Just released: HISTORIC REDWOOD NATIONAL AND STATE PARKS ... Leave a comment...Win a copy! by Gail L. Jenner

I just have to share that my newest nonfiction book, HISTORIC REDWOOD NATIONAL AND STATE PARKS, from Lyons Press, has just been released. In celebration ---- please leave a comment, and on Wednesday, I will draw a name -- the winner to receive a signed copy of the paperback.

Perhaps share about your own trek to the redwoods --- have you been recently? Did you know how amazing and unique these trees are.....?

Did you know, for example, that a redwood cone is about the size of an OLIVE and contains anywhere from 60 to 120 seeds; it takes more than 100,000 seeds to weigh a pound....and while one tree can drop 10 MILLION seeds, only a few will mature. Moreover, though redwoods can be made to grow in other environments, the giant redwoods need a specific habitat -- the 250-mile-long north-south belt that stretches from 1 to 2 miles offshore to not more than 50 miles inland. They thrive in the coastal fog belt and create their own "microclimate" because of it. Through transpiration, each tree can release five hundred gallons of water into the air every day; a large redwood actually holds about 34,000 pounds of water!

Amazing? Absolutely! Unique? Undoubtedly......

As a way of sharing the inspiration behind this new book, this is what I wrote as part of the Introduction....

"...when you truly get off the beaten track and immerse yourself in the deep shade and overwhelmingly peaceful and stunning world found within, under, and around the Tall Trees, it takes your breath away. In the silence you have to sigh and inhale deeply; even the scent of the trees and abounding undergrowth awakes the deepest part of your nature. Finally you begin to sense the otherworldly character of these ancient, massive trees. They speak of time -- and the passage of time. Some are six hundred years old; some are a thousand years old. A few are, perhaps, two thousand years old. Some stand over 350 feet tall, with a girth of 15-20 feet. Whatever their height or breadth, however, they are magnificent. They are awe-inspiring, and they speak of a past cloaked in mystery and rich history."

The project, which was offered me one year ago, was one I wasn't necessarily seeking, but of course, I jumped at the opportunity. I always love history and the history of the region where I live is something I relish. The project was intense and required a lot of heavy research as well as travel (but whoever objects to travel?!). I found the subject wonderfully challenging and much more involved than I realized at the onset. There has been a convoluted history to the development of the Redwood National Park (not created until 1968). That it was eventually incorporated with three state parks was also a process.

The deadline for putting HISTORIC REDWOOD NATIONAL AND STATE PARKS together came quickly, and the final manuscript went through several revisions. But I believe that has made it a better volume for anyone who wants a survey of the history of -- not only the Parks themselves -- but the immediate vicinity.

The book is more conversational in style -- not a typical "history" -- but more of a series of essay-formatted chapters. Hopefully, the book will bring alive the trees that are unique and timeless, from ancient times to pre-contact and tribal histories, through the gold rush and settlement periods, to the era of big logging and then to the present development of the state and national park -- in addition to sidebars of interest and personages of importance. In addition, the book features historic photos. Some of the chapter titles include: Those Amazing Redwoods: How They Came to Be; How Native Americans' Roots Are Connected to the Redwoods; Gold Brings Men and Violence to the Redwood Country; Logging: How the Redwoods Became a Source of Wealth; Conservation Grows Out of Fear; The Redwood Highway Cuts a Path through the Trees; and more.....

The book is available on amazon.com and should be available through bookstores, as well. 

As Minni Reeves, Chilulua tribal leader and religious leader, Hupa Indian Reservation, said in a 1976 interview: "The redwood trees have a lot of power; they are the tallest, live the longest, and are the most beautiful trees in the world. Destroy these trees and you destroy the Creator's love. And if you destroy that which the Creator loves so much, you will eventually destroy mankind."

So share a comment --- share your own experience with the redwoods --- and I'll be drawing a name for a free copy of HISTORIC REDWOOD NATIONAL AND STATE PARKS.

And don't forget to visit YOUR nearest National Park this year in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the NPS....and if you have never been to the redwoods or haven't been there recently, I recommend it as one of the West's most outstanding parks. 

Gail L. Jenner has authored or co-authored 7 nonfiction regional histories, in addition to her historical novels, including the WILLA Award-winning Across the Sweet Grass Hills, published by Prairie Rose Publishing.

Check out her website: www.gailjenner.com

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@ AuthorGailJenner

Sierra Nevada Explorers

I spent the last week on a research trip traveling up and down Highway 395 in eastern California and the Carson Valley of Nevada. My goal: take more pictures and do more research for my Eastern Sierra Brides 1884 novella series.

North of Bridgeport I found this historical marker regarding John C. Fremont's attempt to find a pass over the Sierra Nevada mountains that would take him and his party to Sutter's Fort near Sacramento.

