Hey kids, have you ever wondered what it must have been like to live in the Wild West? I sure did. There were pioneers, gunfighters, and Indians. People packed up their belongings and headed west on the Oregon Trail in ox drawn wagon trains, seeking gold, land, or a better life. Along the way they met outlaws and braved violent storms. There were buffaloes, wolves, mountain lions, and bears. Back then you had to be good with a gun to hunt for food, or defend yourself against your enemies. Maybe you had a trusty horse that carried you along the vast, dangerous land. Just think, you might even have ancestors who rode west across America a hundred and fifty years ago. You too could be descended from pioneers!

I am! In 1848 my pioneer ancestors came across the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails. These were rocky trails that started at the Missouri River and cut across Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, and went all the way to California, Oregon and the Pacific Ocean. My family settled in Utah near Salt Lake City. They were very rugged individuals. Some of the women were prairie doctors whose sons became physicians.

One day I began to wonder what it would be like to be a boy in the Wild West. How would I survive?

As I began to write the story of twelve year old Caleb O’Toole, I thought something was missing, but what? Ah! It hit me. I needed to see the places I was writing about, study the things that would be in the book. So I packed up my car and my dog, Joey, and took off for the Oregon Trail.

We traveled from the flat prairies of Kansas and ended up in the jagged Bitterroot Mountains of Montana. Along the way I took pictures of the land and spoke to wonderful people about life back in the Wild West. And Joey got to make many friends, chase deer, and be a wild thing! My imagination shot to life. I could see pioneers and Indians, wagon trains and gunfighters. It was an astounding time in history. What a fabulous adventure it was!

Find out what happens!