Barley: Memories of a Trail Dog

by Lance M. Huff

Overview

Trail dogs are an important part of an outfitter crew. They offer security and companionship to crew, stock, and clients alike. Now one of those special dogs shares his story and his memories.

Barley is a little brown dog, just the right size for a bedroll. Although he's retired now, he used to be a trail dog, working with Creel Canyon Outfitters in the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico. As a small puppy, he lived with a family and two other dogs, but eventually he goes to live with a man he calls Big Guy. Together they travel and take clients through the wilderness of the Southwest, from Prior Cabin in the Western Gila Wilderness to Franz Springs in the Blue Range Primitive Area Wilderness in Arizona. Barley recalls tales from when he was in the prime of his youth and in the thick of having fun only a dog can have in the great outdoors.

Told from the perspective of a retired trail dog, this narrative presents fun and exciting tales of traveling in the wilderness of the American Southwest.

LANCE M. HUFF was born in Silver City, New Mexico. A fifth-generation Grant County native, he has a deep, historical family heritage from the area. To explore his family history, he decided to journey the areas of his ancestors, the Gila Wilderness. His profession as a chef gave him the opportunity to go discover that country while working as a camp cook for an outfitter. He currently lives in Glenwood, New Mexico.

REXANNE EBY JONES, illustrator, is Lance's older sister, teaches reading, English, and writing at a small school in northern Texas and is also a skilled artist. She currently lives in Chillicothe, Texas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728359625
Publisher:	AuthorHouse
Publication date:	04/21/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	82
File size:	5 MB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Lance Huff was born in Silver City, NM on December 12, 1972. Lance is a fifth generation Grant County native with deep historical family heritage from the area. He grew up in a rural and agricultural setting across the Southwest and Northern Wyoming. With a fondness for family history, he decided to journey the areas of his ancestors. The Gila Wilderness. His profession as a Chef gave him the opportunity to go discover that country and get paid as a camp cook for an outfitter. After finding a little brown dog, that was just right for a bedroll, an adventure had begun. Rexann Jones was born on August 21, 1967 in Silver City, NM. She is Lance’s older sister. Rexann is an elementary teacher that instructs reading, english, and writing for a small school in Northern Texas. With this profession and the great artistic skill Lance knew growing up, he knew she was the only one to bring Barley to life. Lance lives in Glenwood, NM. Rexann lives in Chillicothe, TX.

Editorial Reviews

2020-09-09
A trail dog recounts his eventful life from puppyhood to retirement in this children’s book.

A dog named John Q. Barleycorn has a lot to learn when he’s adopted by Big Guy, the cook and equine wrangler for an outfitter company in New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness, part of a large, pristine area that has been federally protected since 1924. Through Barley’s eyes and engaging first-person narration, readers will experience what it is like to be out in untamed nature, where the only means of travel permitted is on foot or via horse or mule. Barley finds his place in his new trail-dog pack (there’s a hierarchy) and meets the saddle horses and pack mules (they aren’t just big dogs, as he first thought; they can kick an unwary canine, and they can panic when they spot a rattlesnake). On the trail with beloved Big Guy and his crew, Barley observes the “Tall Folks” (his name for humans), including the outfitter’s clients: campers, hunters, fishers, photographers, and writers. He learns the hard way to avoid skunks and porcupines and teams up with his hound friend, Daisy, to sniff out a camp thief (a raccoon), tree a mountain lion, and watch an epic clash between a feral bull and a bear. With deliberate care, Huff weaves in lessons about teamwork, what is needed to prepare for a camping trip and to stay safe, and the importance of protecting nature. Throughout the novel, Barley’s high spirits and thoughtful observations are shaped with an uplifting sense of the author’s love for the story’s setting. On Barley’s first morning in the mountains, he wakes up to “the most wonderful smell in the world. Thousands of pine trees giving off pure oxygen, wildflowers bursting out greeting spring, the special smell of free running water, and all that wrapped up with thousands of acres of freedom.” (The work includes a dozen small pencil images by debut illustrator Jones and a photograph of a dog.)

A lively canine voice, outdoor adventures, and life lessons in a real-world wilderness setting.

Kirkus Reviews