Reflections During the Pandemic

Sitting here staring up at the park that I’ve worked in for thirty years; knowing another day will pass without visiting the trees, has become my new reality. After many years of working and living in Sequoia National Park, it is safe to say that it has become a big part of who I am. Maybe it’s the morning sun on the mountains, the changing colors of the foothills, or the grandeur of the largest trees on the planet. However, with time to reflect, I realized what I miss the most- the people of the park. The ones who have come from all over this wonderful world to see and experience a living thing that is so beyond their wildest imagination, the Giant Sequoia. At some point we see ourselves as part of these places, a connection we all have to nature, but as urban as we have all become, sometimes our inner nature is harder to find. In a place like Sequoia, amongst the mountains and trees, we are overwhelmingly reminded how much bigger our world is and how small we are in it. Over the last thirty years, I became part of the park as much as the park has become part of me.  I see the park through the people I share it with. It’s your experiences that make this place continuously so special for me, and if I can continue helping people experience this incredibly amazing place I’ll be here another thirty years.

Paul Bischoff: Owner of Sequoia Sightseeing Tours