The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Amazon.com Review

Taking a drive in the country has been popular since horse-and-buggy days. But while the road trip itch is as strong as ever, scenic drives get scarcer year by year. The answer is a collection of the 120 loveliest drives in the U.S., providing maps and tours (with sites along the way itemized and lovingly described), trip length, when to go, nearby attractions, and local information sources. Free time is at premium these days; rather than waste your leisure time in highway gluts, it's worth taking directions to some of the most beautiful drives the country still has to offer.

From Publisher Weekly

The beauty of the open road is captured in this exquisitely illustrated guide to America's best driving routes. Newly revised and updated since its first publication in 1997, this volume is complete with tourist information, maps and breathtaking photographs to help readers plan their next cross-country vacation. Organized by region, the 120 suggested road trip span all 50 states and offer a wide variety of scenic adventurs, from exploring the remote canyons of New Mexico to visiting the most beautiful beaches on Cape Cod. Each route offers a number of must-see points of interest, such as the carefully preserved mid-19th-century home of Washington Irving in New York or the best places to spot wildflowers in the Texas Hill Country. Also included for each drive is a helpful "Trip Tips" table, providing not only the basic information about length and the best time of the year to visit, but invaluable pieces of advice (i.e., "No fuel is available on the 70-mile stretch of highway between Marblemount and Mazama"). Although it's often hard to get a sense of the particular personality of a drive from the rather dry descriptions, the large color photographs provide States, wheter travelling across the country or re-discovering the beauty of their home state. 400+ color photographs and 120 maps.

Product Description

A one-of-a-kind trip planner, a suberb on-the-road reference, and a album of 400 photographs. From the Atlantic to the pacific, here are 120 outstanding drives that show the magnificence of America-each with detailed, easy-to-follow maps.

From The Back Cover

From the Atlantic to the pacific 120 wonderful ways to see the magnifience of America
* Exciting, carefree, and comfortable tours covering every region in the country
* 120 specially commissioned, detailed, easy-to-follow maps
* 400 breathtaking photographs
* Fascinating facts about natural wonders, wildlife, American history and lore, annual festivals, and local customs
* Suggested side trips to nearby attractions, state parks, recreational facilities, and much more

One of America's most popular outdoor passtimes is, quite simply, going for long, leisurely drives in the country and that's what this is all about. Making its way through each of our 50 states from Alaska to Florida and Maine to california THE MOST SCENIC DRIVES IN AMERICA server as your personal guide to the most colorful, breathtaking, intriguing, dramatic, and eye-pleasing stretches of road in the U.S.A. Divided into four The Western States. The Rocky Mountain States, The Central States, and The Eastern States the 120 tours in THE MOST SCENIC DRIVES IN AMERICA will take you on an unforgettable visit to America's scenic splendors, celebrating its natural wonders, manmade marvels, and gloriously varied landscapes. The drives were selected with assistance from state tourism offices, the National Forest Services, chambers of commerce, and countless travel experts in every patr of the country. Each drive route (shown in red on a specially designed map) follows a numbered sequence of points of interest towns and cities, canyons and cavern, mountains and meadow, parks and historic sites with each of these places described in the text and pinpointed on the map. To help you plan and better enjoy the tours, each drive is accompanied by a fact-filled Trip box that provides information on mileage, the best travel seasons, nearby attractions, special events, and whom to contact for more details. Satr Route 22 in alloffer thumbnail sketches of shorter but especially scenic roads that are located in the vicinity of the main tours. Additional boxes highlight distinctive characteristics of the areas, wheter they be local plants, animals, customs, foods, or historical events. Both out on the road and in the comfort of your home, you'll find what THE MOST SCENIC DRIVES OF AMERICA will be a welcome companion. It not only helps motorists plan trips filled with beauty and diversity but also fascinates the armchair traveler with hundred of colorful photographs that bring the scenery to life. Wheter you plan to take a drive in some far corner of the country or one that's virtually in your own backyard. THE MOST SCENIC DRIVES IN AMERICA will guide you to a host of beautiful by ways the roads that driving was made for.

