“Water and sky, mountain and forest, clad in sunshine and clouds, are composed in landscapes sublime in magnitude, yet exquisitely fine and fresh, and full of glad, rejoicing life.” A tender, gentle love note to Puget Sound delivered by perhaps the most deft hand possible: John Muir. He marveled in 1889 at the abundant wildlife, the “beautiful curves around bays,” and “the islands, with soft, waving outlines, lavishly adorned with spruces and cedars.”

His words paint a picture of a land of riches, of a land full of life and potential. His travels to Puget Sound and through the S...