No comments about Fishing Washington's Endless Season: A Guide to Year 'Round Fishing.

No comments about Maroon on Georgetown.

1 comments about Washington's Mount Rainier National Park: A Centennial Celebration.

1. Those of us who have hiked or climbed Mt. Rainier know that the beauty of the experience doesn't always come out in our photos. O'Hara has captured that beauty in over a hundred shots we all wish we had taken.

No comments about Women and the Journey: The Female Travel Experience.

2 comments about Bicycling America's National Parks: Oregon and Washington: The Best Road and Trail Rides from Crater Lake to Olympic National Park.

1. I purchased this book after reading a glowing review of it from the San Francisco Chronicle. I'm very glad I purchased it. This latest addition to the Bicycling America's National Parks series is informative, helpful, and truly captures the ambience of the different national parks it covers. It's not just national parks, but national recreation areas, and national monuments too, and you really get a sense of where the great bicycling opportunities are in places that also have national-caliber scenery and attractions. After reading the book, I'm definitely planning on using it for a Hells Canyon National Recreation Area trip later this summer. The chapters on Crater Lake, Olympic National Park, and Mount Saint Helens totally appealed to me, cause I've been to those places and wondered about biking there. The author does a great job of showing that the myth that you can't ride offroad in national parks is just that-- a myth. (All the rides are legal, though some do take place just outside park boundaries.) The book presents everything you need to know in a clear, often funny way. The pictures are great too. That's about all I ask from a guidebook.



2. Story's first guidebook in the 'Bicycling America's National Parks' series (California) is an excellent all-around cycling guide (and general guidebook) for the Golden State. It's concise, thorough, and balanced, presented in personable, witty language. He includes a variety of road and mountain bike routes for virtually every riding level. His lodging, shopping, and especially dining suggestions are first rate. It includes almost all the information a would-be tourist (as I was) needs for a bicycling trip to CA. Story also throws in some nice tidbits about natural and cultural history of each park, as well as description of fauna and flora (plants and animals), and worthwhile less-known attractions.

   This guide from Story features most of the same attributes as his previous guide. He includes a variety of rides that highlight the nearly infinite geographical and ecological diversity of Oregon and Washington. Once again, he includes abundant, but concise information and recommendations related to lodging and related travel info, presented in personable language (though he's not as consisently funny). As before, he provides a nice natural and historical background, serving to not just describe, but introduce the reader to each park (or recreational area).

   There is one minor shortcoming, relative to Story's National Parks/California book. That guide contained abundant supplemental information related to dining and other special attractions within or near each park. While this guidebook has some info. of that nature, it seems much more sparse. This might be because many trails in Oregon and Washington are in fairly rural areas far from any major (or even minor) population center. This considered, this guidebook still doesn't seem as complete as his California edition, which provided that reader with virtually everything we'd need to plan our trip. This isn't to say this guide is poor, it just doesn't quite match up to the standards of Story's previous guide. Once again, it would be helpful if Story included a general map of each park (this was the only minor problem I had with his CA edition).

   Even if it doesn't quite measure up to Story's California guide, Oregon/Washington is still far superior to most other cycling guidebooks available (even allowing for it's uniqueness). It's an indespensible tool for anyone planning a cycling trip to or near the national parks/recreational areas of Oregon and Washington. It's a perfect starting point, though you might want to research the areas more before heading out.

No comments about Hiking Washington's Mount Adams Country (Regional Hiking Series).

No comments about 100 hikes in the North Cascades: Mt. Baker area, North Cascades NP, Ross Lake NRA, Pