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Visiting Author – Alan Bartels – 100 Things To Do In The Nebraska Sandhills Before You Die
July 20 @ 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Join us at Francie & Finch Bookshop on Saturday, July 20th at 4:30 PM as we welcome author, photographer, and conservationist Alan Bartels! Alan will present his newest book 100 Things to Do in the Nebraska Sandhills Before You Die.
To order a copy of the book, follow the link HERE!
About the Book:
Some destinations claim colorful monikers like Big Sky Country, Sportsman’s Paradise, the Sunshine State, Land of Enchantment, or the Last Frontier. The Nebraska Sandhills, which makes up about a quarter of the state of Nebraska, can honestly claim all of that-and a whole lot more. Paddle past more than 200 waterfalls while kayaking the Niobrara River or hop into a livestock water tank and float through the dunes on the Calamus, Cedar, Loup, and North Platte rivers. Tour the remnants of tunnels associated with Chicago gangster Al Capone in O’Neill, meet the locals at a volunteer fire department barbecue at Wood Lake, and sample the “Sandhills’ Finest” craft brews in Ord. And don’t forget to explore the ranching culture of this vast region where cowboys still ride horses, cattle outnumber people, rodeo is a lifestyle, Cornhusker football is tradition, and God and family mean more than anything else. Follow along page by page as writer, photographer, lifelong Nebraskan, and travel expert Alan J. Bartels takes readers on a tour of the region he’s loved since childhood. Along the way, he points out well-known events and attractions, and off-the-beaten-path curiosities and small-town celebrations discovered through chance and dogged exploration. With 100 Things To Do In The Nebraska Sandhills Before You Die as your guide, you’ll have all the insider information needed for memorable Sandhills adventures of your own.
About the Author:
Alan J. Bartels is a writer, photographer, student of nature, father, wanderer, and chronic volunteer. He has been knocked unconscious by an emu; bitten by snakes, snapping turtles, and a sandhill crane; has come home smelling of skunk, and once had a wild black-footed ferret run up his leg. He’s rescued owls, hawks, and eagles for Raptor Recovery Nebraska, and guided hundreds of sandhill crane tours for Rowe Sanctuary. He loves the Sandhills and has an appreciation for Nebraskans everywhere with strong ties to the land. Alan’s award-winning children’s book, What’s Going Down in Prairie Dog Town? was published in 2018. The foreword was written by renowned primatologist Jane Goodall, and proceeds from the book were donated to Goodall’s Roots & Shoots youth service organization. Alan enjoys craft beer and is president of the Friends of Gracie – a group working with Sandhills ranchers to conserve wildlife and wild places. In 2016, Alan received the Rank of Admiral in the “Great Navy of the State of Nebraska,” and in 2000 was named Conservation Educator of the Year by the Nebraska Wildlife Federation. In 2022, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts appointed Alan to the Governor’s Council to Keep Nebraska Beautiful Board of Directors. In 2023 Alan joined the Sandhills Prairie Refuge Association’s Board of Directors. Alan is a self-taught writer and photographer. His photograph of a Blanding’s turtle appeared in the March 2020 issue of National Geographic Magazine, and his work has appeared in the Smithsonian Institution’s Air & Space Magazine, USA Today, and dozens of other publications. After 11 years with Nebraska Life magazine – most recently as editor – the 1989 graduate of Greeley High School and U.S. Army veteran left the fast-paced world of magazine deadlines in September 2021 and now works as the Information and Education Coordinator at the Lower Loup Natural Resources District in Ord, a job that allows him to teach children and adults in the Sandhills and beyond about our state’s precious natural resources. Alan’s most recent book, 100 Things To Do In The Nebraska Sandhills Before You Die, was published by Reedy Press in September 2023.