Visiting John Muir’s Home
By Marc Ricketts
Alert readers may have noticed by now that since the Bay Area theme parks don’t have as much news as the ones to the south, I like to fill in some of the gaps by visiting my other favorite type of parks, the National ones. Few people are more connected to those than Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir. While there aren’t many Bay Area connections to the former President, Muir’s home still stands in Martinez at the John Muir National Historic Site. On April 18th, a celebration combining Muir’s birthday, Free Admission Day to kick off National Parks Week and Earth Day was held at the late naturalist’s ranch.
In addition to being able to explore the house, grounds, plus the Martinez Adobe and Carriage House like any other day, there were numerous venders, entertainment from the San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers and a persistent wait to access the bell tower and, c’mon, you know you want to, just pull the rope; hey, that is fun. Whether using your cell phone to hear the audio tour, or just marveling at the craftsmanship of the home and furnishings, or even just enjoying the bell tower view of the freeway that Muir neither had nor desired, perhaps hiking on Mount Wanda beyond, people found a way to enjoy themselves. Martinez isn’t in the heart of the San Francisco tourist district, and is likely to be missed by most visitors to the area; so please allow your humble narrator to take you on a tour via the miracle of digital photography.
For more information: www.nps.gov/jomu
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