The Unknown: Part Five

Somewhere far away that no one knows about, except the bad guys whom we've been following to this place, even though we don't know where it is...

Idiot. Major Timothy was a complete idiot.
I'd warned him, I'd threatened him, I'd done everything I could to spare his life. I didn't want to kill him, after all, he was such a valuable asset. But no, he'd failed for the last time. I'd warned him that if he messed it up one more time I'd have to do away with him. And yet he didn't manage to make sure that Trevor's watch remained lost. If he could have done that, I wouldn't have had to kill him. Too bad.
Such is the way of business, I am a man of my word. To let my word be degraded once would be a bad mark on my record. So I've had him disposed of.
Now I have the problem of finding a replacement. I need someone who I can get to do whatever I want. The CIA is well under my grasp, but I needed someone new. Someone who had no idea what he's getting into, someone who'd follow me into this mission without any guilt. A man who hasn't any realization that what we are doing is illegal. I needed an innocent bystander that would follow me around like a loyal dog.
You have no idea how hard my job is, how long I've plotted on how I was going to catch Trevor and drag him back to my headquarters. I've waited years, and Major Timothy got me farther along than anyone else. But now he's dead. What's a man have to do around here to get something done?
I need a new assistant. And I know exactly where to get one.
Trevor thinks he's so amazing and great because he can time travel. So he can jump through time lines, big deal. True, I haven't figured out how to do it, but I'm getting there. Once I have his wristwatch, I too, will time travel. Then I can fix all those messes he's made out of history.
How do I know what he's messed up, if he changed history and that's how we now know it? I created my own program that tracks when historical timelines are messed with. Told you I could invent things. Allow me to introduce you to my invention: TTGS, aka, Time Tracking Graphical System. Yes, when Trevor goes and wrecks another historical moment with one of his dumb ideas, technically no one knows about it because he changed it. So therefore we now have in our historical records that that's how it always has been, so no one really knows when Trevor's been in any given time period.
With my TTGS, I've been able to figure out when he changes history. My machine, once plugged into a computer, displays timelines throughout different periods and shows them as straight lines. Whenever one has been tampered with, that line will rise up and down to show the exact day and minute Trevor changed something. So unless there's other time travelers than Trekker, I can pinpoint when and where he was by my graph.
How does that help me catch him? Simple- I happen to have been able to partially create his time machine. It doesn't transport me back in time, which is my whole goal in the first place. I'm missing a key ingredient, one I hope to gain by snatching that miserable Scottish pipsqueak and his little sidekick. I don't know what I need to fix my time machine, but what I did figure out is I can still use it. To a certain extent, but it does work.
You see, I can tamper with time. Not travel through it and certainly not direct when I want to tamper with it, but I can change certain things. And yours truly, Trevor, has helped me do it, even though he doesn't know it.
He thinks its just a glitch that whenever he teleports to somewhere new, an item from his last excursion ends up in the new time period. So a Roman helmet could show up in Cuba during the revolution, depending on where Trevor went last and where he goes next. But you see, I'm the one who can decide what comes where and what that item is.
I won't get into the physics, it's very confusing. I will tell you this, though: remember how the dam broke when Trevor went to Grand Coulee and the workers mob went after him? I was able to place a troublemaker in that crowd, the one who tried to take him out. I made sure that when Trevor went to the gold towns that the deputy was crooked and tried to kill him. I was the one who brought in that boy to steal General Grant's battle plans. And if it hadn't been for sheer luck that Trevor managed to get out of everyone of those situations, I would have found a way to either kill him off or bring him back to the future. If he is in contact for too long with one of my tampered people or objects, I can bring both my object and him back into our time now.
Genius, I know. Again, I won't bore you with the details. You wouldn't understand how I change these people into thinking they're something they're not or how I get them there from other time periods anyways.
Without Major Timothy I have no one to make sure the people are placed where they should be, and I won't get my hands dirty. I can't have Interpol realize I'm the one who is really behind these problems I've convinced them Trevor's caused.
But I think I have the solution now. Yes, I think I know exactly who will help me bring Trevor back. And I'm going to do it in a way no one expects, nor realizes is possible. Not only will I get a new assistant, but I'll get someone who will shake the very foundation of Trevor and Marin's relationship, someone who can get Trevor's young friend to turn on him. A person that neither one realizes is alive. He himself isn't quite sure who he is, but once he sees Elizaveta (remember, that's Marin's real name, not that dumb one Trevor came up with) he'll remember it all.
 His name is Dominik Maklakov.

