Hanging out with National Geographic

Last summer I had the chance to show a National Geographic writer a part of Great Basin National Park, along with research scientist Dr. Anna Schoettle. We went up Mt. Washington to look at bristlecone pines and discuss White Pine Blister Rust. My job was basically as driver and tour guide, so we stopped at one of my favorite overlooks.

Later, we went up high on the mountain, where we saw some small trees making a start at life.

We also looked at some old bristlecone wood, left from when the bristlecones died off the last time it got cooler and trees moved back down the mountain. Dr. Schoettle discussed some of the new threats these long-living trees face, like white pine blister rust, a non-native pathogen that has had a devastating effect on lodgepole pines in nearby Montana. We also discussed climate change, wildfires, and beetles. Fortunately, the trees in Great Basin National Park look to be okay at the moment, although it's hard to predict how they will do with the fast-moving climate change we're currently experiencing and the many consequences it has, such as more extreme weather events.

Craig Welch is a staff writer for National Geographic and was starting research on a story about forests in peril all over the world. He told us we might only see a paragraph in the whole story about bristlecones as he had so much material to cover. The article would be appearing in May 2022 in a special issue about trees. He enjoyed his trip and kept saying if he had known how stunning it was, he would have brought a photographer with him. 

Fast forward to September, and I was driving a National Geographic photography crew up the mountain for an overnight to capture photos of the area. I had been feeling kind of blah about photography, so was looking forward to being with some experts.

I was immediately impressed by their enthusiasm and abundant photo and video taking.

They made me slow down and take a closer look at bristlecone pine cones (love those bristles!).

And the male pollen cones.

The 2000 Philips Ranch wildfire that burned over one thousand acres included bristlecones, making for some dramatic scenery.

Another thing that impressed me was the vast amount of gear they hauled everywhere. The main photographer was Keith Ladzinski, world-renowned. His assistant Angie Payne (a great photographer in her own right) was a pro at anticipating needs and lugging the heavy bags. Videographer Tommy Joyce kept his camera rolling.

While I observed, I mainly tried to stay out of the way. I couldn't resist snapping a few photos myself.

September was a great time with the fall colors (the far-off aspen patch is one of my favorites!). And spending the night was a good call so we could enjoy golden hour.

I find that I particularly enjoy patterns.

Here's Keith checking a photo he just took.

More patterns. (Did you say squirrel? lol)

The burned trees made for interesting shapes and textures.

Here's Angie carrying tripods and lights. I learned a lot about how much they use additional lighting. 

We talked about bristlecones and their life cycles. This bristlecone is so much older than Angie, even though it's just barely taller than her.

As the sun set, we saw beautiful colors to the west.

The crescent moon hung in the sky.

Then it was time for sleep. Sort of. There were cameras going all night, and then we got up very early to go hike down to the "magic grove" of bristlecones to be there before sunrise. We needed our headlamps.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a cloudy morning, so we didn't get the most dramatic backgrounds, but just before sunrise was quite nice.

Plus, I just love this tree!

So, it's now May 2022. What about that special National Geographic issue? They sent me an advance copy for helping out. 

There's a gorgeous shot by Keith and a paragraph of info. In fact, it might be the most hopeful paragraph in the whole section! The article is amazing, Craig made it seem effortless to combine personal experiences with facts about complex issues. I heartily recommend picking up a copy.

You can also find the story online with a bonus timelapse of bristlecones in Great Basin National Park (and some other trees in other areas):

Forests are reeling from climate change—but the future isn’t lost (nationalgeographic.com)

It was such a great experience helping out the National Geographic crews. It is truly amazing how much work goes into every photo, article, and video. Hope you enjoyed this little behind-the-scenes look!

Announcing a New Book--A Mystery Novel!

I've been working on publishing my first fiction novel. And after so much editing that I think my eyes might be permanently crossed, it's ready! Hip, hip, hooray!

The caving mystery is set at the National Speleological Society Convention in Ely, Nevada. The NSS Convention really will be held in Ely this July, so it was good to have a deadline to make me finish the book!

The premise of the book is that Dr. Elena Jackson, a cave biologist, finds a body at the Convention. Her twin sister Maribel is accused of the murder, and Elena works to clear her sister's name. Along the way she goes caving with her son, hangs out with interesting cavers, and sees sights in and around Ely. She only has a week to solve the murder before the suspects return to their homes in far-flung places.

I wrote the first version of the book during the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in 2011. I set it aside and never got back to it because it needed too much work. Two years, I wrote a new version during another NaNoWriMo. Then I set it aside. I sent out queries to some agents, but getting no bites decided I was going to self-publish. That involved reading and editing it, finding beta-readers to give me comments on what would improve the book, hiring a copy editor, hiring a graphic designer to make the cover, editing some more, proofreading it, formatting it for the paperback version, and formatting it for the electronic version.

