Valerie TempleWhen Valerie Temple discovered foxes close to her childhood home in Pueblo, Colorado, she began observing these mystical creatures and developing a relationship with them through the lens of a camera, her sketches, songs and stories.On the dirt road here she lived in the 1950s, there was prairie almost as far as you could see. The family home was not too far away from Dry Creek (now called Wild Horse Creek) close to where her character Hilda lived in her shanty.The abandoned well where Sam and his brothers set a trap for Mudsy is still there today close to the creek hidden by saltbush. When it rains the road leading to the well makes for some great mud puddles like the one Mudsy played in and the mysterious girl with long white hair made clay figures in.Most of the settings in the story are taken from Pueblo landmarks, altered and slightly rearranged to fit the story. When growing up as a child, Temple and other children use to take the same paths, play on the same hills and hide in the same secret places as the foxes. These shared and explored experiences have a special connection for her making the fox her Spirit Animal. Read More Read Less