Hi, it’s Vanessa, your ENLIGHTENMENT host,
I love to travel, and read books about other amazing places I love and would love to visit. I’m hoping there are other travelers, both active and armchair, who feel the same. So for us, here is the Wanderlust Book Club, which will alternate every month with the Golden State Club (books about California.)
The special twist about my book clubs: I am going to invite a special guest to each club meeting, someone who is very connected to the theme of the book and can answer our questions about the topic. So even if you haven’t finished / opened the book, you can still ask questions and be part of the conversation.
Because I’d like to visit more National Parks, I’m kicking things off with Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park by Conor Knighton.
And because there’s so much turmoil going on with the National Park Service and National Forest Service right now, our special guests, a veteran park ranger and a supervisor for the Bureau of Land Management, will tell us what we need to know, and what to expect when planning our hikes and camping trips this summer..
OUR GUESTS:
Bill Kuntz, government land use planner, Bureai of Land Management
Jim Milestone, National Park Service ranger of 34 years, recently retired as Superintendent of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.
Below is the book description of “Leave Only Footprints.”.Join me at Ruhstaller BSMT for a book discussion over drinks, and to pick the next read.
* Ruhstaller BSMT has a variety of beers on tap, as well as wine, kombucha and nonalcoholic drinks — feel free to BYO food
Claim your seat - Register here on our Eventbrite page...
*****
When Conor Knighton set off to explore America's "best idea," he worried the whole thing could end up being his worst idea. A broken engagement and a broken heart had left him longing for a change of scenery, but the plan he'd cooked up in response had gone a bit overboard in that department: Over the course of a single year, Knighton would visit every national park in the country, from Acadia to Zion.
In Leave Only Footprints, Knighton shares informative and entertaining dispatches from what turned out to be the road trip of a lifetime. Whether he's waking up early for a naked scrub in a historic bathhouse in Arkansas or staying up late to stargaze along our loneliest highway in Nevada, Knighton weaves together the type of stories you're not likely to find in any guidebook. Through his unique lens, America the Beautiful becomes America the Captivating, the Hilarious, and the Inspiring. Along the way, he identifies the threads that tie these wildly different places together—and that tie us to nature—and reveals how his trip ended up changing his views on everything from God and love to politics and technology.
Filled with fascinating tidbits about our parks' past and reflections on their fragile future, this book is both a celebration of and a passionate case for the natural wonders that all Americans share.