An Adventure in Wyoming

Thank you for all the prayers and good wishes shared with me via email and social media as I headed west for my Wyoming Adventure.

It was, indeed, a week to remember. Words can’t really do justice to the incredible scenery, the beauty of the horses, and the experience of living in the wilderness of the high country of Wyoming. But pictures might. I’ll share some of my favorites below. If you have questions, please ask them in the comments!

We met our outfitter at the trailhead and made the acquaintance of our horses (Valentine and I became good friends) and mules, and started the trek into the southern Absaroka Mountains of the Shoshone National Forest.

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Eight hours later — with over a dozen river crossings, numerous steep climbs and terrifying descents behind us — we’d learned to trust our horses and our outfitter and enjoy the scenery. To get an idea, take a look at this video posted on Instagram and Facebook — trust your horse and don’t look down! At last we made it to the beautiful valley which would be our camp for the next 5 days.

Mules are amazing! My dad, who worked as an outfitter and for the National Park Service, used to say he’d take a mule over a horse any day and now I get it. The mules are strong, sure-footed, and not as stubborn as the saying goes. My sister’s mule, Olivia, was a sweetheart. And the pack mules brought in everything we were going to need for our 5 days in the wilderness.

Our camp was in the trees next to a beautiful meadow, and after our daily rides the horses and mules were unsaddled and spent the evening and night free to graze and wander in what looked like horse heaven. Some of them wore bells and we’d hear them in the night, sometimes right next to our tents.

In the morning, the wranglers called them in — and they came, with pounding hooves and flying manes and ringing bells. A beautiful way to start each morning. See the video of the morning gallop HERE on Instagram or HERE on Facebook (and follow me on either while you’re there, please!)

Some of you may have wondered if my Wyoming trip could be called ‘glamping’ (glamour + camping). Here’s the answer: It wasn’t.

We slept in 4-person wall tents on cots. The temps got down to below 40 at night and I soon discovered my sleeping bag wasn’t sufficiently warm. The next night I added a horse blanket, an extra wool blanket, long underwear, sweatpants, sweatshirt AND my jacket and stocking hat and covered myself with a packing tarp. My bed smelled like horse but I was warm!

The privy was dug about 20 yards from camp, water hauled by mule from the creek about a hundred yards in the other direction. The creek also served as our shower (brr!) and laundry facilities.

Because of the 1964 Wilderness Act, no mechanical or motorized equipment was packed in. That meant all the cooking was done over the fire or on a 2-burner propane camp stove. Wood had to be gathered each day and my capable niece-in-law taught us all how to use a crosscut saw.

On cold mornings, we woke to find plenty of strong hot coffee waiting and the campfire stoked. Our fantastic outfitters (a family operation) cooked us three hearty meals a day and got us out riding and hiking — and on the day it rained — helped us keep dry and warm around the fire. The camp cook even organized a British Bake-Off style competition in which we teamed up to see who could make the best dutch oven apple crisp!.

We were in an area that had experienced a burn in 2014 and was recovering with knee and waist-high pine regrowth and a lot of beautiful wildflowers.

Something I learned: since 1996, over 3 million acres of trees in Wyoming have been killed by the mountain pine beetle epidemic. You can see some dead trees and how dry they are. Imagine what happens when a wildfire sweeps through these dry, dead forests.

I could go on — and on and on — about the beauty of the trip and how much I loved the horses but you get the idea 🤠. If you have specific questions about it, please ask in the comments. I LOVE to talk more about it.

I miss Valentine and Wyoming, but I’m glad to be back home with my comfy bed, indoor plumbing, and creature comforts. And I’m excited to share some amazing upcoming events for Code Name Edelweiss! You are going to love what Tyndale Publishers and I are planning in the months before the March 7 release.

Make sure to keep in touch by joining the Historical Readers Society HERE. Members will get all the news first, opportunities for pre-release swag (maybe even an early copy!) and all kinds of extras. Read more about Code Name Edelweiss RIGHT HERE.

If you love historical fiction, vintage Hollywood, and you haven’t read In A Far-Off Land yet, what are you waiting for? Get it at your local Independent bookstore or read the first chapter HERE. Or find out what I hope my readers with ‘get’ from In a Far-Off Land right here.