Join us on Wednesday evening, December 10 at 7pm, for spectacular stories and photos from the mountains of Montana as Michael Lazzari shares his adventure at the December SLT slideshow. “The Elk and I – Thirty Days Along the Sun” will be presented at the Sisson Museum in Mt. Shasta. This SLT fundraising event has an $8 suggested donation.
These excerpts from Michael’s journal, and a small sampling of his photography, are but a small preview of what this evening has in store…
“Wilderness, pure wilderness. Land untainted, untouched by the greed and fear of modern man. Land, wild and free, raw and pure, this is where we must go to remember.”
“…An early, overcast morning, frost on the ground, but not too cold. I walk out to the meadow in the cover of the treeline. I see lots of elk up in the hills on the opposite side of the meadow. And I hear one bugling behind me somewhere not too far away. I decide to keep my distance and wait to see what happens. I see two bulls up high knocking their racks together, but not fiercely. Too far for a good photo, I just watch and enjoy. There are lots of bulls congregated here, lots, and they are all bugling. It is absolutely amazing. One of the most special experiences of my life. I hear some cracking from behind me a few cow elk moving through the trees, noses up smelling the air, heads cocked and rigid, looking for any sign of threat. The wind is in my favor this morning and they miss my scent. The small herd trots through the trees towards the meadow. I sit in reverence and watch them move. They are so alive, I feel it, and feel my own aliveness. It is their gift to me, greater than any other I have ever received. I feel only life here, life, love, and gratitude. It is my whole existence…”
“…When you hear the wild howls of a wolf pack, so close you can feel the vibration of their of their voices, or the call of bugling elk, ringing through the trees, something opens up inside you. Some ancient door, some ancestral channel, some place our fore bearers lived from that has gone dormant. But in the raw and wild, this place awakens and comes alive, and like a waking dragon, it breathes fire into your soul and you know what it means to be alive. This is the gift of the wild, to remind us of our true power…”
