John Muir – Baiting the Bear

Bierstadt, Albert. The Domes of the Yosemite. 1867. Oil on canvas, 294.6 × 457.2 cm (116 × 180 in.). St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Accession no. 1873.1.

Muir, John. John Muir: The Eight Wilderness Discovery Books.

Post author:Laura Reagan
Post published:July 28, 1915
Post category:Library - Modern

Would it not be well, therefore, for some one to go back as far as possible and take a fresh start? (Steep Trails)

Bierstadt, Albert. Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California. 1865. Oil on canvas, 163.8 × 245.1 cm (64 1/2 × 96 1/2 in.). Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, Alabama. Gift of the Public Library Board, accession no. 1991.29.

Muir, John. The Yosemite

Post author:Laura Reagan
Post published:July 28, 1912
Post category:Library - Modern

All the world was before me and every day was a holiday, so it did not seem important to which one of the world’s wildernesses I first should wander.

Watkins, Carleton E. Yosemite Valley from Best General View. 1865–1866. Mammoth plate albumen print, 40.2 × 52.4 cm (15 13/16 × 20 5/8 in.). The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California. Accession no. 84.XM.1384.1.

Muir, John My First Summer in the Sierra

Post author:Laura Reagan
Post published:July 27, 1911
Post category:Library - Modern

Beauty beyond thought everywhere, beneath, above, made and being made forever. I gazed and gazed and longed and admired until the dusty sheep and packs were far out of sight, made hurried notes and a sketch, though there was no need of either, for the colors and lines and expression of this di[Pg 15]vine landscape-countenance are so burned into mind and heart they surely can never grow dim.

Moran, Thomas. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. 1872. Oil on canvas mounted on aluminum, 213.4 × 243.8 cm (84 × 96 in.). Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Gift of George D. Pratt, accession no. 1928.7.1.

Muir, John Our National Parks

Post author:Laura Reagan
Post published:July 27, 1901
Post category:LIBRARY Library - Modern

Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.