'm starting to work with the high school students on environmental literature.  We began by reading an excerpt from Edward Abbey's wonderful memoir Desert Solitaire titled "Industrial Tourism and National Parks."  We hiked up sunny switchbacks on a Friday afternoon and discussed impressions of Abbey.  We talked about tone, his view on wilderness, and the way he uses humor to appeal to an audience that most likely already agrees with him.  

We then read Nikki Giovanni's short poem "For Saundra" and discussed the authors' different experiences of wilderness.  

Ponderosa pine perfumed the air and the sun beat on our faces as we read and talked.

I'm excited for more sunlit discussions of land-based literature.