Cyndi J. (cyndij) reviewed on 6/21/2019 + 1031 more book reviews

This is certainly not a book about an ordinary person. Isabella Bird must have been really, really interesting... it would be amazing to sit and talk with her now.
I'm not familiar with any of the Colorado places she mentions, except Denver, but her descriptions of the scenery are just incredible. She routinely did trips of 20 or more grueling miles in a day on horseback, through practically untracked terrain, just to see a mountain or watch the sunset from a vantage point. The idea of just heading off into the wilderness, with nothing but a vague description of the country ahead and maybe there would be a place to spend the night, is just astonishing to modern ideas. And the description of spending weeks in the cabin in Estes Park, waking up with her bed - inside! - covered with snow, and everything frozen solid...she was one tough cookie but seemed to take it all as normal, and just what you had to put up with. I spent a lot of time reading bits aloud to my husband - "listen to this!". Reading history is one thing, but reading these letters written as she experienced life really made it come alive.

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