5 comments about Photographing the Southwest: A Guide to the Natural Landmarks of Southern Utah & Southwest Colorado.

1. As others have said, this is a great book, both for photographers and visitors interested in "off the beaten path" advice. Laurent really helped me to find some of the most beautiful parts of this country, particularly in the escalente area, bryce, zion, and avoid some of the more crowded and touristy places. Wether you take pictures with an SLR, disposable, or just with your eyes, you can benefit from his advice on where to start your day, and which directions to travel for the best light.
   One morning, when Kathy and I woke before dawn and headed to the back of the zion museum to photograph The Towers of the Virgin at sunrise, one of the many, many tips in this book. Practially in the dark, a man walked up to me and asked "do you want me to sign your book?". Took a few minutes before I realized it was Laurent! Very nice guy -- we talked for quite a while and enjoyed the magnificent sunrise refected on the cliffs. Of the two other, more serious photographers there at dawn, one of them had his book also!
   Consider it a blessing if you can spend from a few days, like me, or weeks and weeks following the magnificent paths through the southwest that Laurant suggests. And don't miss his wonderful photography at the gallery in escalante...

   BTW, early october is PERFECT time to see Utah. Great weather, and much less crowded. And if you make it to Boulder, Utah, do yourself a great favor and stay at the Boulder Mountain Lodge. It's a gem we accidently found, tucked away in a garden.




2. Martres's two books on photographing the Southwest are remarkably useful, sensible, and affordable. He keeps his directions--both geographic and photographic--brief, relevant, and precise. Even if you don't take a camera, these books can help you reach remarkable places of which may never or only vaguely have heard of. I even enjoy just "armchair travelling" with these books.



3. Martres throughly researched the photographic possibilities for this book, and covers virtually every photogenic spot in the region. Having used his book on four separate trips to southern Utah, I appreciate all the new places I learned about in his book, and I can vouch for the helpful descriptions and tips for finding the ideal times and locations for the best photographs.
   
   A major shortcoming of the book, however, is the total lack of maps of any sort. Yes, there are written explanations of how to reach the discussed places, but it is hard to believe that a guidebook would not have one single map in the entire book!! The book would have been improved immensely with some basic maps showing where the various places were, so that trip planning and time on the road would go more efficiently. It was inconvenient to constantly be switching from book to a large separate map.
   
   Another shortcoming is that the recommended shooting times usually do not consider seasons. Many locations have a much different lighting angle on a winter morning versus summer, and oftentimes the recommended times for ideal photography did not work as discussed in the book.
   
   The other small complaint is that the photos in the book are all in black and white, making it more difficult to appreciate the grandeur of the various spots. Color photos would have been more effective.



4. I have been to the southwest twice in the last couple of years. The first time I didn't have this book and wished I had, the second time I had the book and was glad I did. I have both Volumes I and II and used both of them.



5. The author does a superb job in communicating what lens he uses, the time of day to shoot and a general description of his recommended areas to photograph. The only downfall is that the photos displayed in the book are black and white rather than color and it is difficult to capture the beauty and quality of the area he is shooting.
   A great book to get for descriptions but if you are looking for photos, look for another book to compliment this one.

No comments about Fishing and Hunting Guide to Utah (Foundations of Archaeological Inquiry).

2 comments about Desolation and Gray Canyons River Guide: Green River, Utah, 2003 Edition.

1. If you have purchased a river guide book or two in the past chances are you were disappointed. Mr. Ramptons book gives you just what you want; USGS maps with camps and rapids marked, hikes, history, geology all sprinkled in the right amounts.

   Great color photos in this new version of the book as well. I have to say that Desolation Canyon is a terrible place, dont go there. I have been over a dozen times so I know what I am talking about :-)




2. After our 2nd day on the river, we had to seriously wonder if Mr. Rampton had ever actually been down this stretch of river. The camps he had marked didn't exist, and we discovered some great areas never mentioned in the guide. I realize rivers change, but after using various guides for the Grand Canyon, Gates of Lodore, San Juan, Rogue and Snake Rivers, this 2003 edition was one of the most inacurate guides I'd ever had to use. Thank goodness others on our group had the older Belknap's guide and had actually been on the river before.
   
   The color topo maps were nice, but printed on too large of a scale to be easy to follow. You also have to flip back and forth between the mile-by-mile description and the maps in the back, so the book binding takes a beating. Both front and back covers had fallen off before the end of the trip. The most entertaining part of the guide was by far the description of the author's solo trip entitled "Solitude". The narrative provided hours of laughter as we read and reread the passages and even expanded the story, using his crazy, descriptive style.... "Raindrops seemed like intelligent missles that would guide themselves through any opening...."
   
   There's some good, basic info in this guide, but don't let it be the only resource you have.

No comments about Wasatch Eleveners: A Hiking and Climbing Guide to the 11,000 foot Mountains of Utah's Wasatch Range.

4 comments about Coyote's Canyon.

1. The book captures a remarkable series of photos of desert canyons. The photos are good enough to keep the book on my office conference table. Ms. Williams' text provides stories of people encountering wilderness at the near edge of mystic experience.



2. Coyote's Canyon is a collection of photography of the Southwestern US, coupled with Terry Tempest Williams's haunting prose. The photographs are, by and large, rich and full of the sense of the desert. The collection of short essays by Williams includes two of my absolute favorite stories about the Southwest--the one about the Man who Buries Poems, and the one about finding the Perfect Kiva. Worth the read, for anyone who yearns for the desert, or who lives there and wants to rediscover an appreciation for its magic, both in photographs and in lyrical prose.



3. Straight to my heart. If you love the red rocks and enjoy Terry's writing, this is it. The photography is excellent!



4. Gorgeous photographs taken in National Parks and other wild lands in the southwestern U.S. combine with New Age vignettes.
   
   I loved the photos, but found the narrative didn't appeal to me. One vignette stood out as disturbing: the narrator makes the mistake of telling a local that a mountain lion just ran across the road in front of the truck, and the local's response is to say he and his buddies will be out there the next day with dogs and guns. I found it sad to think that in the modern day people still have no better solution for living with predators than to exterminate them. Other than that -- I found the narrative generally sentimental and information-free, but it's just not my kind of thing and I'm sure it will appeal to others.

2 comments about The Glen Canyon Reader.

1. I have read probably over fifty books about Glen Canyon, Lake Powell, and the San Juan, Escalante, and Colorado Rivers, not to mention countless articles, all while researching a book about Lake Powell of my own.
   
   That said, "The Glen Canyon Reader" offers a nice assortment of selections from many of those books, and a few articles and excerpts from books and magazines that are usually much harder to find. I would recommend it to anyone looking to get a rough overview of Glen Canyon history. The book's selections by Edward Abbey, Bruce Berger, and Jared Farmer, are terrific, especially the article by Jared Farmer (author of "Glen Canyon Dammed").
   
   While reading Jared Farmer's article, a line from "The Great Gatsby" kept flitting through my head: "You're worth the whole damn bunch of them put together." His almost shouldn't have been included, because it made most of the others seem inferior. In contrast to his, the historical excerpts from John Wesley Powell and from Escalante & Dominguez seemed dustier and more stale, the magazine articles seemed triter, and Katie Lee's book excerpt seemed even more crazed and poorly written that it would have seemed normally.
   
   Katie Lee's excerpt is a main reason I haven't rated this book higher. I just really don't like her writing, or her insanely political, idealizing, villainizing stance. I think her presence is a much bigger detriment to the case against Glen Canyon Dam that it is a help. Female folksingers are annoying. Poll America, and I'm sure the majority will agree with me. Katie Lee is like a Joan Baez singing awful rhymes about the Colorado River swishing between her legs; her poetry is awful; her cutesy sayings about the "Bureau of Wreck-the-Nation" are just not funny. Skip her excerpt, and you're reading a solid, four star book.
   
   The book is not a bad overview, though. I really did enjoy it. I do wish it had at least a single excerpt from the writings or oral history of some of of the Native Americans in the area though, and I think the editor could have done more to find another piece or two representing modern-day Glen Canyon, a.k.a. Lake Powell.
   
   Despite having read a lot on this subject the last few years, I did learn things from this book. It contains Floyd Dominy's out of print booklet "Lake Powell: Jewel of the Colorado," it has clues to the Everett Ruess mystery I haven't read elsewhere, and it features several stories of animals trapped by the rising waters of Lake Powell that were completely new to me. If you're passionate about this subject, absolutely, get this book. You'll almost certainly learn something new.
   
   And, if you know nothing about this subject, this really wouldn't be a bad place to start.



2. Got this book in advance of visiting area. While it had some good sections, it was very specific to dam/activities surrounding it. Good, but not great, book

1 comments about Fishing Utah.

1. This is a real find! For all of us that love fishing and Utah, this book has it all. I found Brett's descriptions to be on target, and his advice valuable. He obviously loves and knows his subject. I heartily recommend this book to all the anglers looking to Utah as a fishing paradise.

No comments about Salt Lake City, Utah Steet Map.

2 comments about Utah Byways: Back Country Drives for the Whole Family.

1. Anyone who wants to explore some of the West's most spectacular and historic backways will love this handy, spiral-bound guidebook. It includes the 90-mile-long Transcontinental Railroad National Back Country Byway, the Pony Express National Back Country Byway and Canyonland's famous White Rim Road, perhaps the most exotic and remote 4WD road in North America. All the routes are perfect for a stock sport-utility vehicle.



2. Utah Byways showed me that there's a whole lot more to exploring Utah's wildlands than what those 4x4 magazines show. I was very happy to find, using Utah Byways, so many spectacular little dirt roads through this state's incredible wild lands, and they don't even require me to be a serious off-roader. Great book if you like adventure!

No comments about Mountain Biking in Canyon Rims Recreation Area (Canyon Country Series, 27).