5 comments about Roadside Geology of Colorado (Roadside Geology Series).

1. Intended especially for travelers and vacationers interested in taking in Colorado's geological sites, yet accessible to budding geologists everywhere, Roadside Geology of Colorado is now in an updated second edition with new tours of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, and much more. Written in nontechnical terminology for lay readers, and featuring numerous two-color maps and black-and-white photographs, Roadside Geology of Colorado is filled cover to cover with eye-opening driving tours. A glossary and index round out this excellent traveling companion for anyone interested in observing the natural rocky beauty of Colorado firsthand.



2. Living in Colorado you have no choice but to see all the different rock formations. I remember seeing people/students on the side of the road in Morrison looking for fossils on my way to watch the drag races at bandimere. We picked this up when we went to the florissant fossil beds and have left in the 4Runner ever since. It's easy to read and you would be surprised how many hours can go by while just talking about formations you see out the window.



3. An excellent book, it is very concise and the information is very detailed and presented in a way that both the layman can understand and a geologist can appreciate. I highly recommend this book !!



4. Good read! If you have an interest in geology, then this is a reference that should be kept in the car with your maps at all times. It is great to have this book handy whenever you are out for a drive, because so much of Colorado's geology has been uncovered in the process of roads being cut through the mountains. Very little hiking required, since all sites in this book can be seen from the road and are easily accessible.
   
   I purchased this book because I live in Colorado, but it is part of a series that includes a driving geology of many other states. You might want to check to see if they have written one for your state - I am going to buy ROADSIDE GEOLOGY OF HAWAII, because my family is planning a vacation to Maui in a few weeks.



5. This is an easy to use book and you can follow along while you are traveling in Colorado. My only disappointment is that there are not enough very basic, layman's pictures. The book has many diagrams,and charts are most are easy enough to understand, but I personally would have liked to see more targeted to the "armchair geologist" driving through the state.
   
   In fairness, the book does not say it's for laymen and each chapter is easy to read and follow. But, "pictures say a 1000 words."

5 comments about The Trad Guide to Joshua Tree: 60 Favorite Climbs from 5.5 to 5.9.

1. This book is the best non comprehensive climbing guide book I have ever seen. The highlights are:
   
   - Full color photos of the routes
   - Both approach photos as well as close up route photos, making it easy to find the rock and specific route
   - Full park map with relative camping and route locations listed
   - Very good beta on each and every route (includes sun/shade, rack suggestions, etc), usually about a page per route not including another page for photos.
   
   So basically if you're interested in the 5.5 to 5.9 trad routes in Joshua Tree you'll love this book, simple as that.



2. Sometimes, as the saying goes, less is more. This book is a classic example of producing a user friendly rock climbing guide to one of the premier cragging areas, by limiting the scope to climbs that most people who go to Joshua Tree actually enjoy. As the title stipulates there are no 5.12 sphincter squeesers here, just interesting traditional climbs (no bolts for the sport freaks).
   
   Each climb is photographed in color with a graphic overlay clearly showing the route. Most of these routes are short, single pitch climbs that encompass a wide variety of problems with the emphasis on classic crack climbs. Approach info and the maximum protection requirement is noted along with a very abreviated strategy for the climb. Information on lodging and camping along with dining options are covered pretty well, though the surrounding areas offer a lot more variety than the book indicates.
   
   If you're a beginner/intermediate climber and aspire to climb in JT, this is the guide to get.



3. First of all, this book is written by some really nice people. This book is void of the elitism that usally comes with a guide book to an area like this. My wife and I have been to J-tree many times but this was our first year with this book. It truely enhanced our time there. The full color pictures are great, and they took all the pictures from such logical places that if you are following a road or trail and find yourself needing direction, you look up and see exactly what is in the picture for the climb you are looking for. My wife and I found ourself laughing on one climb when we were looking off in the distance for a rock formation and spotted the tree 6' in front of us that was also about 6' in front of the camera lense in the picture! And there are climbs that real people can do! I notice in other guide books the only highly rated climbs are 5.12 and up! Get this book, you won't be dissapointed. I only wish I could meet the authers and tell them of my appreciation.



4. This is a well written and well illustrated guide for someone new to visiting Joshua Tree National Park. The dozen or so routes we did in this book were all challenging and enjoyable. There are thousands of routes in the Park, but this is a swell introduction for the traditional climber. At this price I don't see why any climber visiting the park wouldn't have a copy. The photographs and maps are the best I have seen in any book.



5. I used this book in conjunction with the Vogel Guides: Rock Climbing Joshua Tree & Rock Climbing Joshua Tree West. The interesting thing about this book is many of the routes don't have any stars in the Vogel guides but are stellar. Funny Bone comes to mind as the best route we did with Vogel giving it no stars. Coincidentally we ran into Charlie and Diane Winger coming off Funny Bone as we were walking up to it.
   
