About The Artists

The Author:
Timothy X. Merritt was born in Phoenix, AZ in 1966 and moved to Oregon in 1989.  He has spent over 17 years as both an enlisted soldier in an infantry company, and as an infantry officer in the Oregon Army National Guard.  He received his BS in Business Management from the University of Phoenix in 2002, and his federal commission in 2003. He currently serves as the Aide-de-Camp for the Commanding General of the 41st Brigade Combat Team.  His love for soldiers and soldiering compelled him to tell the tale of the Corps of Discovery and to give each member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition a voice in the tale of this historic journey.  His previous book Dancing on the Edge of Chaos, an anthology of short stories and poetry, is available through Xlibris Press.

The Photographer:
Craig C. Harmel was born in Terry, MT in 1954 and was raised along the Yellowstone River in eastern Montana.  He received his BS in film and television production with an emphasis in still photography from Montana State University in Bozeman, MT in 1976.  He moved to Astoria, Oregon in 1978, and has spent many years capturing the Pacific Northwest region’s dramatic and haunting images on film. In 1983 he was commissioned to take photographs for Fort Clatsop: The Story Behind the Scenery, part of a series of books about the National Parks and National Historic Sites.  He worked collaboratively on an audio-visual presentation about Pacific Northwest lighthouses for the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, OR, and his work has appeared in text books, and video documentaries about the Lewis and Clark Expedition