How Dark Skies Inspire
By Melissa C. Marsted, a Utah-based author of children’s books, long-distance runner, and dark sky explorer
A tale of adventure through magical dark skies
As a children’s book author about nature, national parks, and endangered species, I was often on the road with my 13 year old Jack Russell terrier, Aro, for research, for book sales and for my love of adventures. I remember the exact night when all of my senses were awakened to one of the darkest and most silent nights I had ever encountered.
Crescent moon and Milky Way over Deadhorse Point (bottom left) and Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Photo Credit: Bettymaya Foott
In May of 2021, I visited a place I had never been, Goosenecks State Park in southeastern Utah. I found a perfect place near the rim to park our van where Aro could rest and I could sit at a picnic table as the sun began to set over the twisting and turning San Juan River nearly 1000 feet below.
Where I live, I can hear the incessant noise of Highway 80. At Goosenecks, I witnessed complete silence, except for a few periodic noises from the dozen or so other campers. There were no trees, thus no rustling leaves, nor branches for birds to land. On the road I try to avoid news and social media. So all of my senses could take in the setting sun, the silhouettes and the absolute quiet for my brain to simply melt and settle into a calmness it needed after the incessant fear of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. As an endurance athlete, I feared long Covid. Out there at Goosenecks with Aro, I rejoiced in the darkest and quietest night sky I had ever experienced. All of my worries truly floated away.
Campsite at Goosenecks State Park
Photo Credit: Melissa Marsted
A flash of light interrupted the darkness. A light bulb turned on in my brain, but a good light, a perfect light. A children’s book! I was already familiar with dark skies and I knew Utah was particularly well-known for having the most dark skies in the world. At that time, Utah had 20 of the 200 or so certified International Dark Sky Places - 10% of the entire world’s Dark Sky Places in just one state and my home state. As soon as I was able to regain an internet connection, the first thing I Googled were endangered birds of Utah, and that’s how I chose the narrator for our dark sky book - a threatened Mexican spotted owl. I made a list of all of Utah’s Dark Sky Places and created a clockwise journey around Utah for Ole, our main character.
Sunset over Goosenecks State Park and San Juan River
Photo Credit: Melissa Marsted
When I write and create my books, one of my major tasks is to make sure I visit the locations that we write and illustrate. In retrospect, I may have gone a bit overboard with the amount of material I wanted to cover for Ole’s journey, inluding traveling through as many of Utah’s Dark Sky Parks as possible, so I could choose such iconic features, like Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park and Kachina Bridge in Natural Bridges National Monument for our setting. I also wanted to feature a constellation AND a different phase of the moon on each page with the full moon represented in the middle of the book. With the help of an aspiring young illustrator, Victoria Speck, together, we created life-like illustrations to capture the attention of our youngest readers and rich sentences to engage the oldest of our readers.
The idea for Ole’s Dark Sky Journey was sparked during that fateful trip to Goosenecks in May, 2021, and was finished after Hope Soars over Yellowstone and The Bird that Lives in Paradise. By the summer of 2023, Ole had won a national book award and was part of the annual Library of Congress’s National Book Festival in Washington DC. Sadly, Aro passed away six months after we had been at Goosenecks.
Ole's Dark Sky Journey
https://www.luckypennypublications.com/
This past June, I took my new pawed travel partner, Clover, a three year old Vizsla, on a tour to Colorado spending the night in Mesa Verde and Great Sand Dunes National Parks. My senses and fascination were again rewarded with dark skies and a dreamy silence - only to go home to have the freeway noises grate on my nerves.
In late September, as the weather report turned from record-breaking heat to predicted rain and snow, we took the opportunity to visit a place that had been on my bucket list for years, Craters of the Moon National Monument, in south central Idaho. I had driven by the exit countless times but never had enough time to make the long drive into the park. This time it was my destination - 285 miles and four hours from home.
Super Hunter's Moon over Craters of the Moon National Monument
Photo Credit: Melissa Marsted
We arrived at the Craters of the Moon campground at the exact moment the sun was glaring into my bug infested windshield. After deciding on the perfect campsite, and a bit of settling in, it was time to take a walk as the Super Hunter’s Moon was beginning to rise over the series of volcanic domes and cones, for which the monument gets is name.
The dramatic landscape captivated me immediately and knowing this was once Shoshone territory, the light bulb turned on again. How could I turn this park’s magic into its own children’s book? Our narrator could be a greater sage-grouse, a locally-significant threatened species. Instead of focusing on the constellations or phases of the moon, our favorite grouse could meet various animals that call Craters of the Moon home and introduce readers to the various types of volcanic features that characterize the region.
That night, I looked out the van’s windows at the brilliant full moon that seemed to mask most of the star and Milky Way activity. I was exhausted, ready to fall asleep, but excited to explore in the morning.
Some of my trips last up to 4-5 weeks. This trip was a nearly perfect 48 hours, save for the blinding sun which fortunately guided me to a delightful $8 site for the night. It’s incredible that such a brief stay at Craters of the Moon has already sparked another children’s book. I can’t wait to get started!
Campsite at Craters of the Moon National Monument
Photo Credit: Melissa Marsted
Although my knowledge, awareness and advocacy of dark skies is just beginning, I am proud that my first children’s book is packed with engaging information to capture the imagination of readers young and old.
Learn More
- Goosenecks State Park
- Craters of the Moon National Monument
- International Dark Sky Places
- Ole's Dark Sky Journey available through Lucky Penny Publications
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