Coming to a Book Festival Near you!!! (Kentucky)
Ok. I took a month off from the blog to finalize the manuscript for book #4 in the J.R.I.C. novels: Treasure in the Swamp! Maybe that was a bad Idea, because I ended up using way too many words! Now I have to trim it down a bit.
That’s not the point of this relatively brief and celebrative blog. The point is announcements of things to come.
First and foremost! As you are reading this, we are 1 week out from the Junior Rangers Investigative Club Novels debut book festival appearance!
I, (author Nathan W. Landrum) will be appearing at the Louisville Book Festival on October 11th. I will be sitting (or standing) at table 59, from 10am-5pm. (information, including a map of the venue and a digital program, can be found in the link above.) Stop by to check out the most recent J.R.I.C. book: Treasure of Biscayne Bay. You can even take home a signed copy! (other titles may be available.) I’ve also prepared lots of cool stuff to show off, some free goodies, and there may even be some special displays related to the Big Mystery!
So, if you are in the area (Louisville Ky.) Please stop by!
And not just for me! There are tons of awesome authors and lots of really cool books at the festival. Here’s another link, Just in Case
Click the image to see the Louisville Book Festival’s website.
And don’t worry! If you cannot make it on October 11th. I will be in Lexington Kentucky on November 1st for the Kentucky Book Festival hosted by Joseph Beth Book Sellers. (More info on that after the Louisville Festival is over.)
But that’s not the only news
It’s October. Specter season. Specter Detector season even. The ghosts are out. Their howls and moans carried on the chill breeze that cuts through the shortened nights to raise everyone’s hackles and send chills down spines. I would argue that, for a ghost hunter, the haunting season never really ends. But it’s nice when everyone else starts to play along.
You can expect another installment of the Specter Detectors: Specter Files soon. (Two in fact, as apparently the entry from last year disappeared after publication. So I will be reinstating that one too.)
And this is as good a time to remind anyone who hasn’t picked up a copy of The Specters of Mammoth Cave, that it is a Halloween Mystery set in Mammoth Cave National Park featuring the Junior Rangers Investigative Club. So if you are interested in a spooky mystery you should check it out. If you’d rather buy directly from me instead of Amazon, this link will take you to the Ingram Spark website, where the book is also available. I don’t have my own shop, but buying a book through Ingram Spark is just as good for me!
Of course if you want an author’s signature, or any of the cool merchandise that I’ve been working on, you’ll have to come find me at the book festivals. (although, I do also sometimes sign books in any bookstore which carries the book on it’s shelves (mostly park bookstores featured in the stories.) so be on the lookout)
Now, that brings up another interesting point. The government is, as of this blog, shut down. That means some National Parks will be closed, or only have limited services. (This is spooky for an entirely different reason than ghosts.) I will be monitoring this as it progresses, and possibly devote a blog or two to helpful tips for National Parks during a Government Shutdown.
For now, and because it directly impacts all of the National Parks featured in the Junior Rangers Investigative Club Novels, I just wanted to pass along a few vital pieces of information, since one of the ‘fun’ things about a shutdown is that the people who keep the official gov. websites updated are not able to do that currently.
Dry Tortugas
As of when I am writing this blog. (a day before it is released.) The Dry Tortugas Ferry: which takes visitors out to the park, and also does some of the guided tours, is still in operation. However, if you are planning a Dry Tortugas Trip, here is a link with more up to date information. Dry Tortugas Ferry Shutdown? (again the answer as of this blogs writing and publication is: No. but that may change.)
You can also get to Dry Tortugas by seaplane. Their website does not have any updates related to the shutdown, but here is a link which includes their contact information Key West Seaplane.
In general, you’re best bet with the park is to contact the people taking you out there. Dive and fishing charters will probably be as available as they were before the Shutdown, and you can always take your own boat. But check to make certain that the dock will be open. (it has been closed to the public during past shutdowns.
Mammoth Cave
Mammoth Cave Tours are suspended until the Shutdown ends or other plans are made. (the tours are given by park rangers, who are furloughed during shutdowns.) This means that all tours inside Mammoth Cave are closed.
However, Mammoth Cave Lodge is operated by a concessions group. It will remain open throughout the shutdown. So, you can still stay inside Mammoth Cave National Park. (Just not take any cave tours.) This means that all of the really cool above ground trails will be accessible. Hike, Bike, and Horse Ride to your hearts content. But please pick up after yourselves and be kind to any rangers you do meet. (Law Enforcement and some maintenance rangers will continue working, but it’s not their job to pick up trash or clean the bathrooms, and they will be busy simply protecting the park. … also although they will be working, they will not be paid until the shutdown is over.)
If you want a Cave Tour, Fortunately there are several other caves in the area which will still be giving tours. All of which are awesome too!
My two favorites are Hidden River Cave and Diamond Caverns. Both are really awesome. Hidden River Cave also has a free cave museum, and Diamond Caverns, while not part of Mammoth Cave is in the same area. The Frozen Niagara, the Historic Tour, The Violet City Lantern Tour. The cave tours inside Mammoth Cave are spectacular. But Both Hidden River Cave and Diamond Caverns are awesome in their own right. (Also, Hidden River Cave will be featured in the next Specter Files.
Biscayne National Park
The waters of Biscayne National Park will be as open and as accessible as always to private boats. The campgrounds are closed, and I could not find up-to-date- information on the various docks on the islands. (see earlier comment about how the people updating park websites aren’t allowed to work right now.) so be mindful and don’t expect to get away with staying if the docks are closed as, again, law enforcement rangers will be working.
The Dante Fascell Visitor Center will be closed. however this doesn’t mean people looking to see Biscayne (but don’t have a boat) are out of luck. Tours are still available through the Biscayne National Park Institute. Although they are more limited and varied. Check their website for more info, but here’s a copy paste of their main statement:
During the federal government shutdown, Biscayne National Park’s Dante Fascell Visitor Center will be closed to the public.
Operations at our Coconut Grove and Deering Estate will continue as scheduled. We will also be offering a limited number of daily trips with pick-up and drop-off at a separate Homestead location, near the Dante Fascell Visitor Center.
If you already have a reservation with the Biscayne National Park Institute, please monitor your emails for information about your trip.
For trip availability, please visit our website or call us at (786) 481-0453
We remain committed to supporting our National Park partners and will continue to provide responsible access, enjoyment, and education to visitors during this time.
Summary:
No matter which park you are planning to visit during the Government Shutdown, please be vigilant, keep the trash down and the facilities and trails clean. Be nice to the rangers you do see, and take your time exploring the parks to remember that they are there because generations of people before you have loved them, and have thought that each and every park was worth fighting for.
I want to see these parks continue into the future. I want to see them fullfil the goals setout for the National Park Service: To Protect And Promote the really awesome places that the US has to offer. And I want to see the parks remain accessible to as many people as possible. So remember that the parks only exist because people work to keep them as awesome as they are. Just because they can survive a few days, or weeks without (some) of those people, doesn’t mean that they will remain the awesome places they are if we do not continue to fight for them.
Again, Check me out at the upcoming Louisville Book Festival!
And party on!