04/26/2015 10:25 AM EDT
Last week marked what would have been the 177th birthday of the father of national parks! On April 21, 1838, America’s most famous naturalist and conservationist – John Muir – was born. Muir fought to protect America’s wild places, and his writings convinced the government to conserve special sites like Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks in California. Photo Sequoia National Park along the iconic John Muir Trail by Jeff Sambur (www.sharetheexperience.org).