Once Lost, I Lithify: An Archive of Experiencing the Geology of the Colorado Plateau
"I'm a poet and went on this trip hoping to get some inspiration for work as all great writers and people do. We go to the woods and often find our outlook changed. I went on the Geology National Parks and thought I would just leave sore and tired. Instead I found myself greatly inspired by the National Parks and what they had to offer. I wrote almost everyday about what I was learning and seeing. The geological concepts were difficult for me to learn but I found a great source of empowerment in allowing myself to try and learn it differently. I immersed myself in the spaces and wrote about it in ways I could understand, poetry. I left with a greater grasp on my independence and strength. I did it in my way as I felt freed by the millions of years we so casually walked through and documented through rocks. I wanted to share the words that were sparked." - McKenna Graf '26