Great Falls, Montana

Although a real place, author Richard Ford “takes liberties with the townscape of Great Falls” (prefatory material). Dell’s father is stationed there at the naval base and they live on the margins of town life since the natives distrust the nomadic lives of the naval families who come and go. Dell’s mother dismisses it as provincial and backward and urges her children not to assimilate with their surroundings. Good-natured Dell, however, explores his surroundings and appreciates its raw and natural Northwestern beauty. He looks forward to starting high school, joins the chess club, and wants to take up beekeeping. He finally feels as if he has found a home, but he is once again uprooted once he moves to Canada.

Creekmore, North Dakota

Dell’s parents drive to Creekmore in western North Dakota to rob the Agricultural National Bank. Creekmore typifies the small prairie...