I am counting the days until I leave for Yellowstone country. Ten days from now I’ll get close, but I’ll start south of the park to do some research in a library collection in Provo, Utah, and then visit old friends in Jackson Hole.
Then the real work begins. I have lots of things to check out in the park for Yellowstone Treasures. I suppose no guidebook can ever be declared finished, since it is only valuable if kept up to date with the changes that inevitably occur. Yellowstone is more prone to changes than most areas, what with all those geysers that keep changing their personalities. And parts of the roads may be different from a few years ago, along with other man-made features. Then, too, there are always ways to improve a book in general.
For the next edition I want to bring the writing about the geology of the park up to date. Yes, you would think the rocks would stay the same, but geology isn’t just about rocks, it’s also about how the earth got the way it is, how the geology affects all the living things in the neighborhood, and what may be going on under our feet that will bring about changes. Several types of geoscientists are working continuously to better understand the processes that make Yellowstone so marvelous.
Then, too, I’m always trying to understand what geologists are learning and bring some of it to my readers. Helping me this year is an old friend and PhD (from Brown University) in geology, Jo-Ann Sherwin. My map maker, Linton Brown, is back at work tweaking the maps, sometimes in subtle ways, and my editor and my book designer, daughter Beth Chapple and friend Alice Merrill, are doing their things for better verbal expression and design. With a little luck, we’ll have some new pictures to share, too.
And, of course, the Internet and phone access are both a bit iffy where I’m going, so I won’t try to write blog posts while there. There will be more words from me on this blog before I leave home, though. . . .
[August 2012]