Our national parks serve as repositories of personal and collective memories, acting as memory palaces that hold the stories of our histories and experiences. They are more than just natural landscapes; they are places where our individual journeys and cultural narratives are stored and cherished.
Terry Tempest Williams emphasizes in her book, The Hour of Land, that these parks are integral to our identity, embodying the history and emotions of the people who visit and protect them. They are sacred spaces that connect us to the past, present, and future through the memories they preserve.