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Saturday, September 2nd C-Span with interview Dr. James B. Hunt for its Spokane Cities Tour of authors.  The details are as follows:

Book TV (on C-SPAN2, Comcast channel 28) –SATURDAY, September 2 at 4:30pm PT/ 7:30pm ET

·         American History TV (on C-SPAN3, Comcast channel 150) – SUNDAY, September 3 at 11am PT/ 2pm ET.

The videos will be available at the C-Span website: http://www.c-span.org

John Muir may have rested under this Live Oak in 1867-68.

While at Cedar Key Linda and I were hosted by a family that owns property on Hodgson Hill. The Live Oaks there were likely present when John Muir was recuperating from malaria in late 1867 and early, Jan. 1868. I read a passage from Muir’s journal to this couple that owns the property. They were moved to tears by the experience. It was delightful to discover a gopher turtle living at the base of the oak. Muir would have loved it. Linda and I were recipients of Southern hospitality as was Muir. We were treated to a lunch at the property owner’s home. You can see the spread and a picture of the gathering above. I also gave a presentation of Muir’s book at the Cedar Key public Library just down the street from Parson’s General Store which Muir used to buy citrus due to his malarial cravings. There was a standing room only crowd of enthusiastic attendees. Afterwards, we went to the Historical Society dinner. I, like Muir, discovered the genuine delights of Southern hospitality. It was a great day finished off with dessert and coffee at the Island Hotel and Restaurant, previously, Parson’s General Store. I shared a poem I wrote about my dining experience in 2007 when I did research and dined alone at the Hotel. The Hotel has posted it, for a time, on its website: http://www.islandhotel-cedarkey.com
All in all, Linda and I immensely enjoyed our time in Cedar Key, Florida. It is a delightful, laid back Gulf town.

St. Bonaventure Cemetery

This baptismal fount is in front of the Savannah Cathedral, St. John the Baptist.

The other pictures are also taken in Savannah including an Art Museum showing the big impact the arts currently have in Savannah with the growth of the Savannah School of Art and Design, a picture of a presentation at Book Lady bookstore, a convention of Golden Retrievers at St. Bonaventure–yes, the city has its eccentricities, and Linda and I visiting Savannah’s Cathedral, St. John the Baptist where we have, during our travels and in our family tradition, lighted votive candles in prayers for our children and other concerns.  I loved the use of the Celtic Cross which was at the bottom of the baptismal basin.  We also took in some music in Savannah attending its annual music festival that featured a world-class Kora player from Mali, Ballake Sissoko, accompanied with a German cellist,  Vincent Segal.  They played hauntingly beautiful music of their own compositions. They were double-billed with a Cajun and Creole band led by Cedric Watson, Dirk Powell and a wonderful harpist from Seattle.  It was a great and lively evening of music.  For a review check out:  http://www.billdawers.com/2013/03/22/a-stunning-smf-double-bill-sissoko-segal-watson-powell/

This is likely the Live Oak Muir lay against while recuperating from malaria on Hodgson Hill, Way Key, Cedar Kay, FL

Cedar Key is a lovely, laid back community on the Gulf of Mexico, north of Tampa. Muir came down with malaria in late October and had to stay here until early January, 1868 when he then shipped for Havana, Cuba. The rose is known as the Cherokee Rose, a memorial rose for the Cherokee’s Trail of Tears from Georgia to Florida in the 1830’s. Muir visited Camp Butler, while in Murphy, NC which was a staging point for the forced removal of the Cherokee tribes under order of Congress, the President and the Supreme Court. The removal was a travesty of justice given that the Cherokee had been American allies in wars against the British, other Native tribes and the Spanish and had developed well their lands and properties in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The sunrises and sunsets at Cedar Key are gorgeous. I spoke at the Cedar Key Public Library and then dined with the Historical Society. The local librarian, Molly Jublitz was very helpful in making arrangements along with my Southern publicist, Kathie Bennett. Molly organized a group for lunch on the Hodgson Hill and I got to read the portion of Muir’s journal where Muir rested under a Live Oak while recuperating from malaria. The owner’s of what was the Hodgson property believe this was the Live Oak Muir used under because it is as old and has a view of Lime Key. All in all, I had a beautiful time at Cedar Key with wonderful people. I experienced hospitality, just as Muir had done 145 years ago.

Christ Church, St. Simon’s Island, GA

As Linda and I went to St. Simon’s Island to give a lecture at Coastal Georgia University in nearby Brunswick, we visited Christ Church. This Church was built by a grieving pastor who lost his wife on their honeymoon while in Europe. He promised he would always be by her side. He brought her body home and built with care and grace this lovely church placing her body near the pulpit and gave sermons near her grave site. When he died, his body remained “by her side.” The careful choice of wood, framing with pegs and delightful gardens provided a lovely setting. Charles Wesley preached his first sermon under a nearby Live Oak thereby beginning the Methodist Church in Colonial Georgia in the early 1730’s as the colony was being established by James Oglethorpe. The fern on the Live Oak is known as the “Resurrection Fern” which comes alive after rainfall when before it is dried up and brown. The South is full of both beautiful nature and great stories. This was both a spiritual and visual delight.

