James Perry cuts loose in his memoir of twenty-five years as a concession employee in Yellowstone National Park. Although his outlook is often jaded and sometimes sarcastic, his viewpoint is honest as he withholds very little in describing life in the nation’s oldest and largest national park. My outlook in A Yellowstone Savage: Life In Nature’s Wonderland is decidedly more optimistic, as he readily points out with a funny jab about the potential for singing…
With a lull in my Colorado book tour, I thought I would share reviews of books I have read this summer. As administrator for Women Writing the West, I am fortunate to meet many talented and interesting writers on my journey. These books were written by folks I am proud to call my peers and friends. As far as my plans go, I will be spending some quality time with family and friends over the…
As summer moves along, my road tour of book events and history presentations at Colorado mountain towns and historic sites is moving forward. Next stop after Leadville was Estes Park, a busy tourist community at the entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park. Their genealogical society hosted a seminar which featured a military records theme this year. With his strong Civil War history, my character General William J. Palmer fit in very nicely with their program.…
Communication has taken many forms throughout history. Ancient people left messages by drawing art and chiseling petroglyphs on rock. Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of movable press type around 1440 replaced the only means of duplicating print, copying with pen on paper. Movable lead type was used for printing into the 20th century. For the past half century, my work has been deeply involved in writing and publishing, and I’ve seen a few changes. In college while…
January has always been a time for me to clean out my desk and my brain as I turn the calendar and make plans for a new year. How timely that the Denver Woman’s Press Club invited Cynthia Morris to coach a group of us through the process of focusing on plans and writing notes to hold ourselves accountable for ideas which will make 2012 Our Best Writing Year Ever. The regrouping, re-evaluating, and re-purposing…
There is nothing like a weekend in Yellowstone National Park to clear the brain and boost the soul. For me, time spent with friends from Savage Days, when we lived and worked together long ago in Yellowstone Park, made the journey more meaningful and enriching. After this summer, punctuated by loss and sadness, my soul was elevated by time spent with friends in a place where stunning natural beauty and abundant wildlife speaks volumes to…
It always happens sooner or later. The subject eventually returns to food and cooking. It is especially appropriate now with the Thanksgiving holiday looming. As you think about these types of cooking, consider the experience of roasting a turkey using either method. A trip to the Wheat Ridge Historical Museum was instructive. Their restored sod house offers two styles of cooking in close proximity. At the hearth is the traditional style used by pioneers. They…
One of the benefits of my job as administrator for Women Writing the West is that a book occasionally lands on my doorstep for review. Although we don’t officially review books, and I’m not an especially strong reader, I read as many of them as possible. Member titles then go to trade show exhibits, then into library circulation at the Women Writing the West Collection. Recently, I had the pleasure of reading “When I Came…