Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway: An Epoch Tale of a Scientist and an Artist on the Ultimate 5,000-mile Paleo Road Trip

"A paleontological odyssey that manages to be informative, witty, educational—and enormous fun." —Simon Winchester, author of The Map That Changed the World, Krakatoa, and A Crack in the Edge of the World

An epoch tale of a scientist and an artist on the ultimate 5,000-mile paleo road trip.

Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway follows the most unusual travels of a paleontologist and an artist as they drive across the American West in search of fossils. Throughout their journey, they encounter "paleonerds" like themselves, people dedicated to finding everything from suburban T. rex to killer Eocene pigs to ancient fossilized forests. This updated editions brings the text up-to-date on new discoveries, new realizations, and new places, along with new art. 

A fascinating travelogue, Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway shows us that fossils are everywhere if you learn to look for them—even at 65 miles per hour. 


 

Kirk R. Johnson is a paleobotanist and the Sant Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. He is the host of two recent PBS series, Making North America and The Great Yellowstone Thaw. He has written ten books including Prehistoric Journey, Cruisin' The Fossil Coastline, and Ancient Wyoming. Ray Troll is an artist who has illustrated ten books, including Cruisin' the Fossil Coastline, Sharkabet, Rapture of the Deep, and Planet Ocean. He and his wife, Michelle, own and operate the Soho Coho Gallery in Ketchikan, Alaska.