The Rim of the World in Stanislaus National Forest is a beautiful vista point located near the entrance, or in my case, the exit, to Yosemite National Park. On Highway 120, it provides panoramic views, including, in early May, snow-capped mountains in the distance. This east coast girl will never get used to the sheer size of western mountains or their peaks covered in white.
This vista point is a place for quiet reflection, honoring the sacrifices of firefighters. Here you can learn about the history of devastating wildfires that have repeatedly impacted the region. While in this spot, the power of nature cannot be denied nor the commitment humans have made to protect it.
The Rim of the World is a small portion of the 900,000 acre Stanislaus National Forest, one of the oldest forests in the National Forest System. Established in 1897 and located in California’s breath-taking Central Sierras, it includes 78 lakes, over 800 miles of streams and rivers, and more than 1,000 miles of hiking trails.
The Rim was a surprise, one of those quick pullovers you make as soon as you can find a place to do so. I was so glad that we stopped and that my husband had decided to do so based on what he was seeing. Even before I raised the binoculars to my eyes, I could sense the enormous wide open space. Mister Rain read the signs to me, celebrating the role of the firefighter, while I tried to comprehend what a battle it is to extinguish flames in such an immense area, populated primarily by kindling.
As I type this story at my dining room table on a unseasonably cool August morning, the windows are open. I have just put my jean jacket on over my t-shirt because I am a little chilly, when the fire siren of my town goes off. A few minutes later, it sounds again. There are no giant trees where I live, no endless, house-less land. But from Northern California to Southeastern Pennsylvania and everywhere in between, there are brave men and women putting nature and other people’s preservation and safety ahead of their own.
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