Now the book is out and it's time for the promotional time! Visit my Facebook Author C. A. Cox page, like, comment, and share the post, and you'll be entered into a drawing for a free autographed copy. :)

You can find the paperback version of the book at CreateSpace.com and Amazon.com. The electronic version is also at Amazon.com.

I've written this book under the pen name C. A. Cox. Why? Well, I thought it might be good to separate my fiction and non-fiction writing. The pen name also has a special relation to caving. And that's all I'll say on that matter; you can figure it out!
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If you missed my other books, here they are! And as a special thank you for being blog readers, I'm having a Kindle Countdown discount on The Great Basin for Kids. Usually the Kindle version is $6.95, but starting May 16 at 8 a.m., the Kindle version of the book will be just $.99 for 53 hours. Then the price will bump up to $1.99 for another 53 hours (5/18 at 1 p.m. PST to 5/20 at 6 p.m.). Then the price will go to $2.99 until midnight on May 22.

The Great Basin for Kids is also available in paperback from Western National Parks Association bookstores at Great Basin National Park; the Border Inn in Baker, NV; the Art Bank in Ely; Economy Drug in Ely; the California Interpretive Center in Elko, NV; Indie book stores, Barnes and Noble,  and Amazon.com.

My first published book is Great Basin National Park: A Guide to the Park and Surrounding Area. It was published by Utah State University Press in 2012. It took two years to write and five years to publish! Since I'm not the publisher, I have no say in the book cost. The book's gotten great reviews, and I'm glad it's helped so many people find their way around this beautiful area better.

It's available in paperback from USU Press, Western National Parks Association bookstores at Great Basin National Park; the Border Inn in Baker, NV; Economy Drug in Ely, NV; Indie Bookstores; Barnes and Noble; and Amazon.com.

Affiliate links are present in this post--they don't increase your cost, but they help support this blog. Thank you!

More Free Time

It's the last day of November, which means it's the last day of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I participated this year, trying to write a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days. I was behind for 29 of those days, but today I finished! It feels so good.

Now I'll have a little more time to dedicate to my blog and other activities. I have a pile of books I want to read, new recipes to try, a little more exercise to do, and plenty of getting ready for Christmas.

I'll also be spending a bit of time editing the book. I had so much fun writing it. It's a mystery set in Ely, Nevada during the 2016 National Speleological Society Convention. So I wrote about some of the things I know best--caving and the local area. With a mystery thrown in. I have some loose ends to tie up, characters to flesh out, and facts to check (I couldn't help but throw in some night skies!). But the first draft is done, and it's so much to edit something that's already written!

If you've never heard of NaNoWriMo or always thought you wanted to write a novel, but weren't sure you could, it's a free program (although they accept donations), with lots of encouragement and pep talks. One tool I find really useful is updating my word count and seeing how the bar graph keeps increasing over time.

I find writing such a wonderful creative outlet. I could gush more, but I think I'll stop now. :)

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and wishing you a peaceful Advent.

Take the Hallmark Get Carded Challenge

Do you open your mailbox every day hoping to see something good in there? Do you feel a little letdown when all you get is junk mail and a bill or two? I sure do! I hope that the mail will bring me something wonderful! And some days it does. I particularly get excited when I get a handwritten note from someone.

Well, it's time to share a little joy. I heard about the Hallmark Get Carded Challenge and decided I wanted in.

The challenge is simple: Send 7 cards in 7 days to 7 special people in your life.

Hallmark sent me a package of cards for the challenge. I've always considered Hallmark cards to be the best of the best. The selection I received had some fun musical cards, some great kids cards that made my kids burst out laughing, and my favorite, the textured cards. Then came the hard part: selecting who to send these beautiful cards to. I have so many people in my life that I want to send a handwritten card to!

For the seven cards, I chose a couple people with birthdays (so much nicer to get a real card than just a note on Facebook!), friends with a new baby, a sick neighbor, a neighbor who shared some produce with us, and a couple long distance friends.

It was so fulfilling to write cards that I decided I'm going to do the challenge a second time, and I invite you to do it with me! To make it a little easier on your pocketbook, Hallmark is offering 30% off their cards with the code BLOG30 from Hallmark.com.

Hallmark also agreed to let me share a packet of cards with one lucky reader. You can enter below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Let me know in the comments or on the Desert Survivor Facebook page if you'll be doing the challenge and how it's going for you!

