My brother and I caught one of the episodes of Ken Burns' The National Parks last night on PBS - this one focused on the relationship between President Teddy Roosevelt and naturalist/preservationist John Muir. Muir's letters, essays, and books recounting his adventures, particularly in California's Sierra Nevada mountains, are well-read. His activism helped to save the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is now one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States.
Lee Stetson (above) is one of the most renowned Muir impersonators (are there others?), touring the country reciting Muir's words and continuing Muir's legacy. And Stetson figured prominently in this episode of The National Parks. Though Muir was a Scottish-born American, many people don't realize that his parents were homesteaders in Portage, Wisconsin upon their arrival in the U.S. from Scotland in 1849. Muir even attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
While watching, Jas and I were immediately taken back to our visit to Sequoia National Park & Forest in June 2008. As I've stated many times, if you haven't seen the redwoods and sequoias first-hand, pictures do no just. And the euphoria one gets from standing under a 2,000-year-old living thing is just - well, it takes your breath away. Check out Ken Burn' The National Parks' site here.
President Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir shared a common philosophy when it came to nature. Through their friendship, TR worked to preserve more than 170 million acres, mostly in the West, in the forms of national parks and monuments.
This summer, if you haven't already, you should try and get out and visit one the 58 national parks in the U.S. They belong to you. They're part of this country's legacy.
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