As I write I am flying to Chicago, a captive of Southwest Airlines and my penchant for conducting my business (the business of nature) face-to-face. I am convinced that most business travel is anachronistic, an antiquated convention as useful as the neck tie. Park the planes and trot out the computer monitors, I say. Windows XP has video-conferencing wired, so says Microsoft. Why don’t we take this baby out for a spin?

In truth, I would be perfectly happy to have the next fellow reduce his travel schedule as long as I stick to mine. While I rip and rail at crossing the continent with my knees folded under my chin, I acknowledge that virtual nature, like virtual sex and "lite" beer, is a watered-down version of the real thing. Have your tried one of those web cams from a nature preserve, the image on the screen showing a barely distinguishable chickadee or finch spinning away from a feeder? Dull. Try the "virtual" sunset each evening from Key West. Tepid. There are things in this world that must be experienced first hand, and nature tops my list.

Nature interpretation has been toying with high-tech for years. Touch screens, interactive web sites, screen savers, video tapes, and DVDs have become routine for most nature centers and their staffs. Modern interpretation has become increasingly self-serve, a result of tight budgets and a love affair with all things that whistle, pop, and glow.

What first drew you to nature? I suspect that I begin this life with an eye cocked to the sky, my earliest drawings from kindergarten adorned with flying birds. My generation had mud between its toes and kitchen counters covered with jelly jars holding dirty creek water and tadpolls. Nature programming on TV meant Wild Kingdom with Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler (a green version of the Lone Ranger and Tonto).

Now we are becoming a nation of vicarious naturalists. We experience nature through televised surrogates and computer-generated "realities." Trust me; nothing could be more exotic, more remote than your own backyard. Yet many of us would rather watch an Aussie wrestle crocodiles from the comfort of a living room than see an alligator, up close and personal, at a nearby wildlife refuge.

Fermata’s mission, our crusade, is to entice our neighbors into the natural world. Let me offer an example. Last night the first cool front of the system crept into Austin. After a five-month bake a cool breeze feels like the hand of God. I slipped outside, and drank in the refreshing drafts as they drifted in from the north. I heard the voices of Upland Sandpipers as they surfed the front toward the pampas of Argentina. A full moon backlit a buttermilk sky, and I tried to imagine a more perfect world.

We believe that these perfect moments should be shared by all. Although priceless, these moments are owned by all who make an effort to discover them. We believe that nature should be available to every person, no matter their station in life or physical location.

In the near future we in Fermata will be unveiling our most ambitious project to date — The Great American Nature Trail. We will connect destinations throughout the Americas in a seamless network of travel trails, itineraries, and consummate destinations. The Great American Nature Trail will insure that nature is only an arm’s reach away from anyone who wishes to grasp it. So join us in this splendid adventure, as we wander throughout the Americas in search of those exquisite sites that reveal the magic that resides just outside your door.