San Francisco

My last trip to California was less than 10 years ago. At that time, the Midwest was lush with tall vast acres of green corn. Today I noticed big changes in those fields.. A record heat wave has scorched the land and created desolate brown splotches below us as I fly across the United States towards San Francisco. Below me, I see vast fields of natural gas wells as I fly above Colorado. A new technology called "fracking" has enabled mega corporations to profitably harvest this resource but it also emits a deadly methane gas which harms the environment. Before our trip is over, we will experience 109 degree heat on the train in Fresno. I wonder if this foretells the inevitable in my home state of West Virginia.

Our tour group consists of around 40 travelers this year. Most of them are retired professional people. One is a doctor, another is a practicing lawyer, and another is a school teacher. The rest appear to be former businessmen and women. There are also several former Foreign Service people on this trip.

Our tour revolves around the naturalist icon of John Muir and the giant redwood trees. John Muir was born in Scotland and raised under the Calvinist theology of his father. Upon entering the United States, he soon found himself in the midst of a horrible civil war and the possibility of forced enlistment in the armed forces. He quickly fled to Canada and lived there until the end of war.

Although self taught, he was an expert in Botany and Geology. He heard tales of giant redwood trees in the wild places near San Francisco and wanted to see them.  Our first sighting of these trees would be just outside the San Francisco city limits in a grove of coastal redwoods appropriately named John Muir woods. These trees are not the largest of the giant redwoods but are the tallest of the species. We got our first glimpse of them in the higher elevations above the town of Sausalito.

This is the second trip Marilyn and I have taken with the Tauck Company. Our first was to Scotland, Whales, and England. Their guides are the best in the business, their lodging is superb in both quality and location, and the coach service is outstanding. As an example, we are staying at the Weston hotel in Union Square; it's the shopping hub of this section of the city and Macy's is just across the street.