Wanderers in Wonder

Channeling the spirits of John Muir and Ansel Adams as we made our way through this wondrous valley…Yosemite. Yosemite, in the Native American Miwok language, translates as ‘Those Who Kill”. That is how the Miwok and other Native American tribes of the area referred to the Native Americans who inhabited the Yosemite Valley.

John Muir, cofounder of the Sierra Club, savior of much of the Sierra Nevadas, apostle of Yosemite. 

A thoughtful man…

“The world, we are told, was made especially for man — a presumption not supported by all the facts.”

“Of all the paths you take in life, Make sure a few of them are dirt.”

“Handle a book as a bee does a flower, extract its sweetness but do not damage it.”

“I would rather be in the mountains thinking about God, than in church thinking about the mountains.”

“The mountains are calling and I must go.”

The Black and White photography of Ansel Adams brought the West to life for many Americans. His first love was Yosemite and the Sierra Nevadas close to San Francisco where he was born and raised. Ansel was a lifelong member of John Muir’s Sierra Club. He joined at the age of twelve.

Eventually, encouraged by the painter Georgia O’Keefe, Ansel expanded his field of study. The Desert Southwest became a favorite subject.

Ansel’s most famous photograph, Moonrise Over Hernandez, NM. Driving from Santa Fe to Taos in 1941 with his son, they came upon this scene. Ansel quickly set up his gear, couldn’t find his light meter and with time running out, set the various camera settings from experience and snapped one picture before the light faded.

The Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite Village, the heart of Yosemite National Park. 

The gallery sells books, not many, maybe 100 titles. Most are on the valley and its environs, environmentalism, Ansel Adams, John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Wallace Stegner, Ed Abbey, Terry Tempest Williams and yes, of course octopuses…Sy Montgomery. 

Our friend Sy is really getting around.

Peace…Wanderers in Wonder.