Part Six to come at the end of next month.

The Month Ahead

Well this was an exciting month! I really enjoyed getting to meet Andi, but I was so scared when Trevor lost 4T! So glad we found it. Odd that it was in a place we never walked. It must have been a curious gopher that carried it off. Hmmm...

You ready for next month's time period? This is one that I'm very familiar with, one that I know all too well. Next month, we're going to...

September

2014

Week	Topic	What to expect
1	The Dark Storm: World War Two	An introduction of World War Two, some historical facts, today in history and a little known fact.
2	War Stories: Book Recommendations on World War Two	Three books/series we think you'll like about WWII.
3	Beach Invasion	Trevor and I head to Maine on a very historical night, but things take a turn for the worse.
4	Beach Invasion: Part 2	Afraid and on my own, I try to leave clues for Trevor to follow and find me- before it's too late.
5	Beach Invasion: Part 3	The showdown to our frightening escapade, and a very strange meeting.

Here's a preview photo for next month's adventure. Interesting, I wonder what's so important about this particular U-Boat model? This doesn't seem to be a historical picture!

 Come back soon to find out why!

Back to the Drawing Board Part Two

Sounds like you enjoyed last week's post a lot. Special thanks to Susan Marlow for giving us permission to use her characters. (But what you don't know is they're actually real, because we really met them! Ahem, anyways...) 
Due to some interesting comments we received about our scenery grouping of Canada, we'd like to clarify that yes, we are aware Canada is not all mountains and lakes and snow. We only recorded the real conversation between Marin and me when we first arrived in California.

Enjoy this next post!

I paced the room, staring out at the moon-lit night as I mulled over the possibilities.
It was past midnight, this much I knew. My pocket watch I used to really tell time confirmed this fact, and I knew no one was awake. Everyone in the large and spacious Californian ranch house was fast asleep- except me.
And I had a big problem on my hands. The thing about it though, I couldn't figure out what it was.
The afternoon and evening had gone great. Marin had a blast, it was the first time in a long time she didn't worry about what could happen to us while we were away from the Island. She followed Andi around like a puppy dog, her eyes bright and excited at everything the twelve-year-old girl said or did. Marin had never been one to make many friends, she was too shy and quiet. I'd never seen her enjoy spending time with someone her own age, and I was glad she was having fun. Elizabeth Carter insisted that we stay the night, seeing how we didn't have anywhere to sleep. I enjoyed talking the most to Justin, who was more into my style of thinking and philosophy. Chad and Mitch were friendly, but I could tell they regarded me as a tender-foot Scotsman who didn't have any idea how to handle himself in the wild west. Which was kinda true.
Overall, there'd been nothing in our day that I could think of to wake me up at half past midnight. Certainly not anything I'd said or done, or any event that stuck out in my mind. And yet I was bothered deeply by something. A feeling I'd gotten several years before, when I'd first met Marin in Czechoslovakia and we'd escaped from the Gestapo.
I felt fearful.
This is stupid, I growled to myself. You're Trevor, you're never afraid! You're too excited and energetic to be afraid! Then why did I have this strange sense of dread inside? Like something had gone seriously wrong?
I gave up trying to brood and think up an explanation and slipped into the hallway. Marin was staying in the guest bedroom next to mine, and I gently opened the door and tiptoed in. If anyone could think up a reason to be afraid, it was Marin. No doubt she had the answer.
"Marin," I whispered.
Marin lay flat on her back, snoring quite loud and without any resolve. Any other time I'd laugh at her, but I didn't have the sense of humor tonight to do so.
I shook her and hissed, "Marin, wake up!"
"Trevor did it," she grumbled, rolling over in her sleep. "Take him to jail."
I glared at her. "Thanks a lot, lass. Now get up before I push you out of your bed." I shoved her again.
This time Marin opened one eye, looked up at me, then groaned. "Go away, I'm tired," she whimpered.
"Marin, something's wrong."
That got her attention. She sat up, fully awake and alert. "What did you do!"
I held up my hands in defense. "I didn't do anything, but something is bothering me."
"What?"
"I don't know, I woke up feeling like something was wrong."
Without skipping a beat, Marin demanded, "Did you take 4T off when you went to bed?"
I stared at her, then jerked my arm up and gaped in horror as the truth hit my over the head like a coconut falling from a tree.
So that was it. That's what had been bothering me this whole time. My wrist was bare, empty like the days when I didn't have my amazing Trevor's Time Travel Teleport. My time watch was gone.

