lead van and an escort," Tufty laughs. "Here, the camera was bouncing off the roof of the cab and slamming back down on my shoulder. [The ranger] was driving so fast, we lost our follow crew. And we'd only gone out with two batteries and a few data cards." Vassar recounts how their back-up van had to follow the Medivac copter just to find the rescue scene, and provide more juice and media. "When we arrived, the light was fading fast, and the ranger said we had to stay in the truck in case there were weapons involved," Tufty continues. "It turned out the rider had gone over a cliff and broken his femurs. His girlfriend was screaming at us to get away until the ranger explained we were making a documentary about the state park system and had permission to be filming." The right to play in, learn about, and deeply savor the historical significance of California's wild spaces is, according, to Vassar, a privilege that has not come easy. "The citizens who worked to set aside these places 150 years ago had to struggle mightily against the prevailing body politic," the filmmaker concludes. "It was a time of Manifest Destiny, and looking back now, in our era, it's easy to say, 'These guys were geniuses.' "Having said that," Vassar continues, "we're going through horrendous financial times, and California's parks have suffered in so many ways. Then, as now, the response has to be citizen action. Of course, if