Of Ravens and Contrails

In a matter of a few weeks, two people disappear in the wilderness of the Colorado Rockies under circumstances so mysterious and potentially frightening that the forest manager, Juan Zamora, dare not disclose what he knows, not even to his wife. He has reason to believe the missing people might still be alive but living under circumstances he couldn’t even imagine. Were they taken, and if so, why?

In a matter of a few weeks, two people disappear in the wilderness of the Colorado Rockies under circumstances so mysterious and potentially frightening that the forest manager, Juan Zamora, dare not disclose what he knows, not even to his wife. He has reason to believe the missing people might still be alive but living under circumstances he couldn’t even imagine. Were they taken, and if so, why? He seeks council with a select few, including a wizened Navajo man on the reservation in New Mexico who he believes might understand his dilemma. The trail leads them to something even more mysterious; the disappearances may have something to do with the human destruction of nature. Eventually, Juan’s thoughts turn to an even bigger problem; if someday these two people did return, how could they be reintroduced to society, given where they may have been and what they might know.

After more than a 30 year career in natural resource management, Gary A. McVicker now turns to the most ancient means of human communication, storytelling, to bring his concerns for the human relationship to nature to a broader audience. A native of New Mexico, Mr. McVicker now lives in Golden, Colorado with his wife, Patricia, where he writes and pursues his other passion, large format landscape photography. His lifelong interests in the natural sciences are brought together with his professional experiences to give unique and distinct character to this, his first novel.