“There is a love of wild nature in everybody, an ancient mother-love showing itself whether recognized or no, and however covered by cares and duties”
― John Muir

My husband and I had the great pleasure of visiting the Yosemite National Park in October. The majestic beauty is so stunning. No words or images can fully capture what was in our hearts as we hiked through these enchanted places. But these quotes by John Muir (and one by Ansel Adams) come close.

“[N]o temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite. Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life. Some lean back in majestic repose; others, absolutely sheer or nearly so for thousands of feet, advance beyond their companions in thoughtful attitudes, giving welcome to storms and calms alike, seemingly aware, yet heedless, of everything going on about them.”
― John Muir, The Yosemite

“. . . the radiant host of trees stand hushed and thoughtful . . . ” –John Muir

“How deeply with beauty is beauty overlaid! the crystals with mosses and lichens and low-spreading grasses . . . .” John Muir.

“Yonder stands South Dome, . . . a most noble rock, it seems full of thought, clothed with living light . . . all spiritualized . . . steadfast in serene strength like a god.” –John Muir

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe,” John Muir.”

“Walk the Sequoia woods at any time of year and you will say they are the most beautiful and majestic on earth.” -John Muir

“The great rocks of Yosemite, expressing qualities of timeless yet intimate grandeur, are the most compelling formations of their kind. We should not casually pass them by, for they are the very heart of the earth speaking to us.” –Ansel Adams

“The highest and youngest of all the lakes lie nestled in glacier wombs . . . overshadowed by harsh, gloomy, crumbling precipices. Their waters are keen ultramarine blue in the deepest parts, lively grass-green toward the shore shallows . . . .” –John Muir

“These beautiful days must enrich all my life. They do not exist as mere pictures . . . but they saturate every part of the body and live always,” John Muir.