The Camping Trip That Changed America by Barb Rosenstock

President Theodore Roosevelt was an outdoorsman, everyone knows that.

In the back of the book are quotations from Muir and Roosevelt and information on historical information about that little known camping trip, a trip that influenced the establishment of our National Parks. The sequoias are being felled and the settled landscape is darkened by pollution spewing into the air. For example, when Johnnie is talking to Teedie, we see a portrait of the ills that could have come had Yosemite been overtaken by greed and settled. The artwork swirls though the pages, subtly capturing scenes that tell the story of that little known camping trip. The story captures both men's lighthearted sides, but also the seriousness of the situation at hand, the potential demise of our nation's wilderness areas. The dashing personality of Roosevelt's along with Muir's determined one comes alive in the vibrant pages of this book. This is an amazing story of two men, Teedie and Johnnie whose little camping trip altered history. The stories continued, but if people destroyed the wilderness what stories would they have to share? Could Teedie and Johnnie do anything about it?

The horses flew like the wind and Teedie began to shout, 'I feel like a runaway schoolboy.' He grew silent as he saw the towering sequoias in Mariposa Grove, laughed when Johnnie told him the stories about that great growling grizzly, and became awestruck at the sight of Glacier Point.

Soon they were off, heading for their camp. The bands played, the people waved, and so Johnnie would have to wait. Teddy, as the newspapers called him, loved the crowds. The trip was planned and soon the men would meet. Johnnie was asking for help because the 'wild forests were vanishing.' Teddie decided to write him a letter asking him to 'take him camping in California's Yosemite wilderness' so he could see the situation for himself. It was one of Johnnie's books, something about his adventures in the Sierra Mountains. In March of 1903, Teddie sat down in his overstuffed chair, put up his slippered feet and began to read. It didn't seem likely that the president of the United States would cotton to a naturalist, but stranger things have happened. Teedie, better known as Theodore Roosevelt to those outside his family, was from 'one of the oldest, richest families in New York City.' John 'Johnnie' Muir on the other hand came from a family of 'poor immigrant farmers.' Teedie was short, Johnnie was tall, but one thing for certain was that they both loved the outdoors and a darn good story. It could be said that Teedie and Johnnie were as different as night and day.

The Camping Trip That Changed America by Barb Rosenstock