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Friday Quiz: Where Is This?   (May 19, 2006)


buy my book from an independent bookseller--The Kaleidoscope Our Friday Quiz features a spectacular but relatively little-known park.

Hint: this is not the Appalachians or the Sierra Nevada, nor is it the Grand Canyon (the canyon walls there are ocher, orange and rust-red).

Be the first to identify the park or landscape behind me, and I'll send you a collector's copy of my book
I-State Lines. So email me!

Once you read the book, you'll find that a significant section of the two young heroes/anti-heroes' adventures occur in Iowa, the heartland of America. (Yes, each is both hero and anti-hero--it's the American way.) Though the heartland landscape of the country is not as dramatic as that pictured above, its scenery and identity provide many pleasures to observant visitors.

The guys (the book's characters, Daz and Alex) set off for Liberty, Iowa, which is an actual town, though the people they meet there are entirely fictional. The name is of course meaningful in multiple ways; it reflects not just the two young protagonists' journey and the core of American identity, but the values rooted in the landscape: the liberties earned by growing one's own food and by actively participating in one's community, and the liberties lost once these values erode.

My favorite bookstore to order books from is The Kaleidoscope: Our Focus Is You which happens to be in Iowa. Though physically sited at 112 1st Avenue NW, Hampton, IA 50441 (Tel: 641-456-2787, Fax: 641-456-2809) it is available to you via the miracle of the Internet. Shipping is free on all orders, and you can't beat that.

I highly recommend their "for girls only" section. If you're looking for a gift for that bright, sensitive girl in your family or circle of friends, this is a wonderful place to start.


For more on this subject and a wide array of other topics, please visit my weblog.

                                                           


copyright © 2006 Charles Hugh Smith. All rights reserved in all media.

I would be honored if you linked this wEssay to your site, or printed a copy for your own use.

                                                           


 
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