Campfire Stories: Tales from America's National Parks

by Dave Kyu, Ilyssa Kyu, Finney Carolyn (Foreword by)

Overview

"An engaging, entertaining, unique and simply fascinating read from cover to cover" — Midwest Book Review

Our national parks are beautiful and unique places, often serving as an introduction to the outdoors and inspiring an appreciation for nature and wilderness. Similarly, stories and storytelling can serve as an introduction to other places and foster a powerful emotional connection to nature. Campfire Stories brings together tales about our national parks; some are by well-known writers such as John Muir, Bill Bryson, and Terry Tempest Williams, while others are from pioneer diaries or have been passed down through generations of indigenous peoples.

Co-editors Dave and Ilyssa Kyu spent six months traveling and researching the stories collected here. They gathered the best materials from public libraries, historical societies, arts and cultural organizations, museums, research centers, and national park archives. Park rangers, historians, artists, curators, educators, and local residents all offered guidance and suggestions. The goal was to discover entertaining, diverse, and engaging writings that reflect each park’s essence—as well as just fun to share. Campfire Stories focuses on these six iconic national parks:

• Acadia National Park
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• Rocky Mountain National Park
• Yellowstone National Park
• Yosemite National Park
• Zion National Park

Each story includes an “About this Story” reflection, offering insight into how Dave and Ilyssa discovered the tale, why they selected it, and some background about its writer. Dave and Ilyssa also share their own thoughts on each of the parks they visited, as well as tips on how to be a compelling storyteller.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781680511444
Publisher:	Mountaineers Books, The
Publication date:	06/18/2018
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Dave Kyu is a socially-engaged artist, writer, and project manager. Born in Seoul, South Korea and raised in the United States, he explores the creative tensions of identity, community, and public space in his work. He has managed public arts projects for the Mural Arts Program, Asian Arts Initiative, and the City of Philadelphia. His own creative projects have found him commissioning skywriting planes to write messages 10,000 feet over Philadelphia, and doing everything Facebook told him to do for a month. His writing has been published in Generocity, the Artblog, and the Philadelphia Citizen.

Ilyssa Kyu is a design researcher at frog, a global creative consultancy, and the founder of Amble, a sabbatical program for creative professionals to take time away with purpose in support of nature conservancies. She has a degree in Industrial Design and previously worked as a designer at the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability at the City of Philadelphia, and as a UX designer and design researcher at creative studios in and around Philadelphia. As a facilitator, convener, researcher, and strategist, she applies design-thinking to find clarity in the chaos and unconventional, creative ways of solving problems.

Table of Contents

Foreword Carolyn Finney 13

Introduction 15

Storytelling Tips 19

Acadia National Park: An Island on the Sea

Excerpt from The Hour of Land Terry Tempest Williams 27

"The Ballad of the Night Charley Tended Weir" Ruth Moore 33

"The Coming of Glooskap" Joseph Nicolar 41

Excerpt from We Were an Island Peter P. Blanchard III 44

"Koluskap naka Pukcinsqehs: of Koluskap and the Witch that loved him." as told George Neptune 50

"The Burning Tree" Elmer Beal Jr. 53

"Fire" William Carpenter 55

Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Home in the Mountains of Blue Smoke

"Prelude" James Willis Hembree 64

Excerpt from A Walk in the Woods Bill Bryson 67

"The Birds and Animals Stickball Game" Kathi Smith Littlejohn 71

"That Good Old Mountain Dew" presented Doug Pratt 75

"A Valley of Memories" John Parris 77

"The Removed Townhouses" Freeman Owle 81

"When a small little chap…" Wiley Oakley 87

Rocky Mountain National Park: A Place for the Wild

"The Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado" Charles Edwin Hewes 98

Excerpt from A Lady's Life In The Rockies Isabella Bird 100

"Yellow-Bellied Marmots" SueEllen Campbell 111

"Secret Elk Study Revealed" Curt Buchholtz 113

"The Legend of the Blue Mist" Bill Robinson 117

Excerpt from "Children of My Trail School" Enos Mills 129

"Other Campfires: Ancient Walls on Trail Ridge" Jack C. Moomaw 133

"The Mountains Rise" Edna Davis Romig 136

Zion National Park: A Sanctuary in the Desert

"The Language of Zion" Greer K. Chesher 144

"Why the North Star Stands Still" William R. Palmer 148

"The Coyote Clan" Terry Tempest Williams 152

"The Great White Throne-Has It Ever Been Climbed?" Angus M. Woodbury 155

"The Ghosts of Zion" J. L. Crawford 162

Yosemite National Park: A Cathedral of Granite

"Lombard gate" Shelton Johnson 171

"Horse heaven" Shelton Johnson 174

"Notes from my Tuolumne Journal" William L. Neely 179

"The Legend of Tu-tok-a-nu'-la" compiled Frank La Pena Craig D. Bates Steven P. Medley 181