   The approaches are described in great deal of detail. This is good considering the size and number of routes at J-Tree.
   
   This is a great guide to get you on routes that perhaps you'd skip based on Randy's guides. This is no dig on Randy's Guides. They are great and a necessity. This guide allows you to find some really good moderate climbs with alternates nearby. We were generally pleased with the routes we climbed that are listed in this guide.
   
   Climb Safe!

2 comments about Streetwise Denver Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of Denver, Colorado - Folding pocket size travel map with light rail map, trolley, Boulder inset.

1. I lived in New York City for 35 years and always used/recommended Streetwise New York to visitors. (Their lamination means you DO NOT ruin the map -ever) Well my wife and I moved to Denver and The Streetwise Denver Map proved very useful becasue we were lost...Then on our first trip to Boulder,Co. (a genuinely hip community) mapless alas I got lost...but low and behold Streewise Denver had Boulder on it and voila --- lost no more. Seriously these are good maps. I used them whenever I travel and have wasted money on other brands but always come back to Streetwise. For one thing I've found them accurate in extremis which in a city like Rome or Venice Italy is extremely helpful let alone Naples where accuracy can save your life. (Such a dangerous dump Naples is.)
   
   Now if they would just do a map of Vail and Aspen and Telluride I would never leave Colorado.



2. I kept the map in my backpack the whole time I was in Denver, and found it just what I needed. It included just about everything I wanted to know.

3 comments about Frommer's Colorado (Frommer's Complete).

1. I was dissapointed in this book and returned it. I was expecting glossy paper and photographs - lots of photgraphs of the things and places they were describing. There were no photographs.



2. I am sure it would have been fine if you were not concentrating on one place. I purchased it to find out more on the ski areas. I was looking for more information that the book provided.



3. Before we left & during our trip to Colorado this book was of great value. We visited numerous places I had hi-lighted & the information was correct 99.9% of the time. We just returned & we were so glad we did have the Frommer's Colorado book.

5 comments about Journey to the High Southwest, 8th: A Traveler's Guide to Santa Fe and the Four Corners of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.

1. I bought this book to get some ideas for our family's summer vacation to the "4-Corners" area. The book has alot of information, little of it very helpful for trip planning. Most of the book is about the history, geology and nature found in each park. Details of the actual parks are written in the narrative form as the author drove and hiked in the areas. If you are willing to read through all this you might find a couple helpful gems and tips on your journey.



2. I was previously a ranger at Mesa Verde. This is without a doubt the best guide to the High Southwest that I've encountered. For years I've recommended this to friends, and each time I've been thanked for giving them an outstanding, wide, yet in-depth, and well written source of critical information about one of the most fascinating areas of our country. From where to go, what to see, and how to understand it -- from history, to geology, to ethnography, and much more -- this is an excellent introduction to the high country of our Southwest.



3. I travel in the region covered by this book a lot; over the years I have bought lots of guidebooks and other books about the area. Journey to the High Southwest remains my absolute favorite.
   I do not understand the comment of an earlier reviewer that it does not include helpful "tips" for "trip planning." You might consider supplementing it with a more standard guidebook of the Frommer/Froder variety, but I have used Journey to the High Southwest since our very first trip to the area (early 1990s) and have found it a trove of "useful tips." On that first trip, using this book, I was able, for instance, to plan travel through the Hopi Reservation, where to stay, how to find out about when and where there would be dances, etc. The recommendations of where to stay/where to eat are terrific. (We would never have found our favorite hole-in-the-corner diner in Espanola without this book!) In addition to all the good travel suggestions, it's beautifully written, a mine of information, and a joy to read. I am so happy to find that there is an 8th edition!



4. Robert L. Casey's superb guidebook is generally recognized as the best guide to the Four Corners of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. We've used various editions for several years on our driving and hiking trips. Casey describes his own trips by car, raft and on foot, and his essays give insights into geology, history and culture.
   
   We found him excellent on the ground for Canyonlands, Monument Valley, Mesa Verde, Santa Fe, Taos, Arches, and Canyon de Chelly. His descriptions of Capitol Reef, Sunset Crater, Wupatki, Dead Horse Point, Durango, Silverton, and Telluride are compelling armchair reading. His book is particularly strong on the history and culture of native cultures.
   
   Tony Hillerman, one of my favorite authors on the area, is a powerful advocate for Casey's work: "I've been prowling around, living in, and writing about the Four Corners states for more than 40 years, and I still find myself learning from Journey to the High Southwest. It's the best guide to this part of the world I've ever seen - and that includes ones I've written myself."
   
   Casey provides specific travel information, including Bed & Breakfasts, Crafts shops, Campgrounds, Galleries, Bicycle Rentals, Hotels, Museums, Indian Festivals, Canyon Tours, Hot-Air Balloon Rides, Restaurants, Horseback Riding, Youth Hostels, Concerts, and Rafting Expeditions. This guide is updated every two years or so, but it is always worthwhile to check on the accuracy of current information.
   
   This is a wonderful guide book whether reading at home or visiting the Four Corners.
   
   Robert C. Ross 2008



5. I reluctantly returned a well-worn 6th edition to a friend recently, and have purchased the 8th. What makes this guide special is the background history it gives. It is for the "worldly traveler," or one seeking to understand in-depth where she travels. It enabled me to have a conversation with a Dine about his spirituality that I would not have been able to do without this book. Keep sharing Robert Casey! S. Hancock

No comments about Frommer's Denver, Boulder & Colorado Springs (Frommer's Complete).

5 comments about Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau: Non-Technical.

1. While missing an index is a somewhat minor fault in a "non-technical" book such as this, it is hard to forgive the publisher/author for using such small type. This book is difficult to read in the best of situations. It also uses a paper of high grade glossiness, which looks really great, but makes the book about 2x heavier than it should be for a guide. Essentially, as long as you don't take this book with you on your hikes, it has everything you will need for hiking the canyons.



2. What hikes have been left out? Nothing worth doing. Michael Kelsey is the absolute authority of high adventure on the colorado plateau. Yes make no mistake there are others who make at best a weak imitation of a guide book and claim superiority because they are more of a environtmental "green nutjob". Other authors need to have mostly naked young turks do all the technical aspects of their canyon hiking and criticize Kelsey for being practical. Every Mexican I have ever talked to loves all of Kelsey's books. Think about it.



3. It's perplexing to see so many poor reviews written towards Kelsey and his wonderful books. After some research I have come to the conclusion that most were written by elitist, selfish, environmental extremist hypocrites that seem to hate him because he opened up their personal playground to everyday people like the majority of us.
   
   His books are not perfect...but only an idiot would expect them to be. This book is a basic guide designed to point you in the right direction with some items of interest along the way. Just take his data subjectively and no big deal. So what if he spells some words different, I had no trouble understanding anything. I will admit, the metric system is a pain, but I simply convert all info before I go. I guess he does brag a little, big deal, if he wants to toot his own horn go for it. If I could do what he's done, I'd toot mine too.
   
   This book has an immense amount of information about a lifetime of hikes for the average person. Although this particular book doesn't include a lot of historical info, it looks like there just weren't enough pages (or smaller type). That's ok though, because I've read his other books that have it all. I do like the way he alerts the reader to the best trailheads and informs us whether or not we need to drive the Jeep or not.
   
   Like I said before, if you use his data subjectivly, hope for the best--prepare for the worst, know your limitations and let basic common sense be your guide; the average hiker will have an excellent time and can't wait to tell all their friends. As for the self absorbed fringe extremists (you know who you are)--sorry for the intrusion on "your land" and hope to see you out on the trail.
   
   Buy the book, the majority won't be dissapointed.
   
   Thank you Michael Kelsey and keep up the excellent work!



4. For anyone who is serious about hiking the Plateau, this book is an absolute must. Despite the environmental hacks and the elitist "new" generation hiking authors, Kelsey is the original and the best. Kelsey's maps have guided me through some of the most remote and scenic canyons on earth. If you have ability to route find, read a map and a sense of adventure, Kelsey's books are invaluable. If you are going with Boy Scouts, better take a more watered down guide book with "how to" pictures and rosy Harvard prose. Simply put, Kelsey is the best in the biz and runs circles around others - literally, he has hiked more places on the Plateau than anyone else and no one will ever get close.



5. This book has the most thorough coverage of the canyon country available. It's allowed us to find several sites that we couldn't find in any other guidebook. That's the good news. The bad news is that what Kelsey considers non-technical often requires a harness and rope. He's obviously a climber, and on several occasions we've had to backtrack because we came to an impassable pour-off or cliff. So just be advised that hikers will often find the non-technical to be more technical than they'd expect from the descriptions.

5 comments about Colorado's 14ers, 2nd Ed.: From Hikes to Climbs.

1. This should be the backbone of anyone's guidebooks for climbing 14ers. It is extremely well organized and has tons of useful data. You will not be dissapointed. Get the book and get out there!



2. I bought this book for my husband and he loves it. He has been to Colorado 3 times and always reads it before he goes and takes it with him on the trip.



3. This is the definitive volume on all Colorado 14ers. It includes detailed information from locations of trailheads to routes and photos that will allow even a novice to safely climb in Colorado.



4. Gerry Roach has written one of the best guide books I have ever had the pleasure of owning. If you have the basic experience needed for climbing 14'ers this book is extreemly usefull. Complete and well written from approaches to technicial route descriptions. $ 12 bucks. Huh ? Oh the one negitive is you would not want to through this book in your ruck sack it weighs about 5 lbs.



5. This is a great reference to Colorado's 14,000+ foot peaks. The natural grouping of the peaks, the description of all trail heads in each area, and providing numerous routes up each peak are some of the outstanding features. Another is the quality of the maps - in fact they are so good, I wish the author would offer a set of the maps enlarged as a supplemental product. The maps not only clearly depict the routes described with full topographic detail, they are also color coded to show which sections of which routes have specific difficulties (climbing classes).
   
   I had only two issues with this book - the first is that it apparently underestimates difficulty of getting to trail heads with normal cars. The second was that it does not include an overall map of the state showing where the 14ers are located - this is handy if you're in one area and wondering which are closest. Fortunately, both these can be overcome by checking the Internet.
   
   In summary, if one plans to summit more than one Colorado 14er, this book is indispensable.

5 comments about Colorado Road & Recreation Atlas.

1. I had never heard of Benchmark Maps before but I thought I'd give their Colorado Atlas a try. After a three week hiking adventure in Colorado, I was very impressed with Benchmark. Their maps do a great job in depicting the campgrounds, trailheads, trails, elevations, and ,of course, the roads in the mountains of Colorado. The Benchmark Atlas was far superior to the competition. On my next hiking trip, probably to New Mexico, I will definitely buy another Benchmark Atlas.



2. I have owned 2 of these books. They get so much use on my travels I wear them out. There is always a copy of one in the BLM fire truck...it is USEFUL! An EXTREMELY comprehensive book on the state of Colorado. Main roads as well as little known dirt roads are well represented. Relief maps, points of interest, highway exit numbers, as well as peak names and other landmarks make these pages as close to USGS topo maps you are going to get. The back of the atlas has metro area maps that have all the main roads in a metro area. Benchmark makes one of these for almost every state in the US...I own 12 different states in the West.
   
   If you hike, mountain bike, travel back roads, love landscape photography, go camping, hunt, or fish...this atlas is almost REQUIRED!



3. This book provides detailed maps that allow the user to find the best hiking trailheads and camping spots in the state. It details BLM and forest service lands and includes most of the dirt roads that are missing on the normal state maps. It is a necessary item for off hi way travel in the state. Dancing on the Edge of an Endangered Planet



4. Forget paying for a road atlas if you are an outdoor enthusiast. This is a must have if you hike, camp, or follow the road less traveled. I have one for Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico--they are a great map to get you started finding new routes, camping destinations, and hiking trails,etc.



5. Took this to Colorado for a week. Never got lost. When I found out the campground I planned on staying at was closed, I found another nearby before it got dark.

5 comments about Colorado Atlas and Gazetteer.

1. This does not show many of the back roads (un-improved...), and is not very topographic (mountains...). VERY CONFUSING to try and follow!
   
   I "HIGHLY" recommend the!-
   Benchmark Colorado Road & Recreation Atlas (any state!) Excellent detail/topographic, and most of the trails...!
   Benchmark Colorado Road & Recreation Atlas



2. Although I have not looked at Benchmark's Colorado atlas to compare this atlas with that one, I used this atlas for a week and a half trip with a lot of backcountry driving & hiking last summer & was quite pleased. There is more detail here than in the DeLorme atlases I have used for Arizona & New Mexico, and all roads on my route appeared to be correctly labelled and located. I only encountered one problem: Forest Service roads at high elevation (ca. 11,000 feet and above) are snowy and impassable in June (at least, they were last year!). Perhaps this is obvious to anyone familiar with Colorado, but driving up from New Mexico (where I have yet to find a road impassable from snow) it was a bit of a surprise, and it would be nice if these high passes were marked as impassable from winter to early summer. That detail aside, the atlas worked perfectly for me.



3. This Atlas is perfect for finding out where public and private lands are located in a particular area. Great resource.



4. Close to what I expected but should have a little more detail for a topo map



5. Got this for deer and especially elk hunting season this year (2009). Worked great, but the scale is a bit high for even the smaller maps overall. I ended up scanning the page with my hunting area on it and blowing it up about 125% to 150% - and then used that when hiking/hunting. Worked great and covered just about all of the major and minor roads & trails where I was.
   
   I would recommend this over most other maps and even software I've used to get details for areas I planned to camp, hike, or hunt.