The wonders and beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park speak to us all in different ways. Poets and authors have found inspiration in this incredible place for over 100 years. As we close out our celebration of the 2022 National Write Out, we would like to share a poem by our very own Ranger Ishida. Habitat And the next morning, I go to the woods near my home where snow is falling, no longer from the clouds but from the pines. Heavy clumps hitting the earth, cratering the canvas of snow. Everything sparkles, and branches laugh in joy as they spring back toward the sky, relieved of their heaviness. Where the creek pools, a puddle lies, covered in ice except at its edges, where clear water ripples in the breeze. At the bottom, pine needles, brown and yellowed, and soft silt. And - look harder - tiny creatures, not fishlike or insect, but somewhere in between. They wriggle, crawl, swim in a way, through the clear pure water. How lucky they are that they have landed here, in this holiest of places high in the mountains, land untouched by all but the deer and the fox and a few humans who also know how to love. I fill my bottle with the clear creek*, shed my jacket to feel the sun. Wind in the branches, white soft beneath my feet, I walk on through the trees as they drop the snow and lift their arms to the sky. Image Credit: NPS File Photo/Brindle Editor's Note: *It is recommended to always filter or treat any water that you take from wild sources. #RMNP #WriteOut #ArtsInParks