Road Trip To Coffee Creek

Okay, so Mike & I were driving back from Palm Springs, which is like, only 27 hours by car from where we live in Calgary. (Should be a breeze, right?) And as we’re approaching Great Falls, Montana, I get this brilliant idea that we should detour for a visit in Coffee Creek, which is the setting for my upcoming four-book series for Harlequin American.

So we do it.

We’re getting a little grumpy, cause we’ve just added 3 hours to a 10 hour day, but we figure it will all be worth it to see this town that I decided to write about because I spotted it on a map and I liked the name.

Let’s just say that the reality of Coffee Creek did not match the fullness of my imagination. This church was pretty much the highlight of the town and it looked like a strong gust of wind would blow it over.

Little Church On The Prairie
But we kept driving. And we eventually came to some beautiful ranches, amazing valleys and spectacular mountains. I thanked the stars that I was a fiction writer and could patch all of this into my own version of “Coffee Creek” that would include the “Cinnamon Stick Cafe” and “The Lonesome Spur Bar” all with a nice little creek running right through it.
Best of all, I found the perfect location for the Lambert’s ranch. Can you imagine living with this view every day?

home on the range