Two hundred years ago, a group of hardy frontiersmen set out from St. Louis, Missouri, and headed west under orders from President Thomas Jefferson to find the Northwest Passage and open up the newly-acquired Louisiana Purchase Territory. The adventure is still celebrated with all the zeal as it was in the days of yore. Come along on the trip with Oregon wilderness poet and retired logger, Michael J. "Hoss" Barker, and partake of the festivities from the comfort of your own easy chair.

Hoss Barker may be a self-proclaimed redneck who spent his younger adult years working in the rough and tumble logging industry in the backwoods of Oregon, but he is also a poet in the truest sense of the word. Hoss' poetry is scattered throughout this book and when he dons his poet's hat, the words flow from his heart and soul. His poetry speaks of his deep love and respect for Mother Nature's creations, whether they be the rivers, trees and mountains or the many and varied types of wildlife that he enjoyed while spending six years at the Paradise Lodge in the wild and scenic section of the...

Enjoy the homespun humor and poetry of country bumpkin, Oregon logger, Michael J. "Hoss" Barker, who loved to log and logged to live. Throw another log on the fire, pour yourself a hot toddy, put the cat out and delight in the hilarious short stories and wilderness poetry of a native Oregon son. He lived the book first, and then wrote it.