February 2009. Scotland! No, I am not going to Scotland (yet!) but I have been in contact with a few people that are going to help out with our project. I now have people in Scotland that will be aquiring the shots of Muir's birth place and early childhood home, as well as the Dunbar region. I still hope to get there myself, as I still have much research to do. That trip will have to wait for more funding, though.

July/August 2008. Back to the Wilderness! "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." So said John Muir, and I will follow his advice. It has been a long time since I have been to the mountains, it seems. I need their "good tidings." I will come back with even more footage of the Sierra Nevada range.

February 2008. Production has reached a standstill. Sometimes life just gets in the way. We have run out of money, so no more filming for a while. Until more funds can be raised, it is back to more research and working on the scripts. I have found several new books about Muir, so I have a lot more reading to do. Somehow, I have got to be able to get up to Alaska, and also to recreate Muir's "1,000 mile walk to the Gulf." Don't worry, I'll keep working on it!

October/November 2007. Muirs life in Wisconsin. Thank You to ALL of the people that made this trip not only possible, but a success! (Canada-Withrow/funding, Daniel Einstein, Maurice Kearns, Paul Bourcier, Dave Driscoll, Andy Kraushaar, Erik Brynildson, Bob and Margie Brockway, and Wil and Sarah Reding.) What a trip! I have held in my hands some of the inventions that John Muir created. I have sat in the basement of his home where he made them! I have walked the shores of "Fountain Lake" where he learned to swim andbegan his life-long love of plants and animals. I have drunk from the well that he dug as a child, nearlydying from inhaling "choke damp" as he did so. And I have been inside the "Wee White Kirk" (church) where his father used to preach. All this, and So MuchMore. I need a rest now!

August 2007. I just spent a MONTH in the High Sierra back-country, hiking the John Muir Trail. (Along with Ken Kipers and Lee Terkelsen.) We have some incredible footage of the mountains, peaks, passes, woods, streams, "plant people" and animals that John Muir worked so hard to protect. This is the last of the "physically" hard parts of filming the documentaries. Now, back to more logistics for the other travel portions.

June 2007. More trips planned. Oh, how I love logistical challenges! We currently have two back-to-back trips in the works: one going back to California for some work in the Sierra back-country, and another to Wisconsin and the boyhood home of John Muir. From measuring and re-packaging food to calculating miles and (rising!) transportation costs, we certainly have our hands full. The film/tape has been ordered, permits have been secured, equipment has been checked, and the truck is almost packed. I guess it is time for the "work" to get started! (Why am I already tired?) -Jim-

April 2007. Three fast weeks in California! Spent two days filming in Muir's home in Martinez, CA. Thanks to David Blackburn for all of the time and freedom to walk around. And also thank you for taking us to the Muir gravesite. Then, we spent a few days in Yosemite Valley with Lee Stetson. It was quite moving to see "John Muir" actually walking through the valley. I had some help on this trip, with Wendel Withrow and Ken Kipers helping out on camera, and Kathy McCrain keeping us all on-time and helping out with logistics. Thanks to "The Crew" for all of your hard work. -Jim-

Winter, 2007. More research! I have spent several months doing research, working with writers, making phone calls, and setting up logistics for the coming year. New equipment has been purchased that should make the video look even better. Steadi-cam shots look really nice, but take a lot of practice to get "just right." Many thanks to Lee Stetson for becoming the voice and face of John Muir for the documentary! -Jim-

July/August 2006. The first of many trips to California. Climbing and hiking in the back-country wilderness areas is always fun, but this time I am carying an extra 25 pounds of camera gear. But before that gets started, I have several interviews to conduct. (Dr. Bonnie Gisel, NPS Ranger Frank Helling, Harold Wood.) Thanks to Frank, I have found and photographed a tree that Muir sketched. The "Muir snag" still stands in Kings Canyon, and if you look closely, it is pretty easy to find. Of course, seeing all of the dead stumps and forgotten and abandoned corpses of the giant Sequoias in "Stump Meadow" brought a tear to my eye. How could "Lord Man" have been so arrogant as to destroy such magnificent trees? -Jim-

March 2006. The John Muir biography is underway! Logistics have been handled, phone calls have been made, a million emails have whirled through cyber-space, and I have finally hit the road. The first stop is in Lexington, KY to begin research on Muirs "1,000 mile walk to the Gulf." The highlight of the trip was interviewing Dr. Richard Shore. I have a lot to learn! -Jim-