About the Author

A Lifetime of Exploring

The woods were my backyard.

Growing up in Phillips County, Arkansas, near the Mississippi River, I spent much of my childhood exploring the forests and uneven terrain of Crowley's Ridge. By the time I was eight, I was already learning to find my way through the woods.

I didn't have a map or compass. I learned to recognize landmarks, follow the sun's movement across the sky, and listen to how sounds traveled through the forest. Sometimes I knew exactly where I was going. Other times, I learned a little more about where I wasn't.

I learned from my stepfather, older outdoorsmen who took me hunting, the Boy Scouts, friends who got lost, and occasionally my own mistakes.

Those woods were where I began learning to observe, explore, solve problems, and appreciate the natural world.

Learning to Look Closer

One of my strongest childhood memories is sitting quietly in the woods before sunrise, waiting for a deer.

As daylight reached the forest floor, the woods came alive. Squirrels moved through the leaves. Turkeys wandered nearby. Armadillos went about their business. Even the deer I was supposed to be hunting captured my attention for reasons that had little to do with hunting.

I remember wishing I had a camera instead of a shotgun.

I didn't fully appreciate it then, but I was beginning to understand something about myself. I was as interested in observing the natural world as I was in the activities that brought me there.

Years later, photography would become an important part of my life. But that curiosity began long before I owned a camera.

Experience, Preparation, and a Few Wrong Turns

My interest in the outdoors continued into adulthood.

I've explored forests, mountains, and deserts, sometimes following familiar trails and sometimes discovering that the trail I expected wasn't quite where I thought it would be.

Those experiences taught me that confidence and knowledge aren't always the same thing.

During my military career, I received formal training in land navigation and orienteering, including map reading, compass work, azimuths, pacing, and guiding teams through unfamiliar terrain.

I later shared those skills while helping guide my son's Scout troop. My son eventually earned the rank of Eagle Scout, an accomplishment I'm particularly proud of.

I've also spent considerable time practicing shelter construction and fire building, often imagining situations where weather, terrain, or available materials might require a different approach. I've taught these skills to others, including formal fire-building and safety instruction for adults in Colorado.

Outdoor knowledge is about more than performing a task. It's about recognizing risks, understanding the situation, and making thoughtful decisions.

Sometimes experience teaches us through mistakes. Other times, especially when safety is involved, preparation and proper instruction are far more important.

Why Journeys Of The Crew?

Some of the inspiration for Journeys Of The Crew came from being a father.

There were plenty of weekends when my children would have preferred to stay home rather than head outdoors with me. Occasionally, getting everyone out the door took a little persuasion.

But once we were outside, something usually changed.

An ordinary outing became an adventure. There were discoveries, unexpected challenges, and stories to tell afterward. Memories that might never have existed if we'd spent another weekend doing the familiar.

I began wondering whether stories could encourage young readers to discover some of that excitement themselves.

Not because childhood today is worse than it was when I was growing up. It's simply different.

I wonder how many children have stopped to notice the smell of decaying autumn leaves, watched the unpredictable dance of a lightning bug, felt the tug of a fish on the end of a line, or heard a turtle eating a mushroom on the other side of a fallen log.

There's an extraordinary amount to discover in ordinary places.

Sometimes all it takes is curiosity.

That curiosity became part of the foundation for Journeys Of The Crew, a developing series of outdoor adventure novels centered on Tommy Nash, Nate Bowings, Adam Jenkins, and Tommy's dog, Murphy.

Their adventures are fictional, but many of the challenges and outdoor principles they encounter are grounded in real-world experience.

Enter Rusty Pickett

Rusty Pickett occupies a special place in the world of Journeys Of The Crew.

He's an experienced outdoorsman who spends much of his life exploring, observing, and recording what he encounters. He doesn't set out to teach anyone. His journals are personal records of his experiences, discoveries, mistakes, and reflections.

Only later are portions of those writings collected into Adventures of Rusty Pickett: A Wild Guide.

Rusty draws from my experiences, lessons I've learned from others, and research that helps me explore situations beyond my own experience.

But Rusty isn't perfect. He doesn't know everything. His strengths are often his patience, observation, and willingness to think through a problem.

The Crew encounters his knowledge through A Wild Guide, sometimes finding exactly the insight they need and sometimes discovering that they must think beyond what Rusty recorded.

The boys have something Rusty often doesn't: each other.

Their friendships bring cooperation, different perspectives, disagreements, mistakes, and occasionally solutions none could have discovered alone.

Rusty's writings introduce possibilities. The Crew must decide what to do with them.

And the reader gets to come along.

More Than a Story

My first responsibility as an author is to tell a good story.

I want readers to experience the suspense of an unfamiliar trail, the excitement of discovery, the uncertainty of a difficult decision, and the satisfaction of solving a problem alongside The Crew.

Along the way, I hope they become curious about the outdoor knowledge woven into those adventures.

A Wild Guide is meant to deepen that curiosity. It offers a closer look at Rusty's experiences and observations, but isn't a substitute for proper instruction, preparation, or responsible outdoor practice.

The stories aren't intended to encourage recklessness. Quite the opposite.

Fear is sometimes useful. Mistakes have consequences. Preparation matters. Experience is valuable, but everyone begins without it.

And no one, not even Rusty Pickett, knows everything.

The Adventure Beyond the Book

I imagine a young reader finishing one of The Crew's adventures and reaching for A Wild Guide, eager to explore the same pages the boys encountered.

Perhaps that reader will spend an evening camping in the backyard with friends, ask a parent about learning to use a compass, or begin noticing things that were always there but previously overlooked.

Years later, I hope they'll remember wondering what Rusty experienced, trying to solve a problem alongside Tommy, Nate, and Adam, and feeling excited to turn the next page.

If one day I happen across someone describing how these stories influenced their childhood, or helped inspire their own child's adventures, I'll consider that something worth celebrating.

Because the greatest adventure these books could inspire might be one I never get to hear about.

And that's perfectly fine with me.

See You Down the Trail,

Jason Fazio

Creator of Journeys Of The Crew