Books for the Nature Lover in Your Life

Name: Custer State Park
Brand: Thomas Domek
SKU: 9780738534053
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Theodore Roosevelt once said, "The lack of power to take joy in outdoor nature is as real a misfortune as the lack of power to take joy in books." Here’s a collection of gifts that combine both joys – books that celebrate the wonder and the history of places where Nature’s abundance is evident. Our books for the nature lover cover the hidden history of iconic national treasures like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone in words and rare photos. From Denali in Alaska, to the Badlands of North Dakota, to Sequoia in California, to the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, to the majestic Niagara Falls in New York, these books celebrate Nature’s grandeur.

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Custer State Park

Paperback

$24.99

Badlands National Park

Paperback

$24.99

Black Hills National Forest

Paperback

$24.99

Custer State Park

9780738534053

$24.99

Custer State Park is one of the largest and most beautiful state parks in the nation. From towering granite spires and pine-draped mountains to trout streams and remote savanna, the park offers scenic wonders and recreational opportunities seldom matched on the Northern Great Plains. First established as a state forest in 1912, today the park is home to one of the largest bison herds in the country, as well as other rare flora and fauna. Prior to settlement, the Black Hills were Lakota territory. After gold was discovered along French Creek in 1874, the government waged war on the Lakota, forcing them onto reservations, and settlers rushed to the region. Photos and narrative in this book provide an intriguing overview of the park's rich natural and social history. Whether the subject is Cathedral Spires or Sylvan Lake, General George Custer or Black Elk, Custer State Park will engage those who value history and the last few unspoiled places left in the country.

Badlands National Park

9780738532264

$24.99

The South Dakota Badlands seldom fails to stir a sense of wonder to those who encounter its surreal landscape for the first time. From a distance, the eroded formations look like the ruins of an alabaster city, but upon closer inspection, the sculptured terrain appears rough and rugged. Within these pages of historic photographs, the remarkable story of the Badlands unfolds. After the process of geological changes, Indians came to the Badlands on seasonal hunting trips. In the mid 1800s, fur traders, fossil hunters, and freight haulers passed through to places more hospitable. Cattlemen and homesteaders arrived in the 1890s, intent on staying, but most gave up and left. To preserve its grandeur, Congressman Peter Norbeck and his associate Ben Millard worked for many years to set aside thousands of acres of the unyielding land for a national monument in 1939. The Badlands became a national park in 1978.

Black Hills National Forest

9780738583709

$24.99

Once vital to fire prevention and detection, most of the Black Hills National Forest historic lookout towers now serve primarily as hiking destinations. The first crude lookout structures were built at Custer Peak and Harney Peak in 1911. Since that time, more than 20 towers have been constructed in the area. The first lookout towers were built of wood, most replaced by steel or stone. The Civilian Conservation Corps was instrumental in constructing fire towers during the 1930s and 1940s. One of the most famous and architecturally and aesthetically valued towers is the Harney Peak Fire Lookout--situated on the highest point east of the Rocky Mountains. Harney Peak is among a number of Black Hills towers listed on the National Historic Lookout Register. Over 200 vintage images tell the story of not only the historic fire towers but those who manned them. Perched atop high peaks in remote locations, fire lookout personnel spent countless hours scanning the forest, pinpointing dangers, often experiencing the powerful wrath of lightning strong enough to jolt them off their lightning stools.