No comments about The Mountain States: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming,.

No comments about William Emsley Jackson's Diary of a Cattle Drive from LA Grande Oregon to Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1876.

No comments about Wyoming (One Nation).

No comments about Cloud Peak Wilderness, Wyoming Trail Map.

4 comments about Frommer's Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

1. Although this is not the only book you should have for your trip to the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, it's a must-have as a starting point. It's descriptions of the lodging choices were very good and we were happy with our decisions. The dining descriptions were also very good although it omitted the Geyser Grill in the Old Faithful area. The descriptions of activities in GT were very good but the descriptions of activities in YNP were merely okay and neither great nor complete. There were some omissions...chief among them were the Antelope Creek Drainage area and the Brink of the Upper/Lower Falls trails. We also found the Norris Geyser Basin highly overrated and the following highly underrated: West Thumb Geyser Basin, Midway Geyser Basin, Blacktail Plateau Drive and Osprey Falls. This book is a great starting point but by no means should it be the only book you have. It's perfect for making your dining and lodging choices but suffers in adequately describing activities (for that check out "An Outdoor Family Guide to Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks" by Lisa Gollin Evans).



2. One of the best travel guides I have ever used (and I have traveled all over the world). As of the summer of 1998, when I visited Yellowstone, the guide was highly accurate and offered very useful ideas on where to hike, where to stay, where to eat, etc. The authors clearly know Yellowstone intimately, and should be complimented for imparting their enthusiasm about this marvelous park. My trip was one of the memorable in my life, and I was very grateful for the help I received from this concise guide.



3. This guide was a staple for our ten day trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. In locating places to stay and activities to do this is a book to lead you to other books and web sites. Its approach to trail descriptions also allows for a day hiker to figure out what trails are popular and easy and what are difficult. It gave us several great ideas as well like boating on Lake Yellowstone and cheaper ways of fingin lodging.



4. This book was a great resource for planning and enjoying our trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons.

No comments about Colorado/Wyoming (State Fold Map).

No comments about Geography of Wyoming: A text book in geography for the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades.

No comments about Yellowstone.

No comments about Beautiful Wyoming.

5 comments about John Colter, his years in the Rockies.

1. Other than the little mention of Colter in the Lewis and Clark Expedition journals, there is no verifiable material for this biography. His life is a mystery and remains so, inspite of considerable effort by Burton Harris. If you are interested in the life of J Colter, sorry, its just not known and this book is a waste of time.



2. Other than the little mention of Colter in the Lewis and Clark Expedition journals, there is no verifiable material for this biography. His life is a mystery and remains so, inspite of considerable effort by Burton Harris. If you are interested in the life of J Colter, sorry, its just not known and this book is a waste of time.



3. Yellowstone...Colter's Hell...geysers...Indians.... I found this book a total pleasure to read. Couldn't put it down! Although it is true that Colter's life was somewhat obscure by a lack of more historical documentation, Harris does an exemplary piece of work with what there is to work with. Citing such references as William Clark, Thomas James, Brackenridge, Bradbury and others, Harris does make a justifiable attempt to back up his story. Required reading for those into this time period of the early American West when mountain men roamed the wide open spaces, high mountain valleys and peaks. It must have been a tough, but very rewarding way of life...if you survived the perils and hardships of that day.



4. John Colter was a member of the Louis and Clark expedition who ventured off with fur trappers. One winter he allegedly traipsed around Montana and Wyoming and discovered Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. Little is known of Colter. He left no journals so most of what is known of him is second hand at best and thus whether he actually found what he's credited with discovering is questionable. Harris clearly believes he did discover Yellowstone although some of his evidence is very questionable.
   
   This book is an entertaining and fast read. Read it with a grain of salt as little is know about the Colter. Make sure to read the introduction as it corrects some important errors in Harris's book. I disagree with the reviewer who says this book is a waste of time. It isn't. This is an ambitious work about an important explorer about whom next to nothing is known. There are no historic documents to source other than the ones Harris used. By default half of what he says has to be speculation.



5. John Colter was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acting primarily as a hunter (Clark praised his prowess in bringing in game). Before the expedition returned home to St. Louis, he was relieved of his duties whereby he joined two trappers heading to the Rockies. After a year trapping the headwaters of the Missouri, Colter left his partners and rafted down the river; but again before reaching civilization he encountered Manuel Lisa and returned once again to the Rockies to trap and trade with the Indians. It was while the party wintered on the Big Horn River that Colter undertook an "epic winter journey" over the Tetons and into Yellowstone Park (the first white man recorded by history to do so) and finally over to the hot springs and hot tar pits (since known as "Colter's Hell") along the Shoshone River (now mainly under Buffalo Bill Reservoir near Cody). Harris spends a good deal of space plotting and attempting to detail Colter's route during that winter trek, for getting over the Rockies in winter (in 1807-08 no less) is no mean feat. Colter must have had a high tolerance for discomfort and hard living because after this ordeal he had numerous run-ins with the Blackfeet, once being wounded, another time being captured, stripped, and forced to run for his life, which he did successfully, making his way 250 miles to Ft. Lisa on the Big Horn in 11 days. Even after this he returned to the Three Forks (Blackfeet) area TWICE (each time getting attacked by the Indians) before finally calling it quits and settling just west of St. Louis where he died in 1813.
   
   Harris's book is probably the definitive book on Colter, despite its 1952 publication date (in 1977 he added a chapter with updated information which doesn't add to or change much of the original work). It is historically detailed and soundly written and is a superb account of Colter's life and adventures. Highly recommended.