The Last Wyoming Mountain Man

Snowy Wyoming mountain background. Text "The Last Wyoming Mountain Man. Jill Kemerer. PetticoatsandPistols.com"

Howdy, everyone! I’m thrilled to be writing my very first post in Petticoats & Pistols! A little intro: I write contemporary Christian romance novels through Harlequin Love Inspired. My first five books were set in a fictional town called Lake Endwell, Michigan, and every book since has been set in fictional towns in Wyoming. Oh, and they feature cowboys. Lots and lots of cowboys!

I like cowboys.

Just saying.

Okay, enough about me! Let’s talk about the last Wyoming mountain man. I read this article by Jake Nichols last week, “Spaghetti Westerner Gap Pucci, 88, is the Last Wyoming Mountain Man of His Time,” via Cowboy State Daily. The article is linked, and it’s worth popping over to read the full article and see all the pictures. His life is fascinating.

Here’s a brief round-up.

Gap Pucci’s family emigrated to the U.S. from Sicily in the early 1900’s, and he spent his youth in Pennsylvania working in a quarry with his father. Later, he became a farrier, got into body-building, and joined the Army. He ended up being stationed in Alaska for a few years, which gave him a thirst for wide-open spaces and untamed land.

He moved to Utah and worked for a sheepherding operation, and later discovered Jackson, Wyoming. He and his bride, Peggy, lived in Wyoming from then on. Gap opened an outfitting business, and he and Peggy raised two daughters in a rustic cabin he still lives in today.

This quote from the article struck me:

“Nowadays what makes this 88-year-old special is the fact that he still lives like he does — straight-up cowboy. No phone, no internet, no modern amenities. Not even a fancy hay fork with the composite handle.”

No phone.

No internet.

No modern amenities.

I have to admit, there are days when I think, yeah, it would be great to have no phone, no internet. But I NEVER think I don’t want modern amenities.

Yes, the phone and internet claim my attention too often. But I love my hot showers, microwave, coffee maker, washer and dryer, furnace, and even my garage door opener. Modern amenities and I are besties.

So, Gap Pucci, I salute you! You lived an amazing, hard, fulfilling life.

As for me? I’ll stick to writing about cowboys. And I’m going to go give my coffee maker a hug. I take that beautiful machine for granted.

How do you feel about no phone, no internet, no modern amenities?

Thank you for stopping by!

 

 

Christmas Wishes & Cowboy Kisses

 

Sometimes an opportunity comes along that is just too fun to resist.

That was the case when I was invited to be part of the Christmas Wishes and Cowboy Kisses boxed set. It includes 23 never-before-published sweet romance stories that are all about … cowboys and Christmas! Seriously, what could be better?

This boxed set includes second chance romance, small-town sweethearts, swaggering rodeo stars, swoony single dads, and more, written by some of your favorite sweet romance authors including Liz Isaacson, Lacy Williams, Carolyne Aarsen, Melissa McClone, Kit Morgan, Laura Ashwood, Natalie Dean, Terri Lorah, Cynthia Woolf, Kathleen Ball, Macie St. James, Christina Butrum, Terri Grace, April Murdock, Hannah Jo Abbott, Amelia C. Adams, Josephine Blake, Heather Blanton, Catie Cahill, Parker J. Cole, RL Ashly, Christine Sterling, and me!

 

 

The book releases October 25 and you can get all 23 of these sweet stories for just 99 cents! Wow! It’s like Santa came early, right?

Make sure you pre-order now to get the book for just 99 cents. I don’t want you to miss out on this fun Rodeo Romance story or any of the other sweet cowboy romances!

My contribution to the boxed set is Taming Christmas.

Those who have read my Rodeo Romance series will recognize many of the characters. In fact, this story came to be from readers who often asked about one of the secondary characters, a bull rider named Huck. So this is Huck’s story of how he made such a bad first impression on Mara, that he proved to be unforgettable.

Here’s a fun snippet from the story when Huck meets Mara for the first time:

~*~

That left Huck facing the blonde who held a great deal of censure in her gorgeous blue eyes.

Before he could speak to her or offer an apology, though, Cort and Tate flanked him.

Tate removed his hat and politely tipped his head. “We’re so sorry, miss. Huck isn’t completely housebroken. His last girlfriend told him she’d rather bring home a feral cat than let him into her apartment again.”

“He’s been kicked in the head one too many times, miss. Don’t judge him too harshly,” Cort said with a pleading, boyish smile. “He doesn’t have the sense to know better, and he doesn’t possess the ambulatory skills of a drunken baboon.”

Huck’s hand curled into a fist as he considered how much attention it would draw if he tackled Cort and Tate and pummeled them into silence. Cort was several inches taller and many pounds heavier than he was, but as angry as he felt, Huck knew he could take him down.

Before he could start swinging, the blonde woman grinned. “He seems harmless enough, even if he’s about as smooth on his feet as a one-legged ostrich on ice.”

~*~

Read the entire first chapter of Taming Christmas here.

 

What about you?

What do you think would be a

funny way for a couple to meet? 

Post your answer for a chance to win a paperback copy of your choice of one of the Rodeo Romance sweet romances!