Booking in Bountiful

Hanging out in Salt Lake City, waiting for the much anticipated ritual of trick-or-treating (no I did not dress up but went as a real life Grandpa with my granddaughter Autumn and we had a blast!) I ended up with a bit of time for book hunting.   We had some spectacular weather for an out and about with temps reaching the low 70s on Halloween night.   Good book crusin’ weather as well!

My hunting expedition too me north to Bountiful and a wonderful little store, the Book Garden.  Located in a piece of old downtown Bountiful, some 10 miles or so north of the Salt Lake metro area, it proved to be packed with loads of books.  There was a small nature and animals section which had an admixture of field guides, pet books, and a few ecology type tomes.  However, nothing there that I was either targeting or discovered a sudden burning desire for and could not live without!

But that was just the upstairs.  There was a basement!  And experience has taught me that sometimes, if one “heads into the hold” and is patient, real treasures can be found.   So heading down, I discovered that the majority of the basement was paper bound books of all descriptions.  But since I don’t ever buy a paper bound book for my personal collection, unless it is has never been published as a hard bound, I didn’t spend much time perusing that section.

However, on a dusty and quite haphazard shelf in the very back of the basement was a section that was largely filled with old hardbound books!  I found at least a couple of books that I already had and was fascinated by the diverse variety of topics and authors found in the jumble.  And lo and behold, I ended up finding a book I decided to buy!

Rocky Mountain Warden, by Frank Calkin is a collection of his adventures as a Game Warden for the Utah Fish & Game Department, beginning back in the 40s and 50s.  Having carried a badge as a Federal Wildlife Officer for 25 years of my career in the wildlife profession, I had an adventure or two during my time and thought seeing what kind of encounters Frank had would be fun.  I had encountered this book a few other times in my booking travels but had managed to resist it.  But when I looked at the back of the dust jacket this time, the price sticker read “$3:50.”  How could I pass that up?  No way, no how!  So some wintery day not too far down the road, I’ll pull out Franks adventures in wildlife protection  from my bookshelves and cozy up to my wood stove and reminisce about catching bad guys!

The Book Garden has a great selection of classics near the front of the store, and as is common here in Utah, has a strong selection of LDS books.   The staff was a delight to talk to and clearly had a passion for reading and for books.  You won’t be disappointed with the quaint bookstore if you make the stop.

I couldn’t end this piece without posting a picture of what is on the window on the store front.  As someone who, since I retired nearly three years ago, has not had a TV plugged into anything other than a DVD player, this is a near and dear quote.  I don’t miss TV but I should surely wither without good books to take me to all corners of the earth with a sense of wonder.

Until I hunt the wily book again, I bid you a good read!