~oOo~

It was Marin who decided it would be best to wake Andi up and get her to take us out to where we'd been earlier. The sleepy girl kinda blinked at us in surprise, but readily agreed.
Now we stared at the moonlit surface of the Californian San Joaquin Valley. I dismounted off of my horse and ran over to where we'd run into the rattle snake. "It's not here!"
Marin, troubled, slid off of Patches and came over to where I was. "You had it when we got here, how could you have lost it anywhere else?"
"What are we looking for again?" Andi asked, yawning. She dismounted off of Taffy and walked over to us, surveying the ground. "And why did we have to get up at two in the morning to find it?"
"It's a watch," I explained, "A very important watch. If I don't get it back then we're going to-to-" I didn't say anything else as I once more began to panic and search the ground. The thought was too awful to entertain. If we didn't get it back- then we were never going to get back. 
A strange, tingling sensation came over me and I happened to look down at my hands. Are they fading? They were. Just like when we teleported from one time period to another, except I didn't have my watch on me! What is happening?
I shot Marin and look and she returned it with an equally frightened glance. She too, seemed to be fading. Could it be that we're fading into our correct times because I don't have the watch? I wondered. This was bad. This was really, really bad!
"Trevor," Marin whispered. "What is happening?"
A feeling of total hopelessness washed over me. I sank to my knees and put my face in my hands. "I don't know!" I wailed. "This has never happened before, lass!"
I think by now we'd really freaked Andi out. She was standing there with her eyes as wide as the sun, her mouth forming a little O as she looked from Marin to me. "You look strange," she managed.
"We have to keep looking," I said, ignoring the obvious fact that something was very wrong indeed. I stood up, a little wobbly, and continued our search. The feeling I got when we time-traveled was coming over me, and it was like a strange force was trying to drag me away from where I was. I resisted it, I did my best to push it out of my mind, but it was pulling me... to somewhere I didn't want to go...
"Marin!" I yelled, desperate. "We have to find it now!"
She nodded in agreement. Andi, though she had no idea what was going on, joined in the best she could. Together we spread out and searched everywhere in the vicinity.
But 4T was nowhere to be found.
"This might be easier if I knew what I was looking for!" Andi finally exclaimed, exasperated.
"It's a wristwatch," Marin croaked. "A plain looking wristwatch with a map on the face."
I sat down on a stump, my legs shaking as I attempted to steady my nerves. That pull was still there, getting stronger and stronger by the second.
Everything I knew about time traveling was at odds with each other. Being separated from my time traveling watch shouldn't have caused this. If anything, I would begin to settle into whatever culture we'd landed in. Why had this happened? Why couldn't we find that watch?
My mind drifted back to the conversation at hand, then I leapt up as Andi proclaimed, "Oh, that's what it looks like? Is this it?"
She held up a 4T with a questioning look.
Marin's mouth fell open. I didn't say anything for a long time, then I opened my mouth to speak.
They say I woke up fifteen minutes later after fainting dead away. Not a very manly trait.

~oOo~

It didn't seem quite fair not to tell Andi who we were and what we did after all the trouble we put her through to find the watch. Apparently she'd seen it in the grass when they'd been rounding up cattle, but how it had gotten there when it had been on my wrist right before the rattle snake scare was beyond me. I didn't know what had happened, but I was determined to make sure we never came that close to such a situation like that again.

It surprised me how well Andi took the truth about us being time travelers. I made her promise she wouldn't tell anyone, not even her brothers. "I'm breaking a lot of rules telling you this, so you can't tell anyone," I'd said.

She'd gotten really excited about it, but she'd believed every word. "This is amazing, what is the future like? What do you do all the time? What kinds of things do people do?"

"That we can't tell you," Marin had said. "If we did you wouldn't believe us anyways, and there's some time travel rules that say we can't tell others about these things."

"No reason other than to irritate readers and fans," I explained.

Our last day in California came all too fast. I enjoyed our time with the Carters as much as Marin did, but I was more than happy to get back when it was time. We said goodbye to the family, then agreed to let Andi ride out with us. She knew we were heading back to our own time, and she wanted to see us depart.

Now we stood ready as the watch showed that we had two minutes left until we were transported back to our own time.

"It was so much fun having you," Andi said, hugging Marin. "You have to come again!"

"Yeah, maybe we'll bring Laura Ingalls Wilder along next time," I joked.

"Who's that?"

"Someone you'd like a lot," Marin answered, shooting me a look. "We haven't met her yet, but we know a lot about her."

