August 2057
The radiant electrical lights of a large, modern metropolis flooded the bedroom of an apartment, submerging its inhabitant’s eyes, and awakening him from his afternoon slumber. Swiping his sheets harshly over his face, Richard groaned, exhausted. A device lay next to him, the screen awake and glowing. On the screen was a page from a book, the title of which he couldn’t quite remember. The illumination put a sparkle in his dark green eyes, the color of pine tree needles. He had dozed off while reading comfortably. He now got up groggily, the blanket sliding off the mattress. The device toppled down with it. Taking a quick glance at the time, Richard left his bedroom and began his day; a day that would be quite brief with his late waking.

Dressed, clean, and no longer feeling drowsy, Richard prepared his supper. He strode over to his fridge and spoke a single word sharply and clearly.
“Steak,” he said.
Following his bidding, a hatch opened at the side of the fridge, shedding a luminous white light throughout his kitchen. A conveyor belt buzzed to life, and out came the tender meat. The meal was then transported by the belt to a stove, which promptly began to grill the steak.
As the steak was grilling, Richard sat down at his table and rubbed his wrinkly temple. Squinting through the window at the bright buildings and lights, his elderly mind suddenly came to a realization.
I’ve been oblivious to the truth, he mused. This world and I have been corrupted by technology. None in this city can appreciate the “great outdoors” as it truly is. Instead of breathing the fresh, crisp air of a Minnesota forest and feeling the summer tides of a California ocean roll over our toes, today’s society is staring at a screen, like one would to a dazzling blue diamond. We’ve become a lazy and spoiled generation in places like the city.
Was there anything Richard could do, to save himself from the dominance of devices and robots? He glanced over, horrified at his reading device on the floor. His gaze then shifted to his own kitchen, to his high-tech fridge and stove, and then out to the city. A childhood in the city that Richard barely remembered had long since vanished.

In the streets of the city, Richard wandered aimlessly, with no definite destination in mind.  The grains of the day’s precious time was draining down into the bottom of an hourglass, and he didn't want them to fritter away. As Richard expected hordes of cars and people to be rushing home at this hour, he strode hastily to avoid traffic, his long, hazel colored hair flying in the evening gales. The last traces of sunlight slipped through the horizon, but the intense light of the city remained and polluted the night sky. More cars zoomed off to their homes, with the muffled roars of flamboyant new Teslas diminishing in the distance.
Richard stared in astonishment at everything and finally opened his eyes to the impact of machines and technology. Peering across the street, he could see car windows, one after another, in which people were busily texting and playing on their cell phones. This was common with the widespread popularity of self-driving cars, but Richard just now started to pay heed to it. He strode off, disgusted, with a scowl on his face.
Two hours later, Richard slammed the door to his apartment shut. Appalled by everything he had seen, he resolved that he had had enough with life in the city.

Engines roaring, a plane prepared for landing. Out of his fogged-up window, Richard stared in wonder at miles of lush green forest. His lip upturned into a smile as he envisioned what he would discover. An airport runway came into view. As bulky as it was, the plane landed with no sound upon the worn concrete. One couldn’t tell if the plane had landed if they had covered their eyes. In great anticipation, Richard burst out of the gate, hurrying to make a quick exit from the airport.

The next day, Richard prepared for a long trek into the Yellowstone National Park area. A long boardwalk wove among many tourist sites, mostly geysers.
Now this is something to be appreciated, he thought with a gleam in his eye.
Richard would never see the sun in the city as it shined in Yellowstone. It beat down upon his body, the heat seeming to rise in pulsing waves. Even so, Richard loved every moment of it. Shadows cast down from the lofty trees, that stood straight and mighty like soldiers.
Richard came upon Old Faithful, as he determined was the most predictable geyser in the park. As he approached the geyser, water sputtered and bubbled in the crater like spit would in a toddler’s mouth.
The geyser then exploded in a large fountain of scalding water, with mist wafting off the surface into nothingness. The sunlight sparkled in the small drops of mist and cast a rainbow above in the fair, clear sky. The water splashed on the hard ground around it, making brown-orange imprints the color of the foxes that prowled deep in the woods. The geyser sizzled as the remaining water dissipated into the humid air. This beautiful sight occurred about every two hours, and Richard witnessed it two more times that day, never ceasing to stop in awe and amazement.
Sadly, Richard was never able to make it into the woodlands of Yellowstone, as this was prohibited. It was time to continue with his journey.

