The author notes that the smell of pine smoke always reminds him of summers spent where campfires were burning in the park. He describes how the park was from 1926 to 1932 when he visited every year. He highlights the difficult traveling into the park when there were few safe roads and the hiking destinations that were popular. He describes the recreational facilities and the lodge and the people who serviced the park operations including newspapers, food and drink, and construction workers as well as the assistant rangers that worked with his father for many years. Some of these assistants became the park ranger themselves later. Grandfather Bill Dool was chosen to be the first warden because of his skill in managing difficult social problems and the potential for him to stop the illegal timber theft that was rampant in the Big Basin area. He had the support of Henry Middleton who was a sponsor for conservations and he won out of Arthur Hill, the famous photographer who spearheaded the Sempervirens Club to conserve the park. Illegal timer harvest was stopped, the roads improved, and rules and rituals changed over the years. One interesting comparison between then and now is that the fallen trees are left to decompose rather than get cleaned up as was done earlier. The park today looks messier but also more natural.