Raymund Eich

Science fiction and fantasy - from Middle America to the ends of the Universe

Hi ,

In my most recent Readers Club message, I talked about wonder, in both science fiction and the real world.

Last week, I got to explore some wonder first hand. We took the kids on a spring break trip to Big Bend National Park.

Photos cannot capture the stark beauty of the high desert, the immensity of the mountains, or the miraculous trickle of water that is the Rio Grande. (In the portrait mode picture below, Mexico is to the left and in the distance). I'm really glad we made the trip.

It's also a reminder that the common science fiction trope of "it was raining on Mongo that morning" is a vast oversimplification. Those two photos above, taken about 40 miles apart, show that even as seemingly plain a region as a "desert" contains more variation than most sci-fi worlds.

Reminder to self when I hit the keyboard tomorrow morning....

Big Bend is breathtaking, and a lot less crowded than most National Parks. Mainly because it's tough to get to. The nearest US airports, El Paso and Midland/Odessa, are 200-300 miles away. (I don't know driving distance from the airport in Chihuahua city, Mexico). For us, it was a road trip, that saw us leave Houston bright and early in the morning and reach our hotel near the park just before sunset.

Maybe I should put "near" in air quotes. The next morning we still had to drive 70 miles to the entrance and 30 miles more to the visitor center.

Hard to get to, but worth the journey. If you can find the time, and the money, and make plans before everything gets booked.

Journeys of Wonder that Aren't a 700 Mile Drive

While I was hiking through a ghost town and dipping my toes in the Rio Grande, fellow writer TC Marti launched the Mid-March Speculative Spectacular. Almost 30 books, ranging from sci-fi to fantasy, horror to steampunk, and beyond. Check it out. You might find a great author you've never heard of before. No flight or drive required, the parking lot has infinite spaces, and all the books are free!

That link again:

Mid-March Speculative Spectacular

That's it for now. I'll be back in a couple of weeks, with some sort of publishing news.

Till next time,

Happy reading!

Raymund