Wyoming

Wyoming is the main setting in the book, from the badlands across the Basin to Shell, where Ehrlich eventually buys a house with her husband.

Ehrlich comments a lot on the terrain, from the wide open spaces to the dry, arid valleys, rugged plateaus and red rock mesas.

In Wyoming, winter lasts six months out of the year. The author talks about how the long, frigid winters affect everything from the mental health of the residents to the health and survival of the animals. The temperatures can get as cold as -60 degrees, leaving vehicles disabled and ranchers all but trapped on their lands.

The descriptions of Wyoming are detailed and awe inspiring. The countryside covers 98,000 square miles, most of which is open space. Sagebrush covers 58,000 square miles of that land. The real Wyoming bears little if any resemblance to the image shown in the movies and...