Trails Through Western Woods

In this lyrical travel memoir the narrator invites listeners to step onto quiet valleys and snow‑capped peaks of a western wilderness already fading from memory. Drawing on stories shared by tribal elders, mountain guides, and early pioneers, the prose weaves together natural observation with the folklore of the Selish people who once tended the gentle waters and meadows. The author's own photographs, transformed into vivid verbal sketches, give the listener a sense of standing beside crystal lakes and listening to streams that still sing old songs.

The early chapters follow the gentle Selish community, their relationship to the bitter‑root flower, and the rituals that marked the seasons, while also chronicling the last great herds of buffalo that roamed the plains. Interlaced with accounts of early explorers and the modest settlements that grew around Lake McDonald, the narrative balances awe for the landscape with a respectful record of the cultures that shaped it. As a guide through both geography and memory, the work offers a thoughtful portrait of a world that exists now mainly in the recollections of those who mourn its loss.