M. Mark Miller, Author

Tag: Old Faithful Inn

  • An Event: Ready To Sign Adventures in Yellowstone at Old Faithful Inn

    Grand Geyser was erupting the last time I rode up to Old Faithful Inn for a book signing. I took the towering white plume of water and steam silhouetted against the pale blue sky as an auspicious sign. This will be a good day to sell books, I thought.

    I’ll be in the lobby of the famous inn again on Friday and Saturday (Aug. 10 and 11) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to sign my book Adventures in Yellowstone. Look for me by the clock that tells the next time Old Faithful is expected to erupt. There’ll be an easel with a a description of my book, my biography and a photo of me.

    The last time I was there, I checked in at the gift shop where employees greeted me like an old friend and helped me set up. (It was the fourth time I’ve done book signings at the Inn.) Soon, I was seated behind a table smiling as passers-by and enticing them to buy my book.

    I adjusted to the rhythm of the place, which is governed by Old Faithful’s 90-minute cycle. The lobby is nearly empty when the geysers plays. Then it fills with a rush of people searching for the restrooms, awing over the magnificent lobby and milling around. When things thin out a bit is the best time to sell books.

    I noticed that during slack times—even while Old Faithful was playing—there were a few people who were eager to talk about the stories in my book. I began asking questions and discovered that many of them were tour bus drivers looking for stories to tell their clients during the rides between sights.

    I told them that my book has stories about many of the famous people and events in Yellowstone history. Emma Cowan’s story of being captured by Indians would be one to tell when driving by Nez Perce Creek. Truman Everts’ 37-day ordeal of being lost lost alone in the Yellowstone wilderness would a good one near Yellowstone Lake. And crossing Dunraven Pass, why, the Earl of Dunraven’s hilarious description of how to pack a mule or one of his exciting hunting stories.

    “if there aren’t enough stories in my book,” I said, “you should check out my blog. There are more than hundred tales there.”  When I gave examples, I mentioned William Henry Wright’s efforts to photograph grizzlies at night with flash powder.  ”That’s great,” the bus driver  said, “sometimes I have a whole busload of photographers.”

    When I asked about her current load, she sighed. “Children,” she said, “lots of children.”

    “They’d love Ernest Thompson Seton’s ‘Johnny Bear,’” I replied, and she headed back to her bus to read it.

    So if you’re at Old Faithful Inn on Aug. 10 or 11, I’d love to see you. I’d be glad to sigh a copy of Adventures in Yellowstone for you and talk about park history. And if you miss me then you’ll have another chance. I’ll be back for another book signing the weekend of Aug. 25-26.

    ∞§∞

    — Read about another book signing at Old Faithful Inn here.

    — Image, Postcard of Old Faithful Inn, c, 1906. New York Public Library.

  • An Event: Signing Books and Making Plans at Old Faithful Inn

    Grand Geyser was erupting as I rode up to Old Faithful Inn on Saturday morning. I took the towering white plume of water and steam silhouetted against the clear pale blue sky as an auspicious sign. This will be a good day to sell books, I thought.

    When I went into the lobby, I found an easel with information about my book (Adventures in Yellowstone), my biography and a photo of me. That apparently accounted for the bulge of hits on those things on my blog last week.

    I checked in at the gift shop where employees greeted me like an old friend and helped me set up. (It was the third time I’ve done book signings at the Inn.) Soon, I was seated behind a table smiling as passers-by and enticing them to buy my book.

    I adjusted to the rhythm of the place, which is governed by Old Faithful’s 90-minute cycle. The lobby is nearly empty when the geysers plays. Then it fills with a rush of people searching for the restrooms, awing over the magnificent lobby and milling around. When things thin out a bit is the best time to sell books.

    I noticed that during slack times—even while Old Faithful was playing—there were a few people who were eager to talk about the stories in my book. I began asking questions and discovered that many of them were tour bus drivers looking for stories to tell their clients during the rides between sights.

    I told them that my book has stories about many of the famous people and events in Yellowstone history. Emma Cowan’s story of being captured by Indians would be one to tell when driving by Nez Perce Creek. Truman Everts’ 37-day ordeal of being lost lost alone in the Yellowstone wilderness would a good one near Yellowstone Lake. And crossing Dunraven Pass, why, the Earl of Dunraven’s hilarious description of how to pack a mule or one of his exciting hunting stories.

    “if there aren’t enough stories in my book,” I said, “you should check out my blog. There are another hundred more of them there.”  When I gave examples, I mentioned William Henry Wright’s efforts to photograph grizzlies at night with flash powder.  “That’s great,” she said, “sometimes I have a whole busload of photographers.”

    When I asked about her current load, she sighed. “Children,” she said, “lots of children.”

    “They’d love Ernest Thompson Seton’s ‘Johnny Bear,’” I replied, and she headed back to her bus to read it.

    In the afternoon, I talked to a guide who works for Xantera, the park concessionaire. She suggested that I talk to her boss about the possibility of setting up a program to help Yellowstone guides find stories to tell their clients and she gave me his phone number.

    On Sunday, I called the number and chatted with the boss. He stopped by my table later and we talked some more. We didn’t make any commitments, but it looks like there’s a real possibility that I could present a program on Yellowstone stories for tour guides at Old Faithful Inn next year. I think that would be great fun—and people telling the stories I collected surely would stimulate sales of my book.

    ∞§∞

    — Read about my last book signing at Old Faithful Inn here.

    — Image, Postcard of Old Faithful Inn, c, 1906. New York Public Library.

  • An Event: Off to a Book Signing at Old Faithful Inn

    I’ll be signing copies of my book, Adventures in Yellowstone: Early Travelers Tell Their Tales, in the lobby of the world famous Old Faithful Inn this Friday and Saturday reprising an event I had last summer. You shouldn’t visit Old Faithful without going inside the Inn, so if you’re there this weekend look for me.  I’d love to sign a book for you.  If you can’t make it, remember I’ll be back on August 20 and 21

    It’s always a thrill to be in the setting that Wikipedia describes like this:  “With its spectacular log and limb lobby and massive (500-ton, 85-foot) stone fireplace, the inn is a prime example of the ‘Golden Age’ of rustic resort architecture.”

    The inn, which was built using local lumber and stone, is said to be the largest log structure in the world.  When Old Faithful Inn opened in 1904, it was a state-of-the-art facility with electric lights and steam heat.

    An earthquake in 1959 stalled the clock and damaged the fireplace so only two of its hearths work.  There has been some renovation are rearrangement of furniture, but the inn looks pretty much as it did in 1913 when Forest and Stream magazine published the description below.

    ∞§∞

     In this basin, besides … the numerous hot springs and wonderful geysers, is the Old Faithful Inn, one of the most costly and attractive log houses to be seen anywhere. The logs for the most part are rough as they appear in their natural state. Massive logs tapering on each ascending balcony appear as giant trees. The staircase leading to the lookout has split logs for steps. Windows of diamond-shaped glass and dainty French curtains are exquisitely beautiful against the setting of rough logs.” In the center the building rises eight stories high, and from this lofty eminence you have a most charming panoramic view of the Upper Geyser Basin. It was built at a cost of two hundred thousand dollars. The chimney of this immense structure has four large and four small fireplaces, and fastened to the chimney is a great iron clock that keeps Mountain Time.

    ∞§∞

     — Excerpt from “A Trip to Yellowstone Park” by G.S. Wyatt.  Forest and Stream, December 27, 1913.

    — Image, J.P. Clum lantern, Coppermine Photo Gallery.

    — You can read Thomas D. Murphy’s 1912 description of Old Faithful Inn here, and about my book signing last summer here.