BUY HERE >> by Jerry Bates The Most Scenic Drives in America, 120 Spectacular Road Trips [ILLUSTRATED] 1st edition

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition [Paperback]

Birding is the fastest growing wildlife-related activity in the U.S., and even conservative estimates put the current number of U.S. birders at 50 million. According to the New York Times, some authorities predict that by 2050 there will be more than 100 million-and the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North america will be the essensial reference for field identification and the cornerstone of any birder's library. This is the ultimate, indispensable bird field guide-comprehensive, auhoritative, portable, sturdy, and easier than ever to use.

Among the new edition's key elements and practical improvements: Every North American species-more than 960, including a new section on accidental birds-classified according to the latest offocial American Ornithologists' Union checklist 4,000 full-color illustrations by the foremost bird artists at work today and newly updated range maps that draw on the latest data New durable cover for added protection against adverse weather, plus informative quick-reference flaps that double as placemakers New reader-friendly features like thumbtabs that make locating key sections faster and easier, and a quick-find index to direct users straight to the information they need.

About the Author

John L.Dunn, a leading expert on the identification and distribution of Nort American birds, has served as chief consultant on all four previous editions of this book. He is also a consultant for the American Birding Association magazine, Birding, and the former chair of the ABA Checklist Commitee, as well as a member of the California Bird Records Commitee on Taxonomy and Nomenclature. He lives in Bishop, California.

Jonathan Alderfer, chief consultant for National Geographic's Birding Program, is a widely published author and field guide illustrator. One of the nation's foremost birding artists, he is well known for his expertise as a field ornithologist and an authority on North American birds. He was a general consultant, art consultant, and contributing artist for the NG Field Guide to the Birds of North America 3rd and 4th editions, and the lead editor of NG's Complete Birds of North America. A former Associate Editor of Birding, the ABA magazine, he also served on the Maryland/D.C. Bird Records Commitee. He lives in Washington, D.C.

BUY HERE >> National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition

National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States, 6th Edition

Featuring 375 color photos and 80 full-color detailed maps-more than any other park guidebook-this is the most comprehensive, up-to-the-minute book of its kind on the market today. A perennial favorite with more than a million copies sold in previous editions, it reflects National Geographic's century-long association with America's national parks system and its peerles reputaion for travel expertise and cartographic excellence

The guide open with an essay by Yellowstoone authority Paul Schullery, a section on how to use the guide, and a national locator map. The park are presented alphabetically region by region with individual maps and geographical profiles. Collorfully illustrated descriptions offer tours tailored to the time available, whether it's an hour or a week, and tell visitors the best spots to enjoy hikes, spectaculer vistas, wildlife, and more. An information & actvities page provides practical advice on visiting-park contact information, camping and lodging, accessibility, pet restrictions, thing to do, and special advisories. Excursions to nearby wildlife refuges, monuments, forest, and other areas of exceptional interest follow many of the park series.

From planning a trip to making the most of every minute, here's all the information anyone could want on the scenic national parks-the crown jewels on the park system-plus invaluable advice from National Geographic writers who know them well.

BUY HERE >> National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States, 6th Edition

Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Greatest Trips

No one knows the world like National Geographic-and in this lavish volume, we reveal our picks for the world's most fabuluos journey, along with helpful information for readers who want to try them out.

Compiled from the favorite trips of National Geographics's travel writers, Journey of a Lifetime spans the globe to highlight the best of the world's most famuous and lesser known sojourns. It presents an incredible diversity of possibilities, from ocean cruises around Antarctica to horse treks in the Andes. Every continent and every possible form of transport is covered.

A timely resource for the burgeoning ranks of active trvelers who crave adventurous and far-flung trips, Journey of a Lifetime provides scores of creative ideas: trekking the height of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, mountain biking in Transylvania, driving through the scenic highlands of Scotland, or rolling through the outback on Australia's famous Ghan train, and dozen of other intriguing options all over the world.
Journey of a Lifetime also festures 22 fun Top 10 list in all sort of categories. What are the world's top 10 elevator rides, bridges to walk across, trolley rides, ancient highways, or underground walking adventures?
You will love evaluating and debating the selections.

Each chapter showcases stunning photography, full-color maps, evocative text. and expert advice-including how to get there, when to visit, and how to make the most of the journey-all packaged in a luxurious oversize volume to treasure for years to come.

BUY HERE >> Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Greatest Trips [Hardcover]