I squinted my eyes, regretting leaving my sunglasses in the car. It was early (6 am?), and the sun was just starting to creep up behind the geological fascination in front of me. Right now, it was clouded in shadows, so I was eagerly awaiting a better glimpse of the tell-tale pillars caused from the flow of lava many moons ago. Devils Postpile, as it’s named, is a National Monument that nestles quite nicely into the Inyo National forest. The Sierra Nevada mountains are home to a cornucopia of wonders, and I had yet to be disappointed by any excursion I’d undertaken.

I skirted around the pillar mound in front of me, following the path to get a closer look. It looked like a half-finished building project; I had to keep reminding myself that this was indeed a natural phenomena. The columns looked long and symmetrical, exactly like a pile of posts as the name suggests. At the top, I paused to marvel at the tile-like quality of the pillars.

The internet later revealed that about 44% of the piles are hexagons, with the others boasting 3-7 sides. While I had seen geologic columns in other parks (Shenandoah has a less-impressive version), Devils Postpile was quite spectacular.

Throughout all my travels, I try to pay attention to the living, breathing world around me. I also recognize the spectacular character of nonliving things, such as rock. We live in a fascinating world that is full of wonders and imagination.

We live in a pretty awesome world.