Following John Muir's steps
San Francisco Chronicle July 31, 2011 04:00 AM
... Welch developed a case of Muir-mania that wasn't fully satisfied until the moment 46 years later when she stood in a cold Oakland warehouse holding Muir's original handwritten journal labeled "Yosemite 1873."
"Exquisite," she says, her white-gloved fingers trembling. "What an honor to have this special artifact in my hand."
The artifact in her hand will be under glass starting Saturday when "A Walk in the Wild" opens in the Great Hall at the Oakland Museum of California. The exhibition is subtitled "Continuing John Muir's Journey," and that's what it is for Welch, going back to the day she was hired to be the museum's natural sciences interpretive specialist.
... Also making their museum debut are the actual botanical specimens, along with his globe and other effects on loan from the John Muir National Historic Site, his home in Martinez. Muir's desk, bookcases, journals, letters and drawings are on loan from the University of the Pacific, where the John Muir Papers have been maintained in a special collection since 1970. "For an audience this size, this collection of Muir artifacts has never been seen before," says Gisel, who serves as a consultant to the show.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/31/PKT31JOFFR.DTL
An excerpt from Muir's 1873 journal:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/31/PKC41K3L5V.DTL