Wordless Wednesday: St. Mary's Lake

St. Mary's Lake in Glacier Park, Montana
More Wordless Wednesday here.
Photo by moi.

Wordless Wednesday: Montana Rafting

White Water Rafting in Glacier National Park

More Wordless Wednesday here.
Photo by moi.

Wordless Wednesday: Whitefish Sunset

Sunset behind in the mountains in Whitefish, Montana

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Wordless Wednesday: Many Glacier

Many Glacier Lodge in Montana

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Wordless Wednesday: Logan's Pass

Logan's Pass in Glacier National Park 

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Wordless Wednesday: Gone Fishing

The Huz fishing in Montana.

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Undaunted Courage

Undaunted Courage

by Stephen E. Ambrose

★★★★☆

This sat on my shelf for years until a recent road trip out west sparked my interest in Lewis and Clark’s famous trip. This nonfiction account of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s incredible journey covers everything from the earliest planning stages to the final attempts at publishing the journals from the trip.

Written by the revered author of Band of Brothers, the book reads like a novel at many points. The men encountered Native American tribes (both hostile and friendly), diseases, wild animals, vicious turns in weather and a myriad of other obstacles to complete their goal. 

They traveled across the majority of the United States to reach the far west coast with canoes and horses as their only form of transportation. That alone is impressive, but then you realize that they also gathered and inventories dozens of new animal and plant species along the way. They worked on mapping out the entire area that they traveled along while also gathering new scientific data and establishing trade routes.

The project was a goal of Thomas Jefferson’s and when he became the president he began to put his plan into action. The book mainly focuses on Lewis’ life, his struggles and his role in blazing the trail out west. He was a brilliant, but troubled man and this trip was both the greatest and hardest endeavor of his life.

BOTTOM LINE: One of my favorite nonfiction books of the year. I know that traveling out west this fall certainly prompted my reading this book, but I think I would have loved it regardless of that. I learned so much about the individuals behind the trip and the sheer scope of what they accomplished. I highly recommend if you’re a fan of US History or just great nonfiction stories of accomplishment.

p.s. While in Montana we visited the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and the photos above are from those exhibits.

Reading the States: Montana

State: MONTANA

Fiction:
- Montana 1948* by Larry Watson
- A River Runs through It and Other Stories by Norman Maclean
- The River Why* by David James Duncan
- A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris
- English Creek by Ivan Doig
- The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth 

- How to be Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward
- Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
- Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
- The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans
- Legends of the Fall by Jim Harrison
- Fools Crow by James Welch

Nonfiction:

- Young Men and Fire* by Norman Maclean
- Bad Land by Jonathan Raban

- Custer Survivor by John Koster

Authors Known for Writing in or about the State:
- A. B. Guthrie, Jr.
- Norman Maclean
- James Crumley
- Rick Bass
- Neil McMahon
- Ivan Doig

Authors Who Lived Here:

- Tim Cahill
- Christopher Paolini

Great Bookstores:

Barjon’s Books
The Bookworks 

Montana Book & Toy Co.

Books I've Read

Photo by moi.

The Hobbit

The Hobbit
by J.R.R. Tolkien
★★★★★

The first time I read The Hobbit I was in fourth grade and my family was taking a road trip to the east coast. I remember a few things about that trip, but mainly I was lost in the dark paths of Mirkwood forest and the rocky ledges of the Misty Mountains. I re-read the book when I was in high school and loved it just as much. So I felt a bit of trepidation about re-reading it as an adult. I was worried it would seem childish and the magic would be gone from its pages, but I quickly discovered I had nothing to worry about.

The book was just as wonderful this time around. It’s such a great adventure. Tolkein created an entire world, filled with hobbits, dwarves, elves and trolls, which was completely foreign to anything I knew. When Gandalf and 13 dwarves (Thorin, Dori, Nori, Dwalin, Balin, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Kili, Fili, Bifur, Bofur and Bombur) show up in the Shire, everything changes for Bilbo and for the readers.

One of my favorite aspects of the book is that our hero is a complete anti-hero. Bilbo doesn’t want to go on an adventure. He has no desire to leave his home, but somehow he is swept up along on the journey and he discovers that a tiny corner of him has always longed for a quest.

“‘We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can’t think what anybody sees in them,’ said our Mr. Baggins.”

(The 2012 Hobbit movie and 1977 cartoon version)

Gandalf flits in and out of the story, but he always appears when he’s needed the most. He’s always been one of my favorite characters in literature. He can be cryptic and mysterious, but he’s also a true friend, a wise leader and a warrior. He never gives up and his hope gives hope to others.

The dwarves are so different from the hobbits. Their driving force is a love of money. They aren’t bad, but they have an interesting moral code. Thorin, the group’s leader, puts them all in danger because of his obsession with the precious stone Arkenstone. They aren’t too dissimilar from Smaug, the dragon who stole their wealth, except that the dwarves only want what they see as rightfully theirs.

“There it is: dwarves are not heroes, but calculating folk with a great idea of the value of money; some are tricky and treacherous and pretty bad lots; some are not, but are decent enough people like Thorin and Company, if you don’t expect too much.”

Gollum is, in my opinion, the most interesting character in the book. We know almost nothing about him, but we are at once enthralled and horrified by him. Bilbo has a similar reaction. It’s important to note that he feels pity for Gollum, which foreshadows the events in Lord of the Rings.

“A sudden understanding, a pity mixed with horror welled up in Bilbo’s heart: a glimpse of endless unmarked days without light or hope of betterment, hard stone, cold fish, sneaking and whispering.”

(A drawing of The Hobbit on a postcard my uncle sent my Mom from Sweden in the 1970s)

A few things I'd forgotten about the book:

1) Beorn, the bear man., somehow I completely forgot this character!

2) Bilbo was more than 50 years old when the adventure began.

3) His mom’s name was Belladonna and his Dad’s was Bungo, how fantastic is that!

4) The dwarves love and value music and each one had an instrument that they played.

5) The thrush is really the unsung hero of the novel. Without the help of that bird, the dwarves could have been stranded in the mountain with no hope of defeating Smaug.

While some people find the Lord of the Rings hard to get through and overwhelmed with descriptions and details, The Hobbit is a quick read. It was targeted at a younger audience and so it’s much more accessible. If you’ve ever been curious about Tolkein’s world, this is the place to start.

One side note, I can’t wait for the movie to come out this December! Have any of you seen the cartoon version (image above)? I grew up watching it and as I was reading the book I kept remember songs from it.

p.s. Someone built a Shire in Montana… no seriously!

Photo of postcard by moi.
Images from here and here