Wow – this is a really big country! There are so many great states, and it’s great to see a book from each state. We are admiring each state in the order I drove to visit them this year, and enjoying a book from each state. (It’s not “the” book to represent an entire state – just one that will let you do some armchair travel while you plan out your own fun trips!
This week we are going to travel through four more states: Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada. These were fun states to visit, with lots of wide open space to pass through and lots of beautiful things to see. There were mountains, there was a great salt lake, there were deserts – it was great.
And for our travel tip this week: Cruise Control. Really, what else needs to be said? I think we can all agree that only monsters refuse to set their cruise control, thereby baffling everyone else on the highway who are just all trying to move the same direction. Monsters, I tell you!
(As always, the links below take you to Amazon.com for more book information. If you buy anything while you are there, Amazon will give us a small percentage of their profits. Thanks, in advance! We could use the money more than Jeff Bezos can!)
Wyoming
This was my first trip to Wyoming! So it was a little extra exciting for me to stay in Cheyenne. I love the Longmire series, and though it takes place on the other end of the state from my trip it was still cool to know I was in the same state as Walt! This is the first in the series, but they keep going, so no worries about running out of Western mystery adventures.
The Cold Dish: A Walt Longmire Mystery, by Craig Johnson
“Fans of Ace Atkins, Nevada Barr and Robert B. Parker will love this outstanding first novel, in which New York Times bestselling author Craig Johnson introduces Sheriff Walt Longmire of Wyoming’s Absaroka County. Johnson draws on his deep attachment to the American West to produce a literary mystery of stunning authenticity, and full of memorable characters. After twenty-five years as sheriff of Absaroka County, Walt Longmire’s hopes of finishing out his tenure in peace are dashed when Cody Pritchard is found dead near the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Two years earlier, Cody has been one of four high school boys given suspended sentences for raping a local Cheyenne girl. Somebody, it would seem, is seeking vengeance, and Longmire might be the only thing standing between the three remaining boys and a Sharps .45-70 rifle.With lifelong friend Henry Standing Bear, Deputy Victoria Moretti, and a cast of characters both tragic and humorous enough to fill in the vast emptiness of the high plains, Walt Longmire attempts to see that revenge, a dish best served cold, is never served at all. “
Colorado
I’ve said this (many times) already, but: I used to live here! Colorado is amazing and beautiful, and if you have not yet been there – please go. It’s an old one, but I really enjoy this book- and I’ve been to the hotel the story is based on: The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park.
The Shining, by Stephen King
“Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote…and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.”
Utah
This was the first time I’d been i n Utah, except for being in the airport. It was beautiful; the Great Salt Lake Desert was very odd to drive through – like a negative image of driving through Minnesota lakes.
Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness, by Edward Abbey
“When Desert Solitaire was first published in 1968, it became the focus of a nationwide cult. Rude and sensitive. Thought-provoking and mystical. Angry and loving. Both Abbey and this book are all of these and more. Here, the legendary author of The Monkey Wrench Gang, Abbey’s Road and many other critically acclaimed books vividly captures the essence of his life during three seasons as a park ranger in southeastern Utah. This is a rare view of a quest to experience nature in its purest form — the silence, the struggle, the overwhelming beauty. But this is also the gripping, anguished cry of a man of character who challenges the growing exploitation of the wilderness by oil and mining interests, as well as by the tourist industry. “
Nevada
I spent the night in an incredibly hot, flat campground. Incredibly. HOT. The desert is a very warm place to be in August!
I love this book series! Only part of the book is set in Las Vegas, and if you like this one, there are a bunch more out there!
The Disciple of Las Vegas, by Ian Hamilton
“Fifty million dollars has disappeared into thin air from the accounts of one of the richest men in the Philippines, Tommy Ordonez. His one hope is Ava Lee – sleek, capable forensic accountant and sleuth. With the help of her Triad-connected partner, Uncle, Ava follows the money trail from San Francisco to Costa Rica to the casinos and illegal gambling dens of Las Vegas. Meanwhile, a vengeful adversary from Ava’s past has put out a contract on her life, and the shadowy hit man is close at her heels every step of the way.
Will Ava recover the stolen cash without stepping into the crosshairs of a growing list of enemies? The first book of an electrifying new series, Ian Hamilton’s The Disciple of Las Vegas introduces Ava Lee: a deadly martial artist with a taste for luxury and a mind like a steel trap.”