rock band today I would be following him around the country in my VW
van. I was first drawn to Yosemite after reading Muir's "My First
Summer in the Sierra". We went to Madison, Wisconsin to see his
childhood American home and the desk he created while in college. I
even trespassed onto his original boyhood farm and got chased off by
the landlord. So, today is the day I set foot in the very home he was
born in on the coast in Dunbar, Scotland.
Sally was enjoying the morning sleeping, so I went out for a walk. I
have to admit it was hard to stay in the room last evening, knowing
Muir's ancestrial home was just a few blocks away.
This morning I was greeted with clear skies, warming sun and the
strong scent of the sea as I walked along this famous North Sea town,
home to Dunbar Castle and the world's most famous and effective
conservationist. I found his home on High Street, right on the main
street of town. His ultra religious dad ran a meal shop (oats, wheat,
barley) in the ground floor at street level and the family lived
upstairs.
The house turned museum did not open until 11, so I walked back to the
hotel, woke Sally, went for another walk while she showered and
dressed, had breakfast downstairs and then we walked to town to see
what we could find before the Muir museum opened.
What we found was as beautiful a small Scottish seaside town as you
could imagine, and on the shore the remains of Dunbar Castle. This
castle served a prominent roll in Scottish history, yet was torn down
in the 1850's, the stones used to build the current harbor. Enough of
the castle foundation exists to give a feel for it's former size and
position, and the sea gulls have turned parts into extensive
rookeries. We walked the waterfront, then turned up to Muir's home.
To accomodate a museum is such a small building the entire house was
gutted so that only the outside walls remain. The interior now has a
free standing three story interior. The ground floor discusses Muir's
life in Dunbar as a kid and it's magnificent natural surrounding's
influence on Muir. The second story us about Muir in America,
especially his connection to the Sierra's and Yosemite. The top floor
provides environmental news and suggestions about how to make a
difference in the world, as did Muir. The displays are excellent, with
many, many quotes from Muir's writings. I get pretty choked up when
reading his words. This display evoked the same response. Truly, the
power of one person.
We left Dunbar a little after noon and headway for Oldmeldrum near
Aberdeen. Sally again guided me with expertise through the labyrinth
of highways surrounding Edinburgh and we were soon heading north,
passing through Dundee. We stopped at Dunnottar Castle, near
Stonehaven. This famous castle ruin is located at the top of the
cliffs on a promentory overlooking the North Sea. Position,
Position, Position. See the pictures along with this post rather than
suffer through an inadequate description.
We continued northward passing through Aberdeen just in time for rush
hour. About a hundred traffic circles later and we were out of
Aberdeen and headed for Geoff and Lorna's house just outside
Oldmeldrum. We had stopped to purchase beer for our hosts. For Lorna
we got a bottle of Red Speckled Hen beer because a dog had recently
attacked and killed one of her hens and for Geoff we got Bitter and
Twisted beer, what we thought was an appropriate name for this
outrageously fun loving and gregarious Scotsman. We arrived about 5,
had a chat, then loaded into their Mitsubishi Shogun to visit an
Estate near them home. On the way we stopped at a 14th century church
just down the road and looked at some very cool headstones, some with
skull and crossbones, then onto the estate.
Scotland has a huge number of extremely large estates (1000s or
10000's of acres in size) that landed families can no longer afford.
They give them to the Scottish Trust. At this point they are open to
the public and maintained by the trust. One can tour the castle,
repleat with the last occupant's furnishing and picnic or stroll the
grounds. There are hundreds of such sites and the number grows each
year as more and more of the uber wealthy redistibute the hoarded
wealth back to the people.
We stopped to pick up the daughters at the golf course where we had
dropped them before our tour (they are great kids but hanging out in
graveyards and estates with old fogeys is too much to ask of even the
best of the best) and after a late evening chat called it a day.
Chuck
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