[pct-l] Fw: John Muir's Birthplace

[giniajim]

How unfortunate.  Their phrase: "my tax money pays for it, therefore I have a right to use it how I please", is not only very selfish, but its also wrong from the perspective of what it means to be part of a democracy.
   When your tax money pays for it, that gives you the right to be part of the process of determining its use.  Hopefully that determination will result in the best use to benefit all citizens over the long haul.  Sometimes thats preservation and sometimes thats extraction.  
   Your cousins would no doubt think they have a "right" to set up camp in the Capitol rotunda in Washington.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Alphabetsoup 
  To: Scott Williams 
  Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net 
  Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2011 2:10 AM
  Subject: Re: [pct-l] Fw: John Muir's Birthplace


  These stories about Muir and the culture that he helped to create has never
  been more interesting to me than now. They taught us in school about John
  Muir, but only that he discovered and helped to create yosemite N.P. I think
  it is a shame that the youth are not taught anymore about this man than they
  are. I believe there would be more appreciation for the back country and the
  preservation and conservation of it. Growing up, Dad and my uncles would
  mock the sierra club for their hard work and dedication to the cause,
  leading me to a false conclusion that this organization was not to be liked;
  however, as I got older and began to explore the back country,  I changed my
  tune. Now, I fully understand their mission, and the vision that Muir had
  for our pristine wilderness-that which would be all but destroyed had no one
  lobbied to save it from livestock, land speculators and loggers.

  A couple days ago, a cousin of mine posted a pic on Facebook that has a
  little man holding his middle finger up with the caption "Sierra Club, Save
  this bird" This really bothered me, that my 16 y/o cousin has been mislead
  by his father about the sierra club and what it stands for. My brother and
  me argue with each other all the time about the issue of land use being open
  for "all types of recreation" He, like all the other men in my family are
  unfortunately conservatives with the idea that "my tax money pays for it,
  therefore I have a right to use it how I please"    I'm hoping that my
  experiences during my thru-hike will help to get my cousin and anyone else
  in my family that follows me, to find a new appreciation for the wilderness
  and the treasures it holds for it's visitors.

  Paul


  On Fri, Jan 21, 2011 at 10:37 PM, Scott Williams <baidarker at gmail.com>wrote:

  > Great travels MendoRider.  Years ago Dunbar hardly knew who he was.  That
  > has changed, and our High School now sends students to Dunbar, and on
  > alternate years, the Dunbar Schools send them to us.  They tour his ranch
  > in
  > Martinez, and spend a week backpacking and camping in Yosemite, which is
  > after all, what he's all about.  We've hosted students in the past, and the
  > brogues are absolutely wonderful.  You get to hear all about their "Duke of
  > Edinburgh" awards, and the different camping skills they have to learn to
  > get top honors.  One girl we hosted was leaving here to do her "Duke of
  > Edinburgh" which included 5 or 6 days of backpacking alone in the Highlands
  > of Scotland.  Really cool.
  >
  > They know who he was, and honor him now.  Martinez and Dunbar have been
  > sister cities for quite some time, and there's a lot of back and forth
  > between them.
  >
  > Here all the local schools send their 4th graders to the Muir house in
  > 1890's costume as part of their Calif. history requirement.  Ranger Tad
  > leads them for a day, sometimes with a sleep over, in all kinds of
  > activities from Muir's time.  At the back of the property, (right across
  > from my living room, as I type) is the Martinez Adobe, the oldest building
  > in the county, a beautiful early Spanish home that was lived in by Muir's
  > daughter Wanda and her family while Muir lived in the big Victorian on the
  > hill.  The walls are almost 3 feet thick.  With this Spanish connection,
  > the
  > kids spend part of the day squishing mud in their bare feet in an adobe
  > pit,
  > and then make adobe bricks.  They cook in the old bee hive oven, make
  > candles, and rope, and all the while are told stories of Muir.  It's a
  > National Park's program for the locals, and it's wonderful.  Ranger Tad
  > always ends up with them all in the huge old attic of Muir's house where
  > they get to ring the big bell in the bell tower, and then he tells them the
  > story of Stickeen, Muir's dog and his Alaskan escapades.  He ends the day
  > with ghost stories in the attic, and if it's a sleep over, the kids get to
  > actually sleep in that great old space.
  >
  > The most precious thing in the whole place however, is Muir's old writing
  > desk, in his "scribble den" where he penned articles, books and letters
  > that
  > changed the country, and ultimately the world.  I don't think we would have
  > the great parks and trails we do without his advocacy 100 years ago.
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