"Time to go Marin." I grabbed Marin's hand as the dial on the face of my wristwatch began to spin faster and faster, and the surrounding area began to disappear and become our Hawaiian island.

"Goodbye, Andi!" We called.

I didn't hear her reply as the entire scenery changed and we were once more home. I knew from the look of awe on her face she no doubt said something like, "Roasting rattlesnakes!"

After all, what else would a cowgirl say?

The End

Back to the Drawing Board

Ready to head back out West with us? Good, because we’ve got some fun surprises… and dangers… that we need your help with!

Please excuse the weird color of the font, we're not sure what happened. We're working on trying to fix it though!

I may have miscalculated. Just a little.

Marin, on the other hand, didn’t think I’d messed up. She was convinced I’d created a disaster. These things she usually had a good insight on, but I was pretty sure it was just a mistake. She also had a tendency to overreact.

The wilderness surrounded us like a table of brown dirt and scrub brushes, there wasn’t another human being in sight. Sparse trees popped up here and there, perfect places for mountain lions and other sinister creatures to hide in. Overall, the land didn’t look all that promising for a good swim in lake Ontario. Where we were originally headed.

Yeah. I’d miscalculated.

“This isn’t Canada!” Marin exclaimed. “Můj bože! To je pustina! Tam je v dohledu žádná voda. Budeme zemřít žízní!”

I sighed and rubbed the back of my head. “I don’t understand you when you talk like that.”

For such a timid girl, she sure could be a ball of fire when she freaked out.

Marin whirled to face me, her blue eyes snapping as she placed her hands on her hips. “Forgive me, but České is my native tongue,” she stated crisply. “At least I learned your language.”

I didn’t even want to get into that argument. I knew if I did, we were going to be here for hours. “Fine. Whatever. All I’m saying is stop freaking out. Okay? Sheesh, you’d think I’d blown up Yellowstone the way you’re acting.”

Marin crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “Technically you did, remember?”

I waved it off. “Past offenses. Now we need to figure out where we are.”

My young friend didn’t argue with that. Instead, she sighed and began to survey the landscape.

My watch confirmed that we had indeed arrived in the year 1880, which was the time we’d aimed to show up in Canada. The only problem was I hadn’t the faintest idea just where we were, hence the slight tiff Marin and I had. She didn’t like the idea of being in a strange land for several days, whereas I didn’t really care. As long as there was a nice lake to go swimming in, I was good.

“Well, since we aren’t sure where we are, why don’t we start walking?” I suggested. “We aren’t supposed to go back to the Island until Tuesday, so we might as well enjoy ourselves until that time. Whatdya say?”

Marin shrugged, her eyes clearly troubled. “I wish 4T wasn’t such a finicky time machine,” she muttered. “How could it get Canada mixed up with this place? It doesn’t look anything like Canada should!”

“How do you know?” I countered as we began to stride through the tall grass and brush. I thought I heard a strange rattling noise, but dismissed it as a cicada. “You’ve never actually been to Canada.”

“Canada has mountains, and is big, and green, and, and, not dry like this!”

“You have no imagination.”

She looked a little sheepish and tossed a blond braid over her shoulder. “All imagination I have came from you, Trevor. I never was very creative. Just practical.”

Rattle, rattle. There was that noise again. I stopped and listened, then waved it off. “Bugs are busy this time of year. I think it’s Summertime.”

At this, Marin looked a little annoyed. “Well, duh. I could have told you that.”

Rattle, rattle. Something was just ‘off’ about that sound. I didn’t like it. I couldn’t recall why, but I knew I’d heard it before and it hadn’t been fun. What was that sound?

“Hey Marin,” I began, “Maybe we shouldn’t-”

Marin stopped dead in her tracks. Her face turned white and she didn’t move a muscle. It was then that I remembered just what that familiar noise was.

Rattlesnake. And it was less than three feet away from Marin.

I froze, my mind reeling as I tried to process what was happening. What to do. What action to take!

“Great Loch,” I whispered. “Great, deep and monster-filled Loch!”

Marin didn’t reply, but I noted tears were beginning to form around her eyes. I had to do something!
The rattler tested the air with his tongue, then rattled his tail again as I inched forward. If I had a gun I could shoot the darn thing, but I didn’t have a single weapon on me. 4T wasn’t going to work because I couldn’t use it for another four days. And if I sent for a future self, he could cause the snake to strike!

So little time and no good options. Every second was a second wasted.

“Trevor,” Marin whimpered.

