Virginia of Elk Creek Valley

Virginia Hunter left Wyoming for Eastern boarding schools, but her heart never stopped yearning for the Big Horn Country. Now she's back on her homestead, ready to show her East Coast friends what real living looks like: wide-open skies, mountain air that tastes like rain, and adventures no parlor in Boston can offer. Donald, her steady companion, watches with quiet amusement as Virginia's refined friends encounter their first rattlesnake, their first cattle drive, their first star-filled night without a single electric light. The valley breathes patience while they learn that strength isn't about pedigree and that some of the best friends you'll ever make are the ones willing to get dust in their hair. Mary Ellen Chase writes with luminous affection for this corner of America, capturing that fleeting summer when childhood ends and everything becomes possible. It's a novel about the gifts we give each other simply by showing up, and the landscapes that shape us long after we've left them.