Award-winning nature writer Jack Turner directs his attention to one of America's greatest natural treasures: the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. In a series of essays, Turner explores this wonderland, venturing on twelve separate trips in all seasons using various modes of travel. He treks down the Teton Range, picks up the Oregon Trail in the Red Desert, and floats the South Fork of the Snake River. Along the way he encounters a variety of wildlife: moose, elk, trout, and wolves. From the treacherous mountains in the dead of winter to lush river valleys in the height of fishing season, his words and steps trace one of the most American of experiences--exploring the West.

Turner--who has lived in Grand Teton for three decades--designates the Greater Yellowstone as ground zero for the country's conflict between preservation and development, and his accounts of the area's conflicts with alien species, logging, real estate, oil, and gas development are alarming.

A mixture of adventure, nostalgia, and Americana, Turner's rare experiences and evocative writing transform the sights and sounds of Greater Yellowstone into an intimate narrative of travel through America's most beloved lands.