At first I planned on putting Spirit of Steamboat: a Longmire Story, by Craig Johnson. with other Christmas books as it's one of those nice 'miracle' sort of reads but then it opened up a new trail for me to follow. An unexpected visitor on Christmas Eve day reminds Sheriff Longmire of a long ago emergency flight. The only plane that might be able to fly through blizzard conditions to deliver a badly burned child to the hospital that could save her life is an old WWII bomber, and the only pilot available has just one leg. Lots of interesting twists here, which led me to, naturally, a book about the horse you see on the Wyoming license plate.

That horse is Steamboat, and here is his story: Steamboat: Legendary Bucking Horse: His Life and Times and the Cowboys Who Tried to Tame Him, by Candy Vivey Moulton and Flossie Moulton. This was the horse that no cowboy wanted to draw to ride in the rodeo! Well behaved and easy to manage ... until some one got on his back, then watch out! Nicely researched with short biographies on the men who tried to ride him.

Then on to license plates. I didn't find as much as I thought I would without buying something but The Way Cool License Plate Book, by Leonard Wise was a decent enough read. While pretty much a book about vanity plates, there is a nice history of when license plates were first issued, what they were made of during the war years, and several games to play while on the road. There is lots of fun trivia too, including "Wyoming's cowboy and bucking bronco have appeared on its plates since 1936 making it the oldest plate in continuous use." (p. 12)

There are four mysteries by April Henry, set in the PNW, and featuring Claire Montrose. She works in the office where vanity plates are approved or not. Staff must be careful not to issue 'bad language' (and double check to be sure it's not written backwards and hence visible in a rear view mirror). These were fun, I wish there were more. Start with Circles of Confusion.

Next it was Wyoming in general: from the Celebrate the States series, Wyoming, by Guy Baldwin and Joyce Hart. There are chapters on history, geography, and what it's like to live there that made for an interesting read. I was disappointed, though, that there was no mention of their license plate!

And finally, fond memories of the Mary O'Hara books My Friend Flicka, Thunderhead and Green Grass of Wyoming AND, new to me Wyoming Summer. I was not aware of this book and was happy to discover it. It was taken from a journal that that author kept while living on the ranch that would become the background for her novels. Mary O'Hara was also a musician and a composer and there are entries that tell about what inspired her compositions.

Reading Hermit With Dog