John Muir House Tour

I know, I  know! We JUST get back from Spring Break and off we go on a field trip!

Ah, that's the beauty of homeschooling!

We started off with a quick Youtube biography of John Muir. Check it out for yourself here.

I've always thought of this man as inspiring in the areas of conservation and exploration. 

I did not know he was also a Scottish immigrant and creator inventor.

He traveled around like a tramp for a good deal of his life.  

Going as far as Alaska to find glaciers, like this one which was eventually named after him:

But when he finally meet and married his wife, he decided to
 settle down for 10 years to support his family.

In that one decade he made more than 4 times what most of us will see in our lifetime.

His trade?  Fruit trees.  

Aside from being a wise businessman, he was also an author.  Eventually penning more than a dozen books.

But even as a published author, it was his passion for conserving nature that made him famous.

He started the Sierra Club and even had the privilege of camping
 for a few days with President Theodore Roosevelt. 

At home he lived humbly with his two daughters and his wife.

And he didn't live in this 10,000 sq ft mansion until the very end of his life.  

It was originally his father-in-law's retirement home.

All the touches of elegance were most likely there from his in-laws.   

Factoids aside, we thoroughly enjoyed our docent.

Seriously, we (mommas of the group) offered to pay him to tour other CA parks with our group!

He told engaging stories, but more than that he wasn't the least bit condescending to the kids.

And that is a quality I admire in an adult leader!

We ended the tour up in the attic ringing the bell in the tower.  

And from a photographic standpoint the lighting was amazing!

After our tour we hung out near the Adobe house on site and had lunch.

I couldn't believe what a warm day it was....but the kids ran around this orchard like it was going out of style.  The perfect ending to a fantastic field trip!

Just ask him....

no never mind he was too hot to answer respectfully ;)

Nothing we love more than learning alongside great friends.

Here is just a few of our crew:

And John Muir, we'll be back to hike your trails next time.