Hank Blankenship And The Longest Fall: 154 Years From Home

Seventeen-year-old Hank Blankenship was content to spend his life ranching in Buffalo, Wyoming, the same land his grandfather worked. But during a Saturday morning skydiving jump with his club over the Bighorn Mountains, something extraordinary happens. When he pulls his parachute cord at four thousand feet, the landing zone has vanished—along with the town, roads, fences, and power lines. Below is only open range, a wild creek, and unchanged mountains. Hank lands in 1870, 154 years from home. With only his parachute and jumpsuit from another era, Hank must survive in the past. He finds shelter with Joshua Bettington, a sixty-five-year-old former ranch hand, and secures work on Herman Thamon's large cattle operation along Clear Creek by applying ranching knowledge far ahead of its time. He befriends Jim Cotton, a young man from Missouri with ambitions to build his own herd. But Hank also faces a serious threat in a lawless territory where help won't arrive. This young adult historical adventure explores displacement, resilience, and how family emerges in unexpected circumstances when you're stranded 154 years from home.