The text of the plaque titled Fremont's Trail 1844 reads as follows:

Fremont's Trail 1844 marker

On January 27^th, a cold, winter day in 1844, Captain John C. Fremont and his guide, Kit Carson, led a small band of half-starved men west past this point. They were in search of the fabled Buena Ventura River which they believed would give them easy passage through the high range to the west and on to the fort of John Sutter. A short way northwest of here, they were forced to abandon their howitzer because of the deep snow, as their tired men could no longer pull the 1,500 pound gun and caisson. In desperation, Fremont decided to force a winter crossing of the great Sierra Nevada. They succeeded, and with his band of courageous men, reprovisioned themselves at Sutter’s Fort and then

Looking towards eastern slope Sierra Nevadas

recrossed the Great Basin, arriving in St. Louis, Missouri on August 6, 1844. A year later, Fremont

was back in California and was the United States officer who, on January 15, 1847, received the surrender of the California forces under General Andres Pico at Cahuenga Pass.

 Plaque dedicated September 10, 1977 Bodie Chapter of E Clampus Vitus, Mono County Board of Supervisors

Lost Cannon Creek looking west

In what is known as Little Antelope Valley, which is immediately west of Antelope Valley through which Hwy 395 runs, is a creek known as Lost Cannon Creek. It is believed that the howitzer mentioned in the plaque was abandoned somewhere along this creek, possibly as the men attempted to cross the tops of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the west. Although it is known from expedition records where the cannon had been abandoned, it has never been found.

Lost Cannon Creek looking east

Eventually, the men found a pass further to the north which Fremont named after his guide, Kit Carson. Carson Pass, which tops out at a little over 8,500 feet, is the route I traveled to and from where we stayed in Antelope Valley.

Carson Pass after a snowstorm in May 2015

In looking into the history of the first European adventurers to enter the valleys east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, I discovered that the first on record is Jedidiah Smith and his party in 1827. However, he did not enter California over the top of the Sierra Nevadas. In 1826 he traveled west through the Great Salt Lake valley, and down what is now Utah, followed the Colorado River and turn west in order to skirt the Sierra Nevada mountains on the south. He crossed Cajon pass, which at 3,776 feet, is less than half the altitude of the northerly Carson Pass. Today, Highway 15 linking Los Angeles, CA to Las Vegas, NV crosses Cajon Pass.

Jedediah Smith

In 1826, all of the territory through which Jedediah Smith et al traveled was owned by Mexico. They were not sent by the U.S. government, but as part of a private venture to scout out new beaver hunting sites. The Smith party arrived at the San Gabriel mission between San Diego and Los Angeles, where they were welcomed by the monks with a memorable feast. However, once their arrival came to the attention of then-governor of Alta California, Jose Maria Echeandia, Smith and his men were put under arrest. In spite of Smith's insistence that the men were there to earn money for food and supplies to continue their journey home, the Mexican government remained suspicious of their motives, fearing encroachment on Mexican territory by U.S. citizens. Eventually he ordered the men to leave the way they came with a promise to never return to California again.

Jedediah Smith trail - First trip in red

Jedediah Smith did leave the way he came, but only until he crossed the Cajon Pass. He turned north and followed the Old Tejon Pass up to the San Joaquin Valley. By early May 1827, the men had gathered over 1,500 beaver pelts which they needed to get to the Rendezvous near the Great Salt Lake. They started north and east up the American River canyon, looking for the fabled Buenaventura River which would take them over a  pass through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Due to heavy snow, they turned back and traveled south to the Stanislaus River, a river with which I am quite familiar since I lived within miles of it for many years and rafted down it a couple of times (the lower river, no white water). There they turned east and crossed the Sierra Nevada Mountains over the area that today is known as Ebbetts Pass.

Even with paved road, this is a very steep and winding road, with very tight hairpin curves on the eastern slope. To provide an example, my husband and took a three cylinder Daihatsu over Ebbetts Pass about twenty years ago. We traveled the route just fine until we tried to come home. The engine on the car was not powerful enough to make it up the east slope. We had to turn around and travel north to Carson Pass in order to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

From 1844 and the exploration of John Fremont into then-Mexican territory searching for a pass over the Sierra Nevada mountains to my stories set in 1884 Lundy and Bridgeport is a mere forty years. In that time, California became a state in the United States of America, gold and silver had been discovered, and all manner of fortune-seekers had moved into the region. The Eastern Sierra Brides 1884 is a series of novellas set in this exciting historical period of time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 Zina Abbott is the pen name used by Robyn Echols for her historical novels. Her novel, Family Secrets, was published by Fire Star Press in October 2014 and her novelette, A Christmas Promise, was published by Prairie Rose Publications in November 2014. The first two novellas in the Eastern Sierra Brides 1884 series, Big Meadows Valentine and A Resurrected Heart, are now available.

The author currently lives with her husband in California near the “Gateway to Yosemite.” She enjoys family history and any kind of history. When she is not piecing together novel plots, she pieces together quilt blocks.

Please visit the Zina Abbott’s Amazon Author Page by clicking HERE.