I visited Muir Woods/Beach with my dad this week. I remember studying Gifford Pinchot, John Muir, etc. in school, but seeing the nature that fueled their activism in person was far superior to the lo-fi slideshows. I captured some decent photos - it made my life that one of my dad’s friends joked that they looked like Ansel Adams, the nature photographer. Steve Jobs would be proud.
Some interesting tidbits I came away with: 1) the Spotted Owl and other birds are being displaced by the Barred Owl. The woods were noticeably quiet because of this. Should humans intervene or is it survival of the fittest? 2) The land was purchased by William Kent for $45k in the early 1900s. 3) In 1907, a water company in Sausalito wanted to build a dam nearby which would have flooded the area. The Kents eventually donated the land to the federal government to avoid losing it in the local courts and save it from destruction.
It was also cool to hang out with my dad - he is 9 years cancer-free this month. He has an amazing story of miraculous healing from stage IV metastatic melanoma thanks to God and modern medicine.
