Caverns of Sonora

Check out Laurence's photos of the Caverns of Sonora in the September 2010 issue of Texas Highways. The article, written by Rae Nadler-Olenick, appears on pages 46-53.

Laurence grew up spelunking in Carlsbad Caverns National Park in Carlsbad, New Mexico, where his father was a park ranger.

Book presentation in Alpine, Texas

My presentation on my new book, Death in Big Bend, in Alpine at the Way Out West Book Festival went very well. Big Bend National Park's chief ranger, Alan Etheridge, introduced me and talked a little about his experiences with rescues at Big Bend and other parks where he has worked. Then I talked about how the book came to be, the difficulties in writing the book, and about specific incidents in the book. In particular I talked about two heat stroke deaths at the park, a horrible double murder, a climbing death, and an assisted suicide/second-degree murder. Mr. Etheridge talked about two recent incidents at the park where the people were saved, but just barely. The room where I was speaking was full. I guess everyone has a little bit of a morbid interest in tragedies and rescues, including myself. Afterward I signed a lot of books and answered questions. With the book only having come out 2-3 weeks ago, it was a great debut along with the radio programs.