"Summit Fever" Carol Blaney 183

Excerpt from "Among the Animals of the Yosemite" John Muir 185

"Spring Afternoon, Merced River near the Ahwahnee" Gail Jensen Sanford 190

"Tuolumne Tomboy" Shirley Sargent 192

Yellowstone National Park: A Storied Wonderland

"Yellowstone" E. M. Carpenter 206

"Yellowstone Park and How It Was Named" William Tod Helmuth 208

Excerpts from "Thirty-Seven Days of Peril" Truman Everts 212

"Origin of the Snake and Yellowstone Rivers" Ralph Dixey 221

"Editor's Study: I & II" Charles Dudley Warner 224

Wolf Lucy Jane Bledsoe 228

Acknowledgments 241

Sources 244

Park Communities 247

Editorial Reviews

An engaging, entertaining, unique and simply fascinating read from cover to cover, "Campfire Stories: Tales from America's National Parks" is exceptionally well written, organized and presented, making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library collections, as well as the personal reading lists of anyone who has ever experienced America's national parks for themselves — or would like to!

Margaret Lane

The very fetching hardcover Campfire Stories: Tales from America’s National Parks ($22) catalogues great stories from parks-goers present and past (many are culled from pioneer diaries, or have been passed down through generations of Indigenous adventurers) with engaging and entertaining things to say about the legends, histories, fauna, and heroes of beloved parks including Acadia, Great Smoky Mountains, Zion, Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone, and Yosemite. It’s the perfect present for the giftee who loves a good campfire, a good tale, and unique insights into the parks they love.

Sierra - Katie O'Reilly

For those who enjoy stories and the great outdoors, this collection is going to be a real gift. The writing throughout is engaging and the selection of works is diverse and rich.

Tulsa Book Review - Rosi Hollinbeck

Focused on six of our most iconic National Parks, the myths, legends, historical accounts, and essays compiled in [Campfire Stories] are perfect for reading aloud, preferably around a campfire. This well-rounded book presents the spirit of these lands.

Terry Tempest Williams

This remarkable book is a rousing celebration of our shared heritage as people of the land.

James Edward Mills

A lovely mixture of poetry and prose. Some [stories] are daring tales of rescues, others are relaxed musings on the power of just being in nature's beauty. The book really does belong around a fire. It even begins with tips on how to tell great campfire stories that will captivate your audience. Bring it on your next trip, and read aloud.

Washington Trails Magazine - Jessi Loerch

Campfire Stories: Tales from America’s National Parks is a perfect book for, as the title says, telling stories (and poems) in the outdoors around the campfire.... This book truly would make a nice gift for those who love to go camping and for those who enjoy stories. The book is cloth-bound, gift-quality, and will surely be appreciated!

Kelly's Thoughts on Things - Anne

If you want a chunk of quick reads, Dave and Ilyssa Kyu have compiled writings by diverse voices about six different national parks that are perfect for telling out loud. The snack-sized readings in Campfire Stories include Terry Tempest Williams’ musings about Zion, Isabella Bird’s letters to her sister after becoming the first woman to climb Colorado’s Longs Peak, and Wabanaki poems about Acadia. It’s a great summer skimmer.

Outside - Heather Hansman

This is a lovely, well put-together gem of a book. It is not just another collection of ghost stories or tales of killer bears, meant to terrorize youngsters around a campfire, but a mature, reflective look at six of our national parks.

National Parks Traveler - Patrick Cone

Dave and Ilyssa Kyu’s collection of essays, poetry, short stories, and songs, Campfire Stories: Tales from America’s National Parks (Mountaineers Books, $21.95), brings together the work of well-known writers like Bill Bryson, Terry Tempest Williams, John Muir, and Isabella Bird with pieces from the oral tradition of indigenous people, and lesser-known chroniclers of nature and adventure.

Big Sky Journal - Erin H. Turner

Campfire Stories: Tales from America’s National Parks is a perfect book for, as the title says, telling stories (and poems) in the outdoors around the campfire.... This book truly would make a nice gift for those who love to go camping and for those who enjoy stories. The book is cloth-bound, gift-quality, and will surely be appreciated!

Kelly's Thoughts on Things - Anne PH D