About the Author

Jon Kramer is an adventurer first and also a geologist, writer, climber and surfer (but not necessarily in that order, depending on the surf). He received his Bachelor of Science degree in geology at the University of Maryland and has pursued life as an adventuring paleontologist ever since. His interests are quite varied and include all things natural. In addition to popular travel and adventure writing, Jon has published scientific papers on critters as ancient as two-billion-year-old bacteria and as young as 12,000-year-old mammoths. Jon travels extensively with his wife Julie, sometimes settling down for a rest in Minnesota, Florida, California and interesting points in between. Julie Martinez is an explorer, naturalist, freelance artist and formal art instructor. Her appreciation for insects, plants, rocks and fossils started in childhood with a collection that has grown throughout her life. Julie graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, with a degree in Fine Arts and Biology. She initially worked as an illustrator for the medical field but in the late 1980s began a freelance career, which she has enjoyed ever since. Julie's work is featured in many textbooks, journals and museum exhibits throughout North America. She is also a staff teacher at Minnesota School of Botanical Art. When not teaching, she travels with Jon, exploring the wilds of the world. Vernon Morris is a freelance artist, muralist and adventuring time traveler. His formal art education took place in the early 1980s at the University of Minnesota and Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Vern's Native American (Anishinabe) roots have been a powerful influence in his life. He maintains a small quarry at Pipestone National Monument where he excavates the famous carving stone every year. He then sculpts it into pipes and ritual objects just as his ancestors did for countless generations. Vern carries his work with him into the wilds and is just as comfortable carving pipestone atop a mesa in the Southwest as sketching scenes from antiquity along the ocean in Big Sur.