Cache Creek: A Trailside Guide to Jackson Hole's Backyard Wilderness
Did you ever wonder…
-Where you can take a short, scenic hike close to town?
-Why there are forests on one side of a valley and sagebrush on the other?
-Why elegant jewel-clad butterflies eat poop?
If so, this book is your go-to resource. Five minutes from the hubbub of Jackson’s town square, Cache Creek offers the chance to immerse ourselves in wild nature. It’s a place where you can see how the world works, and the book shares some of the ways you can do it. No experience needed: bring your attention and a few hours of your time. You will be enchanted.
It is not necessary to be an expert to encounter a place with open eyes and an open heart, and a dash of curiosity. In fact, it might be better if you’re not an expert. Instead of saying, “Oh yeah, that’s a Western Tanager singing,” and continuing on with a satisfied march, you might say, “Hmm, I’ve never heard that before. It sounds a little like a robin…”
You might stop long enough to listen to the song again, and say to yourself, “For sure, not a robin.” If you’re lucky the bird will show himself. He’s flashy, almost tropical, with bright yellow and scarlet. He is a bird you will never forget.
You don’t need to know that he is a male Western Tanager (but if you knew that he eats yellow jackets, you might tell him thanks). You saw him in all his brilliance. You heard him sing. You were granted a glimpse into his world, and it is those brief glimpses that open a window for much more.
Susan Marsh doesn't simply walk in the outdoors--she absorbs it, she becomes part of it. Moreover, she can write about what she knows and what she feels. A book to appreciate.
Bert Raynes, noted naturalist and author