I would like to tell you a bit about the making of the book SWIFT.

It all began many years ago, around 1975, when I was backpacking on the Appalachian Trail. I was getting to the end of my two week hike and had just crossed the Delaware Water Gap and started heading into Pennsylvania. A few miles in, I met another hiker named Larry. That day would change my life forever. Larry had hiked to Pennsylvania from Maine, and was headed all the way to Georgia.Wow! Here is a drawing of Larry.

I hiked with Larry for a few days, but then I had to go back to work. Larry continued on to Georgia. After he got to Georgia, he decided to go to California and hike the Pacific Crest Trail from southern California to Washington state. Once he got to Washington state he decided, "Hey, Alaska is not that far, I'll go there." And he did. Here is a painting I did of Larry in 1979.

When Larry got to Alaska, he heard that some land was opening up for homesteading, so he found a piece of land and put down a claim. And he has lived there ever since. Here is a photo that Larry sent me, from his first year in Alaska. He wrote and told me to come up and visit. I wanted to!

Of course, Larry had to build a log cabin to live in. One day, while he was working on the cabin, a grizzly bear started to come in the window. If it got inside with him, Larry would be trapped! But Larry "dispatched" the bear and had food for the winter."You know, Rob," Larry once told me, "Grizzly bears are very dangerous." I believe him. Here is what it looks like where Larry lives. Notice that it is already snowing up high in the mountains.

Over time, Larry got his cabin built, got married and had two children. I lived in New Jersey and made a lot of picture books. One day, my editor said, "Where would you like to go to make a book?" I answered, "Alaska!" And so I went to Alaska, to see the Iditarod race and make the book AKIAK....and to visit Larry and his family.

Then, a few years later, when I went to Alaska to research TOGO and to visit village schools in Alaska, I made time to visit with Larry again. I always made notes on the stories he told me and of course I did a lot of drawings in my sketchbook.

Finally, in 2004, I made a special trip just to visit with Larry and his family. I knew it was time to make my homesteader book. I should have known it would be an adventure. Here is a picture of the cabin Larry built- pretty nice!

Larry's house was very comfortable. Many people came by to visit and tell tales. The native folk sure tell great stories. Usually, when guests come in, their gear is wet- so they put it right by the coal stove to dry it out.

When guests come they are invited to dinner- and that's when they begin to tell stories. Lots of stories- about sled dogs or harrowing escapes from bad weather or even about bear attacks. I liked to sit there and write the stories down as I drew the storytellers.

One day a man came by to visit. His he told me that his name was Gabe and said, "I am a Yupik Eskimo." Gabe told so many stories, and told them so well that I almost felt like the walls of the cabin were disappearing- and that I was out in the wilderness walking through his tales.

Then some travelers stopped by- and they told us a frightening thing: Someone in the area had shot a grizzly bear, but he'd only wounded it. That meant that there was a hurt, angry, nasty griz out there somewhere. "Rob," Larry said, "An injured bear is the worst kind of bear. A healthy bear might give you some warning- but an injured bear lies low, then suddenly attacks before you know it's there." The homesteaders and their families now had a big problem.

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