Richard slammed a car door closed, jogging towards the next place he would stay. More experiences with the beautiful wonders of nature awaited him in the Grand Tetons. At these national parks, not much had changed since forty years before.The parks had been protected and preserved so effectively that they would stay as alluring as they had in the past.
Richard set his bags down in a cabin that he had rented for the day. He sat down in a nice wooden chair while thinking as he pondered about Yellowstone. I have been missing out on all the spectacular, breathtaking places of the world. Confined to my apartment and the city, I never thought of escaping to the “real” outdoors. I've satisfied a thirst I never knew I had. It's been forty years since I first went on a sojourn like this…
Richard abruptly rose from his chair. He glanced around the room, then headed to the sliding door in the back of the cabin. Slipping outside, he came to a field. Tall blades of grass swayed like a clock pendulum as time passed by. Beyond the field lay a large forest, and beyond that stood mountains. Richard was speechless, as the mountains were magnificent. The sheer enormity of them caused him to stop and marvel at the sight. Taking out binoculars, he brought his eyes to the lens.
The mountains were snow-capped, and they reminded Richard of icy cold vanilla ice cream. He licked his lips, thinking of the frosty sensation imparted by ice cream the moment the soft, icy delicacy touched his tongue. Many birds circled and soared in the sky.
I have to get over there soon, Richard thought, a smile curling up on his flamingo-colored lips.

The fresh, misty air of the lake wafted up into the atmosphere, like trillions of tiny, clear balloons. Richard stepped onto a creaky wooden deck, where a man lingered. Seven speedboats were tied to the dock.
“Good afternoon, sir,” the man beckoned. “Would you like to go for a ride in the crystal-clear waters adjacent to the Tetons? Our boats are self-driving and will take you all around the lake, making virtually no sound.” The man gestured with his arm into the distance for effect.
Richard’s eyes were fixed upon some canoes on the sandy beach as the man talked. Abruptly, he asked if he could put one of them to use.
“Well, you don’t want to exert yourself, do you? These speedboats make for a comfortable and relaxing journey.”
“I think I’ll still go with the canoe,” Richard replied with finality.

Now in a canoe, Richard half-submerged his hand into the water, making ripples as his canoe drifted forward. The gray and blue-tinged reflection of the Tetons behind him were distorted with the disturbance in the water. Even as a distorted reflection, the mountains still looked as stunningly grand as ever.
A few islands came into view on the lake, covered with trees in the midst and narrow beaches along the edges. On one island, a couple of deer roamed on the grains of sand, their caramel-colored coat bearing many leaves that had clung on.
There had been an  early fall season that year. Withered, dry leaves swooped gracefully back and forth, like a pendulum, free with no bindings. The leaves finally settled down slowly onto the surface of the awaiting water.
The Tetons produced these fall leaves, a beauty of nature. The leaves’ slim, fragile stems detached from the arms of trees, floating away to another place and another life.
The deer took notice of Richard. In response, he raised his hand in a greeting, but it was useless. The slender creatures averted their gaze and sauntered away.
What Richard had seen was ineffable. Compared to the lethargic style of city life, in the presence of nature, the world wasn’t corrupted by robots and technology.
This was the first time that the idea of relocating popped into Richard’s head. It was in the middle of the lakes right next to the Tetons, as he was meandering his canoe left and right with his paddle. He had grown accustomed to the cycle of rowing.
Nature has many cycles, he thought, from perennial flowers  to the four seasons. We wouldn’t have the technological and industrial advances we have today if not for nature.
On the way back to the dock, Richard stared back at the Tetons for one last time. They seemed to lean over him, they were so tall. With the sun close to setting, there was a lustrous backlight on the mountains, casting an enormous silhouette onto the lake.
When the time came, Richard stepped out of his boat onto the dock. After his long time in the canoe, he had to compose himself before going over to thank the owner of the boats. When night finally approached, the sky was completely clear. Millions of stars dotted the pitch-black sky. In this place, there were no blinding city lights and pollution in the air to fog up the window that was the sky. A full moon took its place among the stars, and as Richard looked up at it in wonder, it beamed back.

Back home in the cabin, the images of the evening burned into Richard’s memory as he prepared for his flight back home. His slumber that night was filled with vivid dreams of freely drifting through the currents of the waters, the majestic mountains, and the millions of stars that painted the sky.

Outside his apartment, Richard wearily hoisted his arm up to the doorknob and opened the door. He trudged to his bed and lay down, deciding not to unpack for a moment.
After all, he wouldn’t need to, as this would be his final night sleeping in the tremendously vast and overwhelming metropolis.

A withering leaf, nature is being overlooked more frequently as more technologies pile up in our arms. Richard came to a realization that life as he knew it was overtaken by robots and technology. After going on a sojourn to the true “outdoors”, he chose to make his home and life near the Grand Tetons. He lived there peacefully and happily for the remainder of his life.