The Scot’s Cali III~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS

(click/tap to enlarge)

I am reading John Muir’s, “My First Summer in the Sierras,” published in 1911.

Note the horse hoof tracks in the sand, these are the wild mustangs of Mono Lake:

https://cindyknoke.com/tag/mono-lake-wild-horse-photography

Muir’s diary is replete with his illustrations.

As I walked where he walked, I was struck,

by how he views nature as a sacrament.

He finds not just solace here,

but spiritual joy.

Of Mono Lake, he wrote, “I never beheld a place where beauty was written in plainer characters or where the tender fostering hand of the Great Gardener was more directly visible.”

He went all over the world,

but his name and imprint are all over California forests and trails, and the university I attended.

He called Mono Lake “a marvel,” and knew the brine shrimp were the only permanent residents of “the ancient lake.”

He wrote this in 1869 and he couldn’t be more correct today. He traveled on foot in The Sierras with pencil and paper. I wonder how he knew all this?

Thousands of migrating birds rely on the lake’s brine shrimp for sustenance as they migrate every year.

Los Angeles continues to siphon water from the lake and the lake continues to dry and shrink.

My Scottish immigrant grandmother who arrived in the US in the early 1900’s never read John Muir, but she loved Scotland, and so did he.

Cheers to you from The Scotsman of The Sierras~

See: https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/my_first_summer_in_the_sierra/

Discover more from Cindy Knoke

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

246 thoughts on “The Scot’s Cali III~”

  13. What an extraordinary and beautiful landcsape and a wonderful piece of wriing to accompany it. Does Los Angeles continue to plunder this lake? They may feel they have no alternative, but before too long, they’ll have to find one.

    Reply

    1. Thank you sincerely Margaret. Unfortunately, yes, LA continues to siphon from the lake’s water supply. We just had three big storms in Southern California and LA said they would use less than their mandated maximum, but then changed their minds. The horrible fires probably influenced this decision. Southern California is essentially a desert with a very large, thirsty population ࿔*:･ﾟᨒ↟

      Reply

  20. wonderfully captured, cindy! 👌👍🌟✨💫

    mention of muir always makes me think of my late parents liking for the country park named after him in his home town of Dunbar…

    —🙞🙟🙥🙤☙❀❁❦❁❀❧🙦🙧🙝🙜—

    Reply
  25. Alethea Kehas

    I can relate to finding nature as a sacrament. Not being a religious individual, I often turn to nature to find connection to the divine.

    Reply

  27. What a spectacular place… and beautifully captured. Thank you Cindy ❣️
    John Muir comes from East Lothian in Scotland, where my family is. To honor him there is a John Muir Way which follows footpaths and from the east coast to west. Not nearly as spectacular as the US landscapes!

    Reply

    1. It is an incredibly small world isn’t it and Muir walked lots of it! The trail sounds spectacular, like Scotland itself which has such incredible beauty and windswept moody landscape. I would love to hike that trail. I first traveled through Scotland when I was 16 for a summer and it left an indelible impression on me. I saw the moors and the heather my grandmother was always talking about and I went skiing in summer! Such a stunning place ࿔*:･ﾟᨒ↟

      Reply

  29. Taking the time to closely observe and commune with nature like Muir did helped him achieve his incredible insights 💚 So many people could stand to learn from that (if politicians did that, they wouldn’t be so greedy and ready to ravage the planet for their own gains).

    Reply

    1. I wonder if they are even capable of experiencing wonder in nature. Some people, as hard as it is for me to comprehend, are unmoved by nature. It is absolutely true that if they were able to understand and appreciate that nature is our sacred gift, they would revere and protect it ࿔*:･ﾟᨒ↟

      Reply

    1. He wrote another one entitled, “My Thousand Mile Walk to The Gulf.” He walked from Kentucky, if I recall correctly, I read it a long time ago, to The Gulf of Mexico in in 1867. The diary was published as a book around 1916. It is an incredible feat and book ࿔*:･ﾟᨒ↟

      Reply

    1. Yes the lake itself is too salty. LA siphons fresh water from the streams and tributaries that feed the lake, causing the lake to become even more salty, making it shrink, endangering the brine shrimp that live in it, which feed the many thousands of migrating birds that depend on it. The shrinking of the lake is evident when you visit, you can see the recently exposed and more vulnerable tufas. It is almost 9 feet below state mandated levels now ࿔*:･ﾟᨒ↟

      Reply

    1. I really love Muir’s illustrations. He sketches lots of the scenery he describes and I finally found a book with his complete illustrations. It brings it all to life for me. His botanical knowledge alone is encyclopedic ࿔*:･ﾟᨒ↟

      Reply

  40. Aww, this is beautiful, Cindy. Stunning photography! LA water district stopped siphoning water decades ago, at least from the tributaries flowing into the lake. Mono Lake and surrounds is a national monument. In any case, climate change is likely responsible for the lack of rainfall and water. My great grandparents immigrated from Scotland. Muir knew what he was writing about. I got tears reading this.

    Reply

    1. Mammoth and The Sierras got hit with several atmospheric rivers that sat and dumped snow and rain. The rest of Central and Southern California is again in drought, although we just got three storms with another possibly on the way. My guess is that most of Cali will remain in drought conditions even after the rains. ࿔*:･ﾟᨒ↟

      Reply

    1. Yes. There was an atmospheric river (several actually) that sat over the basin so water was collected locally from this, but that did not stop the DWP from siphoning the maximum amount of water possible from the lake that month. The lake is currently 8.7 feet below state mandated levels ࿔*:･ﾟᨒ↟

      Reply

Leave a Reply