My second published book (the one I thought I could do in a weekend but it really took two years!):
The Great Basin for Kids
Check out all 40 pages of full-color, full-fun goodness.
What's in the book?
Learn about some of the cool features of the Great Basin, like volcanic features and huge lakes. Find out what kind of creatures live in various habitats of the Great Basin, from sagebrush to mountain forests. Discover some of the people who live in the Great Basin, such as Native Americans and cowboys. And finally, check out the amazing night skies above the Great Basin.
Along with some information and a fun fact about each of the 18 topics in the book, there is also a kid-friendly activity. These can help you learn about the Great Basin, but more importantly, they are a lot of fun!
Also, there's a map that shows places to visit related to the topic. In the example below, you can find some caves open for the public to visit, scattered all over the Great Basin.
Where can I get it?
Get your autographed copy from:
* Western National Park Association bookstores, Great Basin National Park, Baker, NV
* the Border Inn, Baker, NV
* The Art Bank, Ely, NV
* Economy Drug, Ely, NV
* The White Pine County Museum, Ely, NV
If you’re shopping online, you can also find the book at CreateSpace, IndieBound, and Amazon
.I'd love your feedback on all the books, and reviews on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, and other locations are greatly appreciated.
Nevada Magazine (Sept/Oct 2014) says:
Gretchen M. Baker…has created the ultimate Great Basin guide for children. Baker offers a fun and informative look at the features, habitats, and peoples of the massive, 200,000-square-mile basin that spans four states and almost completely encompasses Nevada. The book includes 18 activities--such as "mining" a chocolate chip cookie to learn about mine reclamation--which offer kids a hands-on learning experience. Baker includes lists of places to visit so children can experience such areas as wetlands, the high country, or learn about the Basin's Native American peoples. Fun facts and numerous maps make this colorful book a great companion to any Nevada roadtrip.
Learn more about the book from this Ely Times article by Garrett Estrada (July 2014) or this
Reno Gazette-Journal article by Susan Skorupa (August 2014).
My first published book (which only took two years to research and five years to publish! Thank goodness I didn’t know that when I started the journey!)
Available from Utah State University Press:
Great Basin National Park:
A Guide to the Park and Surrounding Area
6x9, 332 pages (Click on the image to learn more.)
Want to see more? Here's the Table of Contents.
This super addition to your library is available from Western National Parks Association bookstores at Great Basin National Park, the Border Inn in Baker; Economy Drug, and the White Pine Public Museum in Ely, NV; Great Basin Museum and Service Drug in Delta, UT; and online from USU Press, Amazon
, Barnes & Noble, Indie Bound, and Books-a-Million. E-book version available!
Don't want to tote 332 pages (they're awesome, but they are a little heavy) into the backcountry with you? Now you can get the e-book version (and of course the regular book version!) from USU Press's Website.
Or get the Kindle Edition
.Description of the book: Great Basin National Park is in large part a high-alpine park, but it sits in one of America’s driest, least populated, and most isolated deserts. That contrast is one facet of the diversity that characterizes this region. Within and outside the park are phenomenal landscape features, biotic wonders, unique environments, varied historic sites, and the local colors of isolated towns and ranches. Vast Snake and Spring Valleys, bracketing the national park, are also subjects of one of the West's most divisive environment contests, over what on the surface seems most absent but underground is abundant enough for sprawling Las Vegas to covet it—water.
Learn more about the book from this Ely Times article by Lukas Eggen (July 20, 2012).
Reviews:
Dean Draper of the Millard County Chronicle Progress said it's a "must-have book" and that the "guidebook is a necessity for the home library." (July 24, 2012)
Book signing with former Great Basin National Park Superintendent Andy Ferguson
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I published my first fiction novel, a caving mystery, in May 2016. I used the pen name C.A. Cox to differentiate it from my non-fiction work. And, well, there’s a cave geology joke in there that I couldn’t resist. (*See hint at bottom if you need help figuring it out.)
An Un-Conventional Murder
Dr. Elena Jackson, cave biologist, is attending the National Speleological Society Convention in Ely, Nevada with her young son when she stumbles across a body in the homemade hot tub at the Convention campground. Her twin sister, Maribel, is accused of murder. As Elena wends her way through cave passages and Convention events, she tries to clear her sister's name. She discovers that the deceased left quite a trail of jilted lovers, debts, and ill will, meaning no shortage of suspects. The Convention is only one week long--will she be able to find the real killer before all the suspects flee to far parts of the country?
Written by Gretchen Baker under the pseudonym C. A. Cox. Available at the Ely Art Bank and Garnet Mercantile, Economy Drug, CreateSpace.com, Amazon.com, and more locations soon.
Paperback and Kindle versions.
(*Hint for figuring out pen name C.A. Cox: What is limestone made of? The chemical constituents?
Bonus hint: The periodic table might help.)