The Tourist

A tourist is a person who enjoys a sense of adventure and seeks out every opportunity to get to know a new place. Tourists to the Bay Area should walk the Golden Gate Bridge, stroll through Chinatown, and take in all the different sights in Fisherman’s Wharf. These “tourist attractions” are well known and have become the places to see while in San Francisco. Most tourists have preconceived notions as what these attractions will look like and what they should see, but occasionally a tourist might venture off the beaten track and explore on their own. These tourists who do this will return home with of feeling of connection between them and San Francisco. They will not let commercialization ruin their experiences and will want to return for more adventure.

Yosemite is a tourist attraction which my family and I enjoy visiting and is a great example of a place which has undergone the stages of “sight sacralization.” Even though Yosemite does have a famous hotel available, we enjoy packing up our trailer and head off on a relaxing family adventure. Yes, Yosemite has become commercialized in many ways but if you are one of the smart campers you will not let this get in your way. Post cards, tee shirts, paintings, and even several web sites all help form preconceived notions of this majestic valley. Once in the valley, you will face numerous gift shops and guided tours of the valley floor and the numerous mountain faces to climb. The first time my family and I visited Yosemite we did the usual tourist events. We took the valley floor guided tour, and we did climb several of the small mountain trails to the waterfalls. I have to admit that I felt like I was being pushed and shoved by all the other tourists fighting to do the same. Every night when we arrived back at our campsite, we were tired of fighting the crowds. We did see the sights, but as we talked by the campfire we realized that we had enough. We decided to just ride our bikes and let the roads take us where they wanted. We stopped along the way to eat our picnic lunches by the river and just let our adventure tell us what we should see. Now when we visit Yosemite, we are happy to sit at our campsite and watch the beautiful nature taking place all around us. We do not rush to the tourist spots, but we continue to take our vacation easy and truly enjoy being a family in a very beautiful and unique place.

I do believe that tourists do get tired of the intense corporate control. People realize that the beauty of nature is only special when you get to view it yourself and see what you want to see. Post cards or web sites only show one point of view. Personal experiences are what make the most memories. Corporate control needs to take a step back and let people learn to appreciate and read the landscape for themselves. Viewing nature for myself is what builds the special times I hold as my most precious memories. Nothing can replace interacting with nature, so we all need to venture off the assigned path and create our own.