Nomadic Narrative

“Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living,” Theodore Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss once said. While it’s easy to envision losing yourself in a good book or a movie, the natural environment can also spark your imagination.

One of my favorite mental escapes in San Diego is the Torrey Pines State Reserve in La Jolla, California. Like Alice down the rabbit-hole, windy trails lead you through a natural fairyland. Embattled sandstone cliffs relate earth’s memoir. Torrey pines, the rarest pine in the United States, twists into bonsai-like shapes to the backdrop of deep-blue Pacific waters and curvy mountains.

All of your senses are put on alert. Quail, rabbit and coyote tracks decorate the paths. Crickets sing, squirrels whistle and seals bark. The odiferous pines compete with the strong scent of coastal sage scrub and the salty Pacific. Stopping to rub the prickly chaparral plants spices your fingers.

Much like traveling, sensory-rich environments plant you in the now while freeing your imagination from traditional constructs. They are places to calm the mind and to incite creativity. The good news is that, unlike what many define as traveling, these places are not always found in distant lands.

See a beautiful sunset photo of the San Diego coastline from Torrey Pines State Reserve at Contemporary Nomad.

Learn more about the park at torreypine.org

Have you explored Torrey Pines State Reserve? What do you think about it?