From the mountains of Georgia, we drove 5 and half hours to Columbus, Georgia and then onto Callaway Gardens for presentations. At the Rose Cottage Bakery and Restaurant in Pine Mountain, Georgia near Callaway, we met Maria Makin who, with her husband, were world class chefs who served Nelson Mandela at his inaugural and were operating a delightful restaurant with first class food.  He had been executive chef for Four Seasons and Callaway Gardens, but were looking to simplify their lives and do their own thing.  Our conversation was rich and delightful.  Another gem was our opportunity to give a presentation at St. Nicholas Episcopal Church class and then worshipped with them. Father Jeff Jackson, known by his blog, The hiking priest, was a wonderful host. It was delightful to meet with the congregation at Hamilton, Georgia. Along the way, we stopped into the Oink Joint for Southern barbecue. It turned out this was an award winning place. At Columbus we provided a lecture on Muir at the International Student’s Center, then drove onto Callaway Gardens, where the above pictures show the flowers, chapel and grounds. It was a great day for hiking the privately developed gardens that was the dream of a Georgian who wanted to re-claim cut-over lands and provide a lovely setting for family fun to include golf, plantings, zip lines, boating, fishing and a wide variety of learning activities. It was a good turnout and we we delighted with the housing arrangements. All in all it was a beautiful experience.  Theodore Roethke’s phrase, “Love that which is near at hand” came to mind as I reflected on these gems, these big treasures in small places.  We would all do to keep our mind and eye’s open as we make our journey.  I’m grateful for these delights of travel.

Dahlonega and Young Harris, Georgia

Linda and I went into the Mountains of Georgia to share with students my enthusiasm for John Muir and his walk through the region in 1867. He went through Unicoi Gap, past Track Rock, Mt. Yonah, and Helen, Georgia. We went to North Georgia University to meet with a group of students and learned about their Appalacian Studies program. Afterwards, we went to a coffee shop with Rosann Kent, and students Jessica and Josh to talk about their plans and goals. We then drove to Young Harris, Georgia to meet with students on two occasions–a dinner around the table and then an evening program. We we delighted with the arrangements made in our behalf. It was gratifying seeing how these students were interested in learning about the wider world through off campus programs and international education. Many students had come from Atlanta to the mountains just to get closer to nature. Their outdoor recreation program had worked significantly to prepare them for the John Muir material; many had read Muir in preparation. Thomas Sterns was a wonderful host. It was a delight to see the energy and vibrancy of this two year college becoming a four year college. Lots of new construction, student enrollment growth and growth of faculty. All in all we had a delightful time in the mountains of Georgia. We also appreciated the night spent at Brasstown Valley Resort. The lodge was stunning and its views commanding.

One of the delights of a book tour is meeting new people, sharing your enthusiasm about John Muir and finding some delightful restaurants and Museums. These photos were taken in Griffin, Georgia. I was invited to an evening lecture series but had the day to explore central Florida. Linda and I had lunch at Barnstormer’s Grill which had a flying museum adjacent to the very fine restaurant. The private museum financed by a former Delta pilot had a classic car collection, bi-planes and 1920’s airplanes all of which worked and could fly. It was a bit cold, otherwise we would have gone up into the wild blue yonder. Linda put a couple of quarters into a functional player piano and we danced away to “Yakity Yak.” Fun! We also visited a garden that we learned about in a local radio interview. It was delightful to hear the bird calls and actually see flowering forsythia, tulips, cherry blossoms, daffodils and pansies. This was a great treat after our long winter in which ice is still melting in our back yard in Spokane. The speaking event went very well and was followed by a wonderful dinner and even more delightful conversation from our UGA at Griffin hosts. Excellent conversations about cultural differences, race, politics and life. The little town has a huge Baptist Church at the heart of the town. It has about 59% Afro-American and 41% white. School leaders are determined to assist their high school students to engage in travel so as to help them meet a goal of equipping them to get into college. So far it seems to be working, but economic pressures make these initiatives difficult.

Jim Hunt and Dr. Wayne Gardner being interviewed on radions, Griffin, GA

One of my surprises was having to adjust from a lecture format to a media format on both TV and radio. I found this to be both a challenging and delightful experience. Most profs don’t do pithy. But with only three minutes on Macon, GA TV interview, I really needed to compress my message–not easy but doable, and a good challenge. I’m grateful for some school kids in the audience. I also learned that I need to focus more on the camera and less on the interviewer. The give and take in radio was more casually paced, but also lively in its own way. The interviewer, the son of the station’s owner, had a down home intelligence and winsome personality that brought out the best in use with jokes, humorous images and, yet, lots of good information. So far, this has been a remarkable experience. We enjoyed learning about the University of Georgia at Griffin, an agricultural research college that had a delightful garden, that Linda and I visited, with lots of wonderful bird songs in the sunshine.