“I have never seen the Pacific Ocean, the coastline of Texas, or the vastness of Alaska… However, I have walked the same ground of Custer County for half a century. I have tasted the icy water of mountain streams, been chilled by a sudden gust of wind at timberline, smelled the freshness of a spruce forest after a summer shower, and waded waist-deep snow to get to a high country lake in order to catch fish that I would eat before going home. I have slept in an aspen grove, listened to the bugle of elk during the rut, and observed the mating rituals of bighorn sheep.”
That is how local author Dick Jones concludes his massively enjoyable collection of stories about the Wet Mountain Valley region he has been working on over the last 50 years. What is most interesting about the book is how it came into existence organically. At first, Jones just scribbled a few short little stories that his wife, and this author’s former middle school English teacher, Barb Jones, posted online and once printed as a letter to the editor.
The response to these first attempts was overwhelming, and over time, Jones continued to write and often presented his works live as readings. Yet a book did not seem to be on his mind despite the many requests.
Thankfully, after years of sharing his superb short essays, and just in time for Christmas, Jones released a book, Walking the Same Ground: Reflections of Community.
The beautiful tome has a pencil drawing by his friend Andy Mast that stemmed from a picture of the area just north of Westcliffe from the 1970s.
So, order the book right now by clicking this link.
– Jordan Hedberg