Forum Index > Trip Reports > Trip Report: John Muir gravesite 1/14/02
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Barron Brown
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Barron Brown
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PostFri Jan 17, 2003 12:08 am 
I paid my respects to the old man of the mountains this week on the way back to Washington from Southern CA. My family and I had driven down to San Diego last week for a family reunion. On the way South we had stopped to visit the graves of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, at my wife's request, so it seemed fitting that we stop at Muir's grave on the way back North. The John Muir National Historic Site is located in Martinez, California, on San Pablo Bay in the Northeast corner of the SF Bay area. The site is based at the property where Muir lived in the latter half of his life, after most of his Sierra explorations but before his Alaska activities; he and his father-in-law were partners in a large and successful orchard there. I was somewhat curious about the site itself, but more interested in visiting his grave. I knew from a web search that he was buried in Martinez (he died in a Los Angeles hospital on Christmas Eve 1914, after taking sick while visiting his daughter there), and I figured it was at the site, but upon further thought I realized that he might be buried in the local cemetery. We arrived at the site at lunchtime Tuesday, but were disappointed to find it closed. We ate lunch in town, across from the old train station where Muir doubtless boarded the train that took him on his last trip, and where his body would have been delivered home. After eating, we wandered the streets of this small town a little; I posed my question to the proprietor of a used bookstore. She knew where Muir lay, more or less, and was willing to help us out. Muir's grave is on a corner of his father-in-law's original estate. The problem is that the property was divided and sold some time ago, with a good half of it being turned into a neighborhood in the 50's or 60's. The family plot has been surrounded by suburban homes. "People aren't encouraged to go there", she said, so as not to disturb the local residents. She knew the main street to take to get there, but was not sure which side street to turn on after that. She said the grave was a little ways off the street, but not on anyone else's property. We walked to the Martinez Museum and asked the kindly couple in attendance if they could help us. They were not able or willing to assist us, and expressed disapproval of our plan. "No one goes there," they said. "It's on private property." Unlike the bookstore owner, they seemed not to have ever been there themselves. Expecting little chance to glean more information from the town, we set out to explore. We drove back South out of the small town of Martinez, back under Highway 4, about a mile South of the Historic Site. We went up and down a few side streets but found nothing. Time was a-wasting if we were to make it to Ashland that evening with all three children in a good mood. My wife suggested we call a friend at Starbucks headquarters and have him do a Google search. I stood outside the car admiring a huge eucalyptus while dialing. We were in luck; he was at his desk. He began to read aloud from one web account, "Muir is buried close to the waters of Alhambra creek, near a giant White Eucalyptus he carried as a seedling from Down Under..." "I can see the tree!" I shouted. We headed past the giant tree, clearly older and thicker than most in the area, but there was no sign of a family plot at its base, where three back yard fences closely met. On we went, 200 yards or so down the small street to its end. There was a vacant lot here, and across the street were several orchard trees which appeared to pre-date the neighborhood. We must be close, but it couldn't be seen. I began to drive back out in dejection, still going slowly and peering between houses. Then my wife called out, "There it is." The small plot was across the creek, at the corner of the orchard, almost hidden by a grove of larger trees. The vacant lot gave access to the creek. I scrambled down and across, noting a few relatively fresh footprints as I did so. Apparently I was not the only pilgrim in recent memory. The plot is fenced with iron, about 20 by 30 feet, and contains the small stones marking the graves of Muir and his wife, Louie Strentzel, as well as those of one of their daughters and her husband. The largest stone marks the grave of the Strentzel patriarch, Louie's father (I have photos but haven't developed them, and can't remember the name). Besides the small grove of orchard trees and the creek, the area is completely surrounded by a 1950s California neighborhood. How strange it was to stand at the resting place of this great man, lover of wild nature, seeker of lonely places, himself now surrounded by dull suburban dwellings. But in spite of the surroundings, it was a peaceful place. I can feel the spirit of John Muir and others like him, in such small and quiet places as these. To reach the gravesite, take Interstate 680 to California Highway 4, West toward Martinez. Take the Downtown Martinez exit: the Muir historic site is just North of the highway. Turn back under the highway and proceed South on Alhambra Road to the first signal. Bear right on Alhambra Valley Road. Proceed a short distance, maybe 1/2 mile, to Alhambra Creek and the giant eucalyptus. Turn left on the first street past the eucalyptus and the creek. Proceed to its end, cross the creek at the vacant lot, and bear upstream (left) about 50 feet. Try to be respectful of the neighbors, as I'm sure Muir himself would desire. One last note: the National Park service has apparently purchased the vacant lot above mentioned, and has arranged with Muir's descendants to provide access to the site, to be completed in the next 1 to 2 years. This ought to be a valuable addition to the historic site already present. If you want to get there John Muir style, and experience the place in secret (if not exactly solitude), better go soon.

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Odonata
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PostFri Jan 17, 2003 7:08 pm 
Thanks Norm, that was cool. There was a entertaining story on npr this week about a county supervisor of Yosemite that is also an actor that portrays John Muir on stage. This guys got the accent and everything. He's makin the local landowners pig biting mad.

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