There are places that not only welcome you back but remind you of who you’ve always been.
I recently traveled to Ohiopyle State Park in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands. The wild-hearted Youghiogheny River, rushing waterfalls, and endless forests full of towering trees, rhododendron tunnels, ferns, and mosses make it a beautiful place to visit. But this trip didn’t turn out to be just about admiring the scenery. An unexpected shift in my brain took me back to the landscape that shaped who I am at my core.
This region holds many of my happiest childhood memories. Tucked into these woods was Camp Henry Kaufmann, the Girl Scout camp where I spent two magical weeks every summer. For a child, it was a place of independence, adventure, outdoor and life skills. Looking back, I realize it wasn’t just the camp that I loved, but the feeling of belonging in nature.
Among my clearest memories of camp is the church tucked away in the woods. On Sunday, we gathered there for a service, though I couldn’t tell you a single sermon that was preached. What stayed with me was the setting. Surrounded by majestic trees with sunlight filtering through the branches, we sat together on logs and sit-upons, and the forest itself felt like our sanctuary. As a little girl, I remember thinking that someday I wanted to be married there. Even then, I understood that my church was nature.
Returning to the Laurel Highlands feels like coming full circle.
So many of the small things that filled me with joy as a child are still here: lightning bugs flickering at dusk, cool waterfalls and streams rippling through the forest, watermelon on a summer afternoon—even if most of today’s watermelons no longer have seeds to spit across the yard.
This trip also gave me the chance to visit two Frank Lloyd Wright masterpieces, Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob. Despite growing up nearby, I had somehow never toured either one.
Both houses stirred something deep within me, but especially as I walked through Kentuck Knob, I realized it looked very much like the dream houses I used to draw as a child — homes nestled among trees where the outdoors wasn’t separated from daily life but welcomed inside. Standing there, I knew why these places resonated so deeply with me. The woods, with their trees, rocks, and flowing water, are not simply places I enjoy visiting; they are places where I feel grounded, connected, and at peace. They are woven into the fabric of my being.
I have to say that this trip found me thinking about returning to southwestern Pennsylvania—perhaps as a place to live. It has many of the things that I’m seeking while also being close to a city and international airport yet surrounded by the plants and rivers where I feel centered and restored.
I’ve written before about finding myself. For a long time, I imagined that meant discovering someone new. Now I’m beginning to think it means uncovering someone familiar. The person I’ve been searching for may have been waiting all along, running through the woods of Pennsylvania, chasing lightning bugs as the sun slipped below the trees.
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