Month of Literary Abandon

Today is the last day of NaNoWriMo. I am happy to report that I've written more than the requisite 50,000 words! My novel is in no way publishable in its current form (some characters had name changes and character traits shift due to memory lapses and the plot has some major holes). But it sure feels great to have another story, no matter how draft, down on paper.

What's next? I'll most likely try to edit and revise to have it ready to go for the Pacific Northwest Writer's Association literary contest in February. You have to pay to enter but get two good critiques on the beginning of your story. And maybe I'll try the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. That one's free, but you don't get as much feedback. Nevertheless, I've found it's always good to have a next step or you end up with manuscripts lying around. Yes, that is spoken from experience. And yes, someday I will get back to past writing projects and see what I can do with them!

And of course, in the meantime, I'll keep blogging so I can make sure I'm writing (almost) every day!

Good luck to you in whatever your goals are!

Barf Bag

I know, an unappetizing title for this blog post. I actually have two reasons for it.

First, I've been rereading Louis Sachar's Holes, and there's a character named Barf Bag in it. I rarely reread books, but I enjoyed that one so much, I decided to give it a try, and it's nearly as good the second time around. Part of the reason I'm rereading it is to get a feel for how he put it together, as November is fast approaching, and November is NaNoWriMo.

That's the crazy acronym for National Novel Writing Month, where over 50,000 people try to write a novel of 50,000 words or more in a month. In 2008 I did it, too, and it was a wonderful feeling. In 2009 I only managed 35,000 words, but that was still a great feeling. I'm trying to decide if I should make a go of it in 2010. Will I have time with two little kids? Can I get a novel planned in a few weeks? I have one in mind, so we'll see. Do you want to give it a try with me? Please?

The second reason to mention barf bag is that we're on vacation.

Sounds bad, doesn't it? I'll explain.

I took the kids and traveled back to the Midwest to visit friends and family. Now that Desert Boy is toilet trained, it makes traveling easier. For the most part.

On the plane he had to pee. So I took him and Emma to the cramped little lavatory. Then he had to go again, but Emma was sound asleep in my arms, so I sent him back on his own. A mom was sitting next to the door, and bless her heart, she let him in and ignored everything that went on as he left the door open behind him.

We were in the final descent when Desert Boy informed me he had to pee again. I remembered back to a random thought I had had pre-travel, when I had decided to put him in a pull-up for the plane flight. But that random thought had fluttered away as quickly as it had fluttered in. He wasn't wearing a pull-up, he was wearing baseball underwear, with little absorbing power.

I told Desert Boy he would have to wait a little bit, and since he usually gives me a 10-minute warning, he was okay with that.

We got closer to the ground, and he told me again that he had to pee. I told him he'd have to wait a little bit longer. He made a face, but didn't protest.

We landed and taxied forever. Finally we got to the gate and I let him out of his car seat. He stood up in the tiny space between the seats.

"Mama, I really have to pee." His eyes were bigger than usual. Uh oh.

This was an emergency. People were already standing in the aisle, so I couldn't even take him on a mad dash to the lavatory and beg for forgiveness. If I didn't do something immediately, I was going to have a wailing kid with very wet clothes and a smelly puddle on the plane.

My mind flashed to a bottle. If I just had a bottle, he could pee into it. That's what we use on long trips in the cave. (Note: Do not also take lemon-lime gatorade into the cave if you also take a pee bottle. They are the same color in the glow of a headlight. Just saying.)

I had a bottle, but it was half-full of water and buried in my bag, and by the time I pulled it out and dumped it out somewhere (but where?), it would be too late.

I had no ziplocks.

Emma's diapers were buried.

But I did have a barf bag, conveniently located in the seat pocket. I whipped it out, told Desert Boy to pee into it, and did my best to provide a modicum of privacy as people shuffled their way off the plane.

Desert Boy peed, and peed, and peed. He peed like three inches in that bag.

By the time he finished, everyone else had gotten off the plane. A flight attendant asked what he could do to help me off. I was so tempted to give him the barf bag of pee, but I resisted. Barely.

We made it off the plane and had to wait for the stroller, and lots of other people were waiting for their bags. I managed to focus all my attention on the kids and ignore the little white bag I was gingerly holding. I also tried to avoid eye contact with other passengers. I didn't want to know what they were thinking.

We finally got to the terminal, and I made a beeline for the nearest garbage can. I released the barf bag, and heard the plunk as it sank all the way to the bottom. If any of the passengers waiting were wondering what I had just deposited--or why the garbage can was smelling a little rank--I didn't stick around to find out. It was time to get out of there.

We had just survived another pee adventure, and that made my day a good day.