Category: History
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Get the Book Before the Movie
As a kid I was never one to wait for the movie. In fact, as soon as I heard they were making a movie I’d go out and buy the $5 paperback at the local grocery store then read it cover to cover in one sitting. That explains why I was so excited by today’s…
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Don’t Forget to Set Your TiVo
September is flying by and before you know it Christmas, yes I said the C-word, will be here. That’s why I wanted to remind you to set your TiVo or DVR now so you don’t miss The National Parks: America’s Best Idea by Ken Burns which airs September. 27th on PBS. As much as I…
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Being Yosemite’s First Protectors (video)
Here’s a great video of Ranger Shelton Johnson talking about the Buffalo Soldiers, Yosemite’s First Protectors, and what inspired him to resurrect their spirit.
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The First Car in Yosemite
Oliver Lippincott became first motorist in Yosemite National Park, in his Locomobile steamer. Photo courtesy http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/. Although today is listed as the first official day cars were allowed into Yosemite, here’s proof they’d been there for quite some time already. Automobiles were legally allowed to enter Yosemite National Park, California, for the first time on…
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Catch Lee Stetson as John Muir in Yosemite Valley
Lee Stetson portrays John Muir. Photo by Edie Howe-Byrne. So if you can’t make it up to Tuolumne Meadows this weekend don’t worry. There’s still a few more weeks of summer left and that means you can catch Lee Stetson in his awesome portrayal of John Muir in Yosemite Valley. You can catch Lee’s performances…
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Who was John Conway?
Park visitors congregate at Glacier Point to enjoy the setting sun on Half Dome. Photo by Kwong Yee Cheng. Not many people know who John Conway was but if you’ve ever enjoyed the view from Glacier Point, the top of Half Dome, the Mist Trail or the Four Mile Trail he’s the man you should…
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Getting to the Top
In 1988 four friends decided to do something unheard of, climb to the top of a Giant Sequoia. This is the story of Rob Kaspar and 3 of his buddies, all former Yosemite Institute Instructors, who decided one day to chase a dream, all the way to the top. “For years I had always wanted…
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John Muir Still Yosemite’s Best Salesman
Ken Burns latest film “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” is full of breath taking footage of Yosemite and our other National Parks. But that’s not all the film is about. It’s about the men and women who dedicated their lives to preserving these wild place so that you and I, their descendants, would have…
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New Yosemite Nature Notes: Maps
If you’ve got some time check out the latest Yosemite Nature Notes in which Steve Bumgardner delves into Maps and their ties to Yosemite. Filmmaker Ken Burns makes a guest appearance to talk about his fascination with maps and a search takes place for one of the original markers used to delineate the original park…
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There’s Still Gold in Them Thar’ Hills
Many people may think the California Gold Rush ended in the 1850’s when prospectors gave up mining and turned to farming and other pursuits but they’d be wrong. California still has plenty of gold, if you know where to look. Union Democrat: About six miles outside of Columbia, where the old Gold Rush is mimicked,…