Olivia Ludwig- Yosemite National Park

“Everything all packed?” Linda asked

“Yes mom! Can we go now?!” I cried

“Yes! Let’s go, oh great, now where’s your father?!”

 That was always the conversation I remember having before leaving for Yosemite National Park, where we went every single year for our family vacations. My parents were usually very busy with their accounting business, so we always took one full week out of the summer to go camping in the beautiful Yosemite National Park.  We always went as a family, my dad, mom brother and sister.  I was the oldest, so I probably appreciated the time together the most out of the three kids, since my younger brother and sister always wanted out as soon as possible.  Although, they did enjoy the tubing and swimming in the nearby lakes. 

So you can imagine the way I felt the day before we were ready to leave for our summer vacation when I had heard that there had been a terrible outbreak of forest fires all throughout the park, in the section we go camping in. I was heartbroken and went running in my parents’ room to tell them.  They understood my disappointment and told me we would find a new place to camp.  But I didn’t want a new place to camp!  I wanted to go swimming in the lake with my brother and sister.  And I wanted to hike the trails we hiked every year and see the same views.  This news hit me the worst because I knew it would never be the same, and that, was heartbreaking.