Research for the Next Rawlins Novel
Let me explain: With the first Rawlins novel now only days from being published (I will announce it soon with a special blog post.), it is time to begin research for the next book. I will begin writing “Rawlins, Into Montana” sometime this winter. Heaven only knows when I will finish it, but the next couple of my blog posts will relate primarily to the trip my wife and I took out to Wyoming and Montana the last week of September. Although the research was important, we spent most of our time taking photos and traveling through some of the most beautiful country in the world–the Wyoming and Montana Rocky Mountains. After flying into Jackson Hole, we rented a 4-Runner and began our trip in the Grand Teton National Park.
Besides the grand vistas, wildlife is one of the primary attractions for both the Teton and Yellowstone Parks, and we saw more than our share, including a rare sighting of wolves in the Teton Park. The only downside was I didn’t have my camera ready when the wolves appeared, and they disappeared in a flash. We did get photos of practically everything else we saw and will show some of those pictures here in the next few blog posts.
As you view the photos, especially those of the larger animals you may think me foolhardy because they seem to be taken from very close, but not to worry. I use a telephoto lens. These are wild animals and have no doubt, Teton and Yellowstone are not petting zoos.
As a writer, I try to imagine how this land and its wildlife must have appeared to Rawlins and his little family as they traveled through these mountain valleys over a hundred and fifty years ago. It’s awe-inspiring even in this day and age, especially when you see things with big teeth or long horns. Next time, if I am not announcing the publication of the first Rawlins novel, I will post more photos, including some of a grizzly on the Shoshone River.
