Book Review - A Place Called Yellowstone: The Epic History of the World’s First National Park

Title: A Place Called Yellowstone: The Epic History of the World’s First National Park

Author: Randall K. Wilson
My Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍
My Review: Pending...

Description (Audible): Discover the epic history of the first US national park in this historical adventure for fans of American history, the Wild West, and the hit show. 

It has been called Wonderland, America's Serengeti, the crown jewel of the National Park System, and America's best idea. But how did this faraway landscape evolve into one of the most recognizable places in the world? As the birthplace of the national park system, Yellowstone witnessed the first-ever attempt to protect wildlife, to restore endangered species, and to develop a new industry centered on nature tourism. 

Yellowstone remains a national icon, one of the few entities capable of bridging ideological divides in the United States. Yet the park's history is also filled with episodes of conflict and exclusion, setting precedents for Native American land dispossession, land rights disputes, and prolonged tensions between commercialism and environmental conservation. Yellowstone's legacies are both celebratory and problematic. A Place Called Yellowstone tells the comprehensive story of Yellowstone National Park as the story of the nation itself.

Description (ChatGPT): Randall K. Wilson’s A Place Called Yellowstone is a sweeping, richly told history that brings to life the geological, political, and cultural evolution of America’s first national park. Wilson masterfully weaves together the deep time of Yellowstone’s volcanic origins, the dramatic stories of early explorers and conservationists, and the fraught, ongoing debates around land use, Indigenous rights, and wildlife management. 

One of the book’s greatest strengths is its narrative drive: bureaucratic wrangling, frontier personalities, and the clash between exploitation and preservation become vivid and engaging rather than dry. Wilson doesn’t shy away from the park’s darker legacies, including dispossession of Native American lands and ecological missteps like predator removal—and he shows how these tensions have shaped modern policies and identities. 

Other Reviews - Los Angeles Times 

Birds - Birdspotting

Spotted some pretty cool birds last week. Bald Eagle, Wood Ducks & Spotted Towhee at Vancouver Lake Regional Park. Cedar Waxwing, Golden Crown Sparrow & Hairy Woodpecker in our backyard. The biggest surprise though was a Puffin & Rooster in our backyard covered with snow 😯 😂

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)

Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)

Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)

Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)

Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus)

Puffin (metal sculpture)

Rooster (metal sculpture)

Birds - Tree Swallow

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

Found these Tree Swallows at my new favorite birding spot, Shillapoo Wildlife Recreation Area in SW Washington. Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) occur from Alaska east through southern Nunavut to Newfoundland and south to California, northern Arizona, Texas, and Georgia. Fun fact: A group of tree swallows are known as a "stand" of swallows. 

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

Birds - Redhead

Redhead (Aythya americana)

Just recently discovered a really cool birding spot near Vancouver Lake called Shillapoo Wildlife Recreation Area. It's an ephemeral wetland area that, right now has an amazing amount of waterfowl and song birds. This week I was able to add a Redhead duck to my life list. Redhead (Aythya americana) are not common here in the PNW and would normally be found in their northern or inland breeding grounds this time of year. It looked like there were some younger Redhead with the adults so it's not clear what they were up to.

Birds - Common Yellowthroat

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) male 

As the name suggests, Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) are a common warbler found in practically every marsh, reed-bed and patch of cattails from coast to coast. Despite that, I feel lucky to have photographed this male and female hiding in the grass at Shillapoo Wildlife Refuge Area. According to allaboutbirds.org, Common Yellowthroats are easy to find during spring and summer in much of North America. Just visit open habitats such as marshes, wetland edges, and brushy fields and listen for the male’s wichety-wichety-wichety song. If you don’t spot one after a while, try making a “pishing” sound; yellowthroats are inquisitive birds and often pop into the open to see who’s making the sound.

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) female

Road Trip - Seaside, OR

Tillamock Head, Seaside, OR 

Took a drive to the coast to get away from the heat and breathe a little salt air. Seaside, OR is about 90 minutes west of Vancouver, WA and has some nice wide open beaches that are great for walking and as we discovered on this day (June 26), clamming. 

Tillamock Head, Seaside, OR 

Clamming season here closes from July 15 - September 30 but the best time to do it is at low tide which might have explained why there were clammers everywhere. 

Clammers and Glaucous-Winged Gull

I don't usually pay much attention to seagulls because they're kind of hard to ID. Luckily that didn't deter me this time and I was able to photograph and add Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) to my life list.

Glaucous-winged Gull

These gulls are common year-round from coastal Alaska to NW Washington. In the winter, they can be found all along the Pacific Coast and rarely stray far from the coast.

Birds - Red -Breasted Sapsucker

Red Breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber)

Discovered two nest cavities with Red-breasted Sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus ruber) on the west Vancouver Lake Park trail. Both had babies that could be heard from several hundred feet away. I lucked out with the above photo and caught the momma giving stink-eye to her baby who was sticking its head out begging for food right after she just got done feeding it. Sapsuckers get their name from eating sap in holes they drill in trees. They also eat insects attracted to the sap and sometimes catch insects in flight and eat seeds and berries.

Red-Breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber)

Mammals - Columbian Black Tailed Deer

Found these two Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) grazing in a slough at Vancouver Lake Regional Park, Washington. It was late on a cloudy day but a break in the clouds gave an almost surreal lighting that made them look like they were in a museum diorama.

According to Wikipedia, there are two forms of black-tailed deer that occupy coastal woodlands in the Pacific Northwest of North America. Columbian black-tailed deer are found in western North America, from Northern California into the Pacific Northwest of the United States and coastal British Columbia in Canada. The other, Sitka deer (O. h. sitkensis) is found coastally in British Columbia, southeast Alaska, and southcentral Alaska. Photographed with a Sony RX10IV on December 12, 2019 

Road Trip - Jewell Meadows WIldlife Area

Took a short detour on our way back from the coast and stopped at the Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area. Estimate we saw around 40 Roosevelt Elk grazing in the open meadows. The drive north from Hwy 26 on Hwy 103 is beautiful and the Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area is very pituresque and well worth the detour.

Roosevelt Elk at Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area, Oregon

Roosevelt Elk at Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area, Oregon

Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area is located in the Oregon Coast Range Mountains, in the northwestern part of the state. The wildlife area was established in 1969, with an initial purchase of 183 acres. It now encompasses 1,114 acres. The wildlife area’s purpose is to protect and enhance habitat to benefit native wildlife species, to reduce wildlife damage to adjacent properties, and to provide the public with an opportunity to observe wildlife in a natural setting.

The 2,940-acre state wildlife area has been offering them a winter home since 1969. Elk are provided a supplementary diet by the state fish and wildlife service, so it gives them incentive to stick around until things green up in the spring. The area is off limits to hunters, so the elk are safe from human intrusion.

Sources:
ODFW website
ODFW Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area Brochure
Oregon Live Website