SCENIC SCIENCE of the national parks

Like a secret decoder ring or a pair of x-ray glasses, Scenic Science of the National Parks: An Explorer’s Guide to Wildlife, Geology, and Botany lets you see the same iconic scenery as everyone else, but in a whole new way! Learn to spot stretch marks in the Tetons, sniff pine trees in the Grand Canyon (they smell like cookies!), and meet the colorful aliens lurking in the boiling waters of Yellowstone (excerpt below) with this fascinating guide to sixty parks.

The writing process took two years from book deal to publication and involved my co-author and I collaborating with a large team that included editors, a designer, and an illustrator. Research for the book involved a four month trip through twenty(!) parks and then months of cold calling parks and universities looking for subject matter experts.

“Arches/Shenandoah/Crater Lake National Park.”

“Hi there! My name is Emily and I have an obscure question about the ferns/rocks/lizards/bees in the park. Is there anyone there I could speak to?”

“Definitely! You’ll want to talk to Liz/Chuck/Nina they know everything there is to know about that stuff!”

**call is transferred. Liz/Chuck/Nina happily answers my ridiculous questions and gushes proudly over the subject they’ve spent their life thinking about. It’s awesome.**