Books For The Road - Sackett's Land by Louis L'Amour

Knowing we were going to be in Louis L'Amour territory I decided to download one of his books to read. I wasn't terribly excited about reading it. How good could a book by someone with the name L'Amour be? And I'd outgrown my cowboy western days when Bonanza went off the air. Isn't that all he writes? But I figured I needed to be informed so I started reading.

Well, was I ever surprised! Wow, great writing and the story of Barnabas Sackett that starts his series was amazing and spellbinding. L'Amour starts the saga in England where Sackett is hunted by a nobleman who it turns out wants him dead for more reasons than just an embarrassing encounter with Sackett. It leads to Sackett's sailing, though unwittingly, to America and determining his destiny--to settle in the New World. It is a great beginning to what I guess will be another series (there are 17 books in the series) to add to my reading list. I can't just leave him hanging with his future undetermined.

If you've not tried L'Amour don't let his last name deter you. So far I'd say he's a great read for the road.

Road Trip 2015 - Jamestown, North Dakota

Give me a home where the buffalo roam, the skies are not cloudy all day. That about sums up our excursion into North Dakota. Beautiful golden landscape, corn fields, and acres of sun flowers whose drooping heads were ready for harvest. I could only imagine how beautiful it had been when they were in the prime of the blooming season.

Jamestown was our destination. Jamestown? What could their possibly be in Jamestown? Why, the world's largest cement buffalo, of course! And a wonderful place called Frontier Village. Once we checked into our hotel, we headed out, crossed the highway and found the signs for Frontier Village. The little town has about two dozen little shops and buildings most of which I think were donated and moved or built new but show the historical significance of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

A jail, a fire house, a school, a bank, a barber, a dentist and a writer's nook are among the little buildings that line the main street. I knew that Louis L'Amour was a western writer but until now, I didn't know that his birthplace was Jamestown, ND. And he went to college there as well. I had already started one of his books (I'll leave that for a Books For The Road post later) so it was with great interest that I perused the displays in the little house that was dedicated to him.

We meandered in and out of buildings and especially enjoyed the shops. One was of art work and another an old fashioned trading store with all sorts of goods and finds including leather bound L'Amour books. During the summer season, there are stagecoach and pony rides in the village.

Bordering the village is a buffalo museum that we passed on mainly because we wanted to be out in the fresh air on a beautiful day. On our way to look it over though, we passed a fenced in field that held a rare albino buffalo.

Of course we couldn't resist getting a selfie with the giant buffalo. Built in 1959, it is 60 tons of concrete and gives the town the distinction of being called "Buffalo City."

After a little exercise, some education, and lots of smiles and we left Frontier Village to find a spot to get dinner. Then it was back to the hotel to get some rest. There was a whole lot more road to cover before we got to Glacier National Park.