Photo by David Levine and gakked from the Oregonian
Since 2002, in the deserts of southeast Utah, the Mars Society has conducted simulated voyages to the Red Planet. Portland's own David Levine, a Hugo-award winning science-fiction writer, just returned from two weeks at the Mars Society's desert research station, "where he lived and worked with five others in 23-foot-wide cylindrical habitat with a failing electric generator and nonfunctioning showers."
Read his interview with the Oregonian here.
At first I was going to say I would never go that far out of my way to do something related to my writing, but i am going to spend three days in September at a police academy training course that they are opening up just to writers.
At least I don't have to wear a space helmet.