Tuesday, April 03, 2012

The Camping Trip That Changed America






Arrgh! I can't believe I forgot to include The Camping Trip That Changed America in my Wonderful World of Nature post.  This is a memorable look at the Yosemite camping trip that ignited Theodore Roosevelt's passion and defense of national parks.  Roosevelt was an ardent conservationist and reader; reading John Muir's plea to preserve the natural landscapes of America inspired Roosevelt to ask Muir to take him on an exploration of Yosemite.  Muir wasn't convinced; truth be told, he was a bit weary of taking people on guided trips, because not much action seemed to come from them.  He was eventually persuaded to do so (Roosevelt was not one to take no for an answer), and the camping trip lead to a lifelong correspondence between Roosevelt and Muir--and the establishment of the national park system. Roosevelt was quite the character; the more I read of him, the more I want to read about him.  This is an excellent depiction of an important but little known event in our nation's history.


  

No comments: