4 comments about 50 Hikes in Northern New Mexico: From Chaco Canyon to the High Peaks of the Sangre de Cristos.

1. i own many hiking guides, but this one is a favorite! i highly recommend it for all levels of hikers.



2. As a resident of Southern Colorado, I was looking for a guide of nearby geological, historical, archaeological, and topographical interesting day hikes and backpacking trips. This guide is exactly what I was looking for. I would recommend it to anyone interested in expanding their knowledge and opportunities for adventure in Northern New Mexico!



3. Book was inaccurate on the very first hike! Cabezon peak is not an elevation change of 150 feet, was not "easy," even the picture was wrong. Too bad because I was really excited about the book format.



4. Some of the best and some of the least known hikes in New Mexico. Some are short, some are long, some are easy and some are seriously hard! Great selection!

1 comments about Rand McNally Santa Fe/Taos New Mexico Local Street Detail.

1. The one Amazon sent was not laminated, just the ordinary paper kind of map, but it did the job.

3 comments about Topographic Recreational Map of New Mexico: Detailed Travel Map.

1. THE MAP IS WHAT I WANTED BUT I FEEL ALL THE ITEMS I ORDERED ON THE SAME DATE WHICH WAS 4-7-08 COULD AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN MAILED TOGETHER TO SAVE ME SHIPPING. PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW. JENNIFER



2. These are great reference maps for generalized recreational activities. Not as detailed as a topo map, but still packed full of outstanding information. I have one for every state and I don't leave home with out them. An improvement over simple highway maps.



3. There are lots of maps out there, and my trips out west are generally fast-paced (from photo op to photo op) involving a lot of driving from place to place, and I had three maps with me the last time. This was the one I used the most often in the car, so I will purchase maps from this series in the future.

5 comments about Benchmark New Mexico Road & Recreation Atlas, 10th Anniversary Edition (Benchmark Map: New Mexico Road & Recreation Atlas).

1. I find the details of Benchmark maps to be much more accurate than the DeLorme series. On a recent trip to New Mexico, we ran into several errors with the DeLorme, which caused us to have to re-trace our route a number of miles each time.



2. Benchmark New Mexico Road & Recreation Atlas, 10th Anniversary Edition (Benchmark Map: New Mexico Road & Recreation Atlas)Replaced old one I had worn out. Only thing missing in this one is a good city map with streets for ABQ.



3. If comparing this to the DeLorme atlas for New Mexico--the only competition--the big difference is that the Benchmark atlas has a coarser scale and less detail. You can get a good sense of this simply by looking at the back cover: DeLorme divides the state among 45 pages of maps, Benchmark gives it 29, and it simply isn't possible to fit the same amount of detail in 2/3 the space. Instead Benchmark gives you partially redundant recreation maps and landscape maps; I'd much rather just have a single set of maps with more detail and all the information right there. This is not to suggest the DeLorme atlas is perfect; it certainly isn't. But it is the best game in town.



4. You must have benchmark atlas' if you are looking for the road less traveled. These maps will show you the dirt roads, camping, hiking and other off the beaten path places. Unless you are just staying on major highways, you NEED these maps! I love all 3 states I have.



5. This is the best map that I have ever used. It's extremely detailed and consistent. The best feature of the map which few maps show is where roads turn to gravel or dirt - a rarely documented but important bit of information, especially in western states. I'm buying Benchmark maps for my upcoming trip and I don't think I'll be disappointed.

3 comments about Scenic Driving New Mexico, 2nd (Scenic Driving Series).

1. Laurence Parent is a well-known photographer - his photos illustrating this book are superb (wish there were more) and his descriptions of these drives in New Mexico are great...the maps are crude but serviceable. They are better than the very rough ones in his Hiking New Mexico, though...I've driven almost all the routes described and got my money's worth many times over - the book is well-used and always with me on my New Mexico trips.



2. I brought several books with me to New Mexico and found this was virtually useless.



3. I am so glad I received this book as a gift a few years ago. I have taken about 85% of the drives described and I never would have discovered many of these drives and I certainly would not have enjoyed them so much without this book. I give this book as a gift to friends now all the time. It is a great book and has all the appropriate details to appreciate sites and views along the way. Don't live in or near New Mexico or travel through New Mexico without this book if you like scenery and touring and also an occasional dirt road virtually to yourself.

5 comments about New Mexico Atlas & Gazetteer.

1. I have a Tennessee map and it shows the contours with 100 foot intervals. Although this map does give some elevation points, it does not show the contours.



2. I used this to explore back roads in New Mexico during a couple of NSBF balloon campaigns out of Fort Sumner. It never let me down, but when I compared my copy to a new edition that was just purchased at the truck stop in Clovis it appeared as though a lot of details have disappeared. Not entirely sure why that has happened though.



3. I also own the Benchmark atlas of New Mexico, which is the only competition so far as I can tell. I don't use the Benchmark map, though. Although I've seen complaints in the reviews that the newer edition of the DeLorme atlas doesn't have as much information as older editions, there is still far more detail here than in the Benchmark map. DeLorme has its flaws, nonetheless; for instance, so far as I can tell all of the county roads in the plains of Lincoln County east of Carrizozo & Corona are mislabelled. But at least they are there and if you have a GPS you can figure out what's going on, whereas the Benchmark atlas tends to just omit smaller roads. Another improvement that would be much appreciated is information on which roads have locked gates; but there simply are no maps available that show this information (so far as I can tell) and I imagine it would be difficult to compile. Unfortunately, this means that if, for instance, you're trying to get to Kilbourne Hole southwest of Las Cruces, you're likely to go down a few gated roads before finding those that go through.



4. I never travel the west without one of these. I just wish this one for New Mexico had contour lines. Otherwise, it's great.



5. Essentially worthless without the topo lines, unless you are simply looking for a common road map with larger print. I can get the same info using a highway map from the gas station. These atlases used to be great: they had all the elevation info, lots of details (mines, trails, ghost towns, etc) for those who travelled into out-of-the-way places on backroads, hiking, biking, off-roading, etc. It seems Delorme has decided to make it simply a giant highway/road/city map. It doesn't make much sense, since we can get those for much cheaper and without carrying around the wasted 71 extra pages. I see the older Delorme Atlas with topo lines is going for $576 used here on Amazon. I wonder why that is? Oh yeah... this version doesn't cut it. Buy the old one if you can find it for under five hundred dollars. :)

5 comments about National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southwestern States: Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah (Audubon Field Guide).

1. This field guide is really usefull. It has a basic description of hte animals, plants, geology, insects, and weather of the Southwest.



2. Just returned from a tour of the Southwest. The field guide was easy to use. I liked the fact that it covered so many aspects of the Southwest and eliminated having to tote five or six field guides to cover most of the subject matter.



3. I initially found this book in the library and enjoyed it so much I wanted my own copy to carry with me when out hiking in the Tucson, AZ area. Informative, accurate, and easy to access information. For such a small field book it packs complete info regarding plants, trees, birds, reptiles and general info on geology and natural history in the southwest. If you want to learn more about the southwest desert - this is a must have field book



4. Great book...some of everything and not too big/heavy to bring along. Excellent to use with kids too because of all the good color pictures!



5. I use it as a reference all the time when I see an animal would be nice though if it had more info on all the animals and plants and insects

5 comments about Frommer's New Mexico (Frommer's Complete).

1. Well researched and plenty of information. Gives details on what to expect, how much you may pay, when to go etc. I hope that it had more pictures but other than that, this is the only book you'll need.



2. The picture on the cover is from Utah! New Mexico abounds with beautiful scenic vistas. Putting a picture from Utah on the cover of a New Mexico guidebook is really sloppy work. That makes all of the information inside very questionable.



3. I was disappointed with this book and don't think I'll buy another Frommer's guide again. Restaurants that had rave reviews were mediocre at best. I like these reference books to find the hidden treasures of an region but Frommer's just skims the well known and obvious choices for travel. Save the money and do your own research online.



4. There are at least two kinds of travel guidebooks. Good ones, I mean. Most useful guidebooks are primarily fact-oriented. They tell you what's available to the traveler and the details necessary to take advantage of them -- restaurant addresses, and the hours a museum is open, that sort of stuff. When the selection is useful, we're all glad to turn to such guidebooks... even if they don't have a lot of personal style.
   
   This Frommer's guide to New Mexico, however, is in the better classs of travel books; it's really a personal guide. It's abundantly clear that the author, Lesley King, really knows and loves New Mexico, and the suggestions reflect King's affection for the state and its attractions. It's as though you have a friend accompanying you, giving you personal advice, like "This store has too many cheap trinket-like items for me, but many people find some novelty items to take back home. You'll find everything from salsas to tortilla chips..." or "For as long as I can remember, my family and many of my friends' families have scheduled trips into northern New Mexico to coincide with lunch or dinner at this fun restaurant. [Rancho de Chimayo]" -- the latter of which has a two-inch description of the restaurant's history, menu, and location.
   
   I spent a week on the road in the Four Corners area, primarily in New Mexico, with five books stuffed in my bag. Even though four of them covered the same area, the Frommer's Guide was the one I turned to first. Some of the reasons were purely pragmatic; this book has the COMPLETE information, with telephone number, website, and the days and hours they're open. (One book on Santa Fe omitted the later bit regularly.) Others were qualitative; we never went to a restaurant or chose a hotel from this book that was a bad deal. It also actively encouraged us to visit places we'd otherwise miss, such as a lunch stop in the El Rancho hotel in Gallup ("This restaurant has fans all across the Southwest. They come to experience the Old West decor...and the sense of the many movie stars who once ate here"), often places that are local favorites. You'll find the expected high-end destinations too (such as the long list of excellent restaurants in Santa Fe), but this book does a particularly good job at helping you distinguish between them.
   
   Speaking of Santa Fe -- I'd also gotten a guidebook specific to that city. Unless you're going to spend a lot more time in that one town, I don't think you need the standalone book. This one does an excellent job at Santa Fe attractions; I ended up taking the advice of this book more often anyway.
   
   Oh, the book also has a full sized state map that easily can be torn out. So you don't need to buy another one.
   
   If you're planning a trip to New Mexico, this is the book for you. You don't need to do more comparison shopping.



5. Frommer's guidebooks remain consistently the most useful of all the guidebooks. This one is no exception. Recommended without reservation.

5 comments about Arizona New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips (Regional Guide).

1. My friend Sophie ordered two of the same Lonely Planet travel books I did to review, ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO & THE GRAND CANYON and THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. We talk a lot on the phone and we began talking about how we could review these books and over the course of a week or so, we started talking about taking a trip. Not an easy thing for us as Sophie lives in Houston and I was in Portland. Plus, I've got hubby Dub, a big baby who doesn't like to be alone and she's got her loving husband, plus two twin girls. These are all pretty big roadblocks in the way of two girls who want to hit the road for a month or so. But things started coming together. Dub wanted to spend sometime on the boat alone (we spend a good part of every year in the Caribbean living on our sailboat) and do the kind of repairs and things that I just hate. Besides, when he's doing that kind of stuff, he always complains that I'm in the way. And Sophie's husband graciously said that he'd hold down the home front as long as we called every day.
   
   With that out of the way, where to start? Sophie is Canadian, of the east coast variety. She'd never been to Vancouver and I'd always wanted to see the San Juan Islands, so we agreed to meet in Vancouver. We met at the airport, my flight got in a couple hours before hers. We spent two days in Vancouver, then took a four and a half hour trip via Greyhound to Seattle, where we rented a one way rental, a Hyundai for a little over a thousand dollars. A big expense to be sure, but worth it.
   
   Coming down Interstate 5 we turned off on toward Anacortes at Burlington and caught the ferry to Friday Harbor. We stayed at the Orcas Hotel mentioned on Page 152 in the Pacific Northwest book and we let the book be our guide while we were there. Of course we got a lot of help from the locals. We had a great three days there, then it was back onto the ferry and back on the road. Sophie was reading ahead and wanted to go to Powells in Portland, just about the best bookstore on the planet and a favorite haunt of mine. So we did that. Then after I showed her the city, we headed down to the south Oregon City of Grants Pass, then it was off the 5 and onto a gorgeous ride to the California coast where we picked up 101 and headed south along the water, lazing our days away and using the California book (although it had the trip planned out from south to north) to help us along the way, especially following it's advice and visiting the redwoods. Well before San Francisco we turned off of 101, because we wanted to see Clear Lake, apparently not a big tourist spot, because it's not in the book. We stayed in a lakeside cabin for two days, drinking chardonnay and relaxing, then we continued on, caught the 5 again and took it south till we turned off and headed for Napa Valley and two days of heavenly bliss, drinking fine wines and even though there are only eight pages in the California book devoted to Napa, they came in quite handy.
   
   We left Napa on a beautiful day and made it all the way to L.A. and beyond to Long Beach where we spent a couple days, then it was off to Vegas and a new book. The Arizona, New Mexico book covers Vegas very well. We stayed at the Circus Circus for only one night, then it was onto Arizona and the Grand Canyon, which as you can imagine is covered quite nicely. From there we went on to Flagstaff, then Phoenix, blowing through both the cities without stopping, coming to rest in Tucson. I'd been several years ago and it was sad for me to see what the economy has done to this wonderful city. Still we were tired and spent a couple days there. From Tuscon we headed east on Interstate 10, destination Roswell, home of the crash. We didn't see any aliens, but we did, at the book's suggestion, take in the International UFO Museum and Research Center. Fascinating. And from Roswell we drove off the books and into Texas, or as Sophie likes to call it, Tejas. We spent a couple weeks getting from there to New Orleans, but then that's a subject for another review.
   
   So, after all that what's my impression of these Lonely Planet books? I like them, they're pretty darned handy if you're on a road trip. Especially if you're not in a hurry to get anywhere. Could we have done the trip without them, sure, but they were the reason we first started talking about it and why we eventually did it. We, Sophie and Me, and Lonely Planet, we all had a blast together.
   
   Reviewed by Captain Katie Osborne



2. I live in Nevada and I've been to both Arizona and New Mexico a lot, been to the Grand Canyon too. Several times. But I've never taken the train from Williams mentioned in this book. I plan on it.
   
   Going through the book I see dozens and dozens of interesting places and things to see that I've missed and I thought I knew the area covered by this guide pretty well. The next time I go on the road in the Southwest I'll be taking this book with me, maybe checking out Bandera's Ice Cave or the Hovenweep National Monument or several of the places I've missed, but should see.
   
   The book reads well, not boring a bit like many travel books are and that's a great big plus. If you're going to Arizona or New Mexico, this would be a good book to take along.



3. Lonely Planet's `Arizona, New Mexico &the Grand Canyon Trips' offers 56 themed itineraries and 1,005 local places to see. And, if New Mexico and Arizona aren't enough, side trips to Utah, Colorado, and Las Vegas are also offered.
   
   The guide seems to attempt to offer a new, edgier approach to travel advice, and I would assume that the target audience is the 20-35 age range. It's most effective if viewed as a weekend/short trip guide; it's not detailed enough to serve as the sole guide for out of state visitors. But it can be a good starting place for planning a brief visit to the area. And it's refreshing to see a new approach to travel guides.
   
   Thematic trips - iconic trips, route oriented trips, food and wine lovers trips, outdoor trips, history and culture based trips, offbeat activities, trips for urbanites, - are provided. This was, for me, an effective method of organization, and the strong point of the guide.
   
   Small maps outlining individual trips are included in the chapters, but these are at best a general guide and wouldn't be adequate for a traveler new to the area. Driving times and directions are often included.
   
   When I carefully read the suggestions for the areas I'm familiar with, they weren't bad. The ideas here are good, but definitely not all inclusive. They verge on superficial. But [and it's hard not to type this in all caps], this is not a travel guide meant to stand alone for the traveler unfamiliar with the area. By all means read this one and get some good starting points, then buy a good thorough travel guide, and a good map, and have a great trip.
   
   If you like the other guides in the series, you'll probably like this one.



4. I took a vacation to the southwest United States in September of this year and took this fine companion with me. I spent a couple days in northern Arizona seeing the painted desert, petrified forest, and Grand Canyon. I've never been big on travel guides but this little book was great for alerting me to places to eat, places to stay, and attractions I would have otherwise missed. A fine little book that is a great companion for anyone traveling to the Grand Canyon area for the first time.



5. I bought this guide not knowing the Sedona and Grand Canyon areas I was going to visit. I did not find it useful to plan ahead because it was too elusive. After visiting the places, I find it's also too superficial and not so well researched. This guide only can work if you know enough of the places and are only looking for an itinerary. So in fact you need too guides, this one and a second one that explains to you what to do and what you are looking at once you get there. How many guides does it take to travel? This one is one too many.

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