Something Wilder

The majority of the Something Wilder takes place in Canyonlands National Park. The park is located outside of Moab, Utah, in the Four Corners Region of San Juan County located in the American Southwest. In Something Wilder, Lily, Leo, Nicole, Bradley, Terry, and Walter venture out into the Canyonlands for a week-long horseback riding adventure. Their treasure-hunting trip is largely set in the Horseshoe Canyon District of the park. This region is “remote enough to feel like wilderness but still close enough to town in case a guest [on one of Lily and Nicole’s tours] sense[s] the true isolation they’[ll] be facing and [gets] cold feet” (41).

As detailed in Utah.com’s travel brochure, the “Horseshoe Canyon is a non-contiguous section of Canyonlands just northwest of The Maze that holds The Great Gallery and other impressive rock art panels from the Barrier Canyon, Fremont and ancestral Puebloan cultures” (“Canyonlands National Park.” Utah.com). Because there isn’t a ranger station in this portion of the Canyonlands, the characters must rely on Lily and Nicole for guidance throughout their adventure. Over the course of the novel, they venture through this rocky, arid terrain. The landscape is not only remote but awe-inducing. Indeed, the “whole park is a redrock woodcut engraved by wind’s and water’s big, slow chisels,” and is trisected by The Green and Colorado Rivers and the Colorado Plateau (“Canyonlands National Park.” Utah.com). The more time that Lily, Leo, Nicole, and their traveling companions spend in this setting, the more physical and emotional challenges they encounter. They have to navigate the aforementioned rocks and trails and even cross the rivers. They encounter rocky ledges, narrow crevasses, unpredictable weather patterns, strong currents, and blazing sun. At times, these aspects of the environment feel oppressive, while at other times they inspire self-reflection and camaraderie.

Canyonlands National Park is a popular tourist destination. Some park districts offer ventures with experienced guides, much like the expedition Lily and Nicole are leading. In other districts, tourists are free to “explore a wilderness of countless canyons and fantastically formed buttes” using trail markers and maps (“Canyonlands.” National Park Service). No matter how the individual tourist experiences the park, the site has a rich Native history and a wealth of geological wonders.

The park is also one of the places where the infamous Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid hid the money they stole from various southwestern banks. These legends inspire Lily and her friends’ adventures in the park. The same was true of Duke Wilder’s attachment to the Canyonlands, as he had an obsession with treasure-hunting since his boyhood. This is why the characters must rely on Duke’s maps and riddles to find the treasure: He was the most experienced adventurer and explorer and became familiar with the Canyonlands throughout his adult life. The story is that Cassidy and Sundance Kid “hid their money somewhere along the Outlaw Trail” (137). Throughout the novel, the characters loosely follow the former outlaws’ travels. This setting is thus defined by its unique environmental aspects, renowned historical events, and national myths and legends.