Years ago while rummaging in a used book store, I found a book of nature photographs accompanied by John Muir quotations. It seemed just the thing for a good friend who was going through a rough time, so I bought it as a gift -- but found myself reading it cover to cover before passing it along. Muir has been one of my heroes ever since.
John Muir (1838-1914) was a naturalist and writer, but also an activist who helped save many of America's wildest, most beautiful spots including Yosemite and Sequoia national parks. He earned the nickname "Father of the National Parks." He helped found the Sierra Club. And when he found out that some of the nation's petrified forests were being ground up to make sandpaper, he galvanized the movement that resulted in the American Antiquities Act. This act now protects battlefields, burial grounds, historical ruins, archaeological finds, and the like. But Muir was first and foremost a nature lover who lived fully through his appreciation of the world around him. Recently I read The Wild Muir: Twenty-Two of John Muir's Greatest Adventures (selected by Lee Stetson). Whether riding out a fierce storm high up in the boughs of a Douglas fir, facing a bear, riding an avalanche, or just taking a walk (from Indiana to Florida!), Muir was wide awake to life and made the world a better place.
Although quite the wanderer, Muir eventually married and helped raise two daughters on a huge fruit orchard in Martinez, California. (The flexible, understanding love between he and his wife, Louisa Strentzel Muir, is an amazing story all in itself.) Now a National Historic Site, the home and remaining grounds are open to the public.
Eli was a little afraid of the steep stairs from the attic to the belfry, but when the park ranger said he could ring the big bell to his heart's content, he determinedly faced the climb. (I was a very proud mama! In the picture below, doesn't he look like an explorer braving the unknowns?)
As a writer, I love seeing where other people write. My own writing room is definitely a haven full of my favorite things, so it was a treat to peek into the spot where Muir wrote so many of his pieces.
Development is creeping up on the Muir house, yet some of the orchards and garden spaces are still there.
The John Muir home is lovely and peaceful. I loved walking in Muir's footsteps and sharing the adventure with my son.
(Psst! While you're in Martinez, stop by Waterfront Park!)
Comments