I’m getting ready for the official launch of my latest book, Rediscovering Wonderland, that will be at 10 a.m. (MST) on Saturday, February 10. The presentation will be under the auspices of the Gallatin History Museum where I was a volunteer for nearly 20 years. I’ve moved away from Bozeman so it will be via zoom. You can ask for a zoom link here.

The book was published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Yellowstone National Park. It tells the story of the Washburn Expedition a group of intrepid Montanans who explored the area in 1870 and then lobbied to get it declared the world’s first national in park in 1872.

I’m having fun reviewing a book that I finished writing nearly a year ago and haven’t looked at since. I’m finding a book I’m proud of. It’s brightly written and filled with high adventure and good humor and that makes it hard to choose excerpts to read. Here are some stories I could use:

• A gambler down on his luck offers his hat for a target at 25 cents a shot to replenish his stake.
• A lost traveler climbs a tree to hide from a mountain lion that circles and growls below.
• The thin crust around starts to collapse under a man trying to collect specimens.
• Two men descend a thousand feet to the bottom of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
• An undersized pony turns summersaults as he tables down a canyon — and walks away.
• An angler catches a trout and cooks it in a hot spring without taking it off the hook.

I’m not sure yet what I’ll read, but I’m sure I’ll have an interesting presentation. I hope you’ll zoom in for it.

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