“Easy Marin,” I warned. “Don’t move. I’m thinking.”

“Trevor, please.”

Her voice was desperate. That edge of fear that crept in during the most dire situations was present. She was more than desperate- she was afraid she was going to die.

I hadn’t even heard the footsteps behind me until a click! Sounded in my ear, and the barrel of a rifle poked around my shoulder.

“What on eart-”

“Shuttup, don’t move and hold your breath,” a male voice whispered in my ear. “Kid, stay as still as a log. Take one step and that snake’s going to take a chunk of your leg. Not to mention I might accidently shoot you. Don’t move, okay?”

Marin didn’t move, but she rolled her eyes back to catch a glimpse of the man behind me.

The rifle barrel came forward a little more. The snake coiled, ready to strike. Whirrrr, whirrr, he warned, hissing as he proclaimed his dangerous poison.

Before I had a chance to leap back, the rifle fired, the snake bounced up and Marin was in my arms, sobbing like the little girl she was. I hadn’t moved a muscle, and now I wasn’t sure if I would be able to. The rifle shot rang in my ears and my senses were on overload.

Owww.

I glanced at the man next to me and noted his cowboy attire. Oh, we must be in the West, I decided. He had dark brown hair, blue eyes and a black vest. He was about my height, so probably six-foot-one or so. His face was set in a grim line, and he stared at the still writhing snake.

“You’re lucky I came along when I did,” he grunted. He checked his rifle barrel and then motioned to two other riders behind him. “That snake would have killed your kid there, mister.”

“Thank you,” I breathed.

Marin nodded, still too overcome with the close call to speak.

A girl about Marin’s age and a blond-haired cowboy walked over, their faces full of concern. The girl watched Marin sympathetically, then came over and put her hand on Marin’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, I’ve had more than my fair share of close calls,” she comforted.

Marin looked up, a little embaressed that the strangers were watching her.

“Thank you sir for saving me,” she sniffed, wiping her eyes. She glanced at the dark-haired girl, who was wearing her hair in braids like Marin’s.

The cowboy nodded, then gestured to me. “Mister, you do realize you’re trespassing on our property, right?”

I chuckled and wiped my head, glad to be off the topic of the near death experience and onto something a little less uncomfortable. “No, I didn’t. Real sorry ‘bout that, we’re kinda lost.”

“Kinda?” The blond cowboy raised an eyebrow. “If you’re Scottish like your accent suggests, then you’re more than lost.”

Thank you! For once someone didn’t call me Irish! “That’s right,” I answered. “My, uh, daughter and I are not quite sure where we are.”

The dark-haired girl grinned. “Why, you’re on Carter property!” She announced. “This is the Circle C Ranch. And we’re the Carters!”

I could’ve sworn Marin’s jaw dropped. I know mine did. Marin stared at the girl, then blinked. “You’re a Carter?” she whispered.

“I’m Chad Carter,” Chad introduced himself, shaking my hand. “This is my brother Mitch and our sister Andi.”

Andi nodded to Marin and smiled.

“I’m Trevor Trekker and this is Marin,” I replied. We all exchanged handshakes, though my mind was numb. Carter? Carter? The richest ranchers in California? Well, it confirmed one thing. We were in California. Darn time watch, it got California and Canada mixed up! That was strange.

“Where are your horses, Mr. Trekker?” Mitch asked.

“We lost them,” Marin offered up, casting an admiring glance at Andi. Andi was her hero, this would be like me meeting Einstein!

“You guys really don’t know what you’re doin’, do ya?” Chad muttered, a small grin crossing his face. “You might as well as come back to the ranch with us. We were rounding up a couple of strays from our herd when we chanced upon you.” He picked up the snake and surveyed it. “Looks to me we were just on time.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” I agreed.

“You can ride with me,” Andi offered to Marin. “Taffy can seat two people. Your father can ride the extra horse we brought along, Patch. Mitch’s horse has been acting a little lame lately, so we weren’t sure if he’d need to dismount and ride a different horse. It’s a good thing we brought him along!”

“Thank you for your kindness and for helping us,” Marin said. “We’re pleased to meet you.”

“Yeah,” I winked in Marin’s direction. “I think you just made Marin’s day.”

Come back next week for Part Two! Special Thanks to Susan Marlow for giving us permission to use the Carters in this story.

Ride On! Book Recommendations for Westerns

Books on the Wild West are very popular, all you have to do is go to the library and look under the Western section. But to find books on the Wild West that are good, wholesome and full of adventure? That's a little harder.  

No worries, that's why Marin and I read books for you, to recommend the best ones we know about! So grab your hats, buckaroos, as we're about to head down the trail of literature! 

The Circle C Adventures 

Andrea Carter and The 

Long Ride Home 

Dangerous Decision  

Family Secret 

San Francisco Smugglers 

Trouble with Treasure 

Price of Truth 

By Susan Marlow 

Welcome to the Circle C Ranch, home of Andrea Carter, her family, and beloved horse. Living on the Circle C ranch in 1880s California--the heyday of the Old West--provides Andi with more than her fair share of adventures. Whether nearly trampling her schoolmaster with her palomino horse, Taffy, or outwitting an escaped convict, Andi's life is never boring. Her hair-raising escapades always end up teaching her valuable lessons about family, faith, and friends. Even if she does cause a lot of trouble (not on purpose, it just happens!) and even if she does get ornery with her brothers, Andi's family love and care for her shows that, no matter what happens between siblings, family is the greatest adventure God's ever given us. 

What we like about this series: Fun, fast paced and laced with adventure, this series always keeps you on the edge of your seat. They're never boring, something exciting happens in every book throughout the series. These are the kinds of books that kids love- good values, great adventure and plenty of humor. 

Age Range: 9-14, but older teens will enjoy them too 

Audience: Boys and Girls 

Cautions: Some characters (bad guys) do get shot in different books, and Andi gets injured in a couple of them. Little kids may be scared by this. 

Era: 1880s 

Special Notes: This is probably the best kid's book series Marin and I have ever read. Marin loves them, she never grows tired of the interactions between the siblings. To really appreciate them you have to read them! 

 NO PHOTO AVAILABLE

Danger in Sagebrush Country 

By Dorothy Croman 

This exciting story, which includes snakes, robbers, and wild cows, is set in Washington Territory in the summer of 1884, as a young girl's adventures teach her about trusting God and loving others. From escaping a mob in Spokane to facing a grasshopper invasion (that really makes it hard to breath without sucking in bugs!), you'll find adventure at every turn and lifelong lessons on every path. 

What we like about this book: The characters of this story (this is bad, we can't actually remember the names and no one else we know remembers either. Take our word for it, though, it's a good book!) share many a laugh, fright and excitement throughout the novel. Their love of animals is sure to make the animal people happy, especially when they make pets out of skunks! 

Age Range: 9-15 

Audience: Boys and Girls 

Cautions: The banker is murdered, and there is a couple of scary rattlesnake scenes. Little kids may be a little frightened by the 'bad guys' and the wild animals. 

Era: 1884 

Special Notes: This is my personal favorite stand-alone novel about the West. It's witty, fun, fast paced and very family oriented. The suspense gets really good in some parts also, and it focuses on a not-so-common area to do a Western- Washington, of all places! 

High Meadow Series 

 *The Hope of Wind River 

By Connie Siebert with Sandy Maxwell 

Maxine Mayfield is young and beautiful and suddenly finds herself alone for the first time in her life. Now she is faced with the challenge of finding her only living relative--her brother. But when a stranger crosses her path, she is compelled to take on the added responsibility of another person as she starts her search. After all, how much trouble can a little, white-haired girl be? Yeah, right! 

"The Hope of Wind River" takes you on a journey from the southeast corner of the Colorado Territory to the Wind River area of what was known in 1859 as the Dakota Territory. Be prepared to laugh a little, cry a little, and cheer a lot as cowboys, soldiers, Indians, and trail-bosses dance across the pages of this wild western adventure. 

What we like about this series: The main character, Maxi, is very endearing to the readers. Angel, her friend, is so sweet and gentle that she's sure to get more than one "awww," out of you! There are several hilarious scenes, from cowboys to Indians to adventures on the trail. Never a dull moment throughout the novel, it's fun from beginning to end! 

Age Range: 15 and up 

Audience: Girls, but Boys would like it also 

Cautions: This book is definitely for older readers. There are some suggestions made by the bad guys, but nothing ever comes from it. Also, the girls talk like, well, girls. They admire the different cowboys they meet and discuss which ones they'd like to marry. There is romance intertwined throughout the book, but it's good and wholesome. There is No swearing, immorality from the main characters or things like that, but the reader should be at least fifteen should they read this novel.  

Era: 1859 

Special Notes: None 

*This is the only one we've read. Book Two hasn’t come out yet 

Come back next week and we'll bring you on an exciting adventure, meeting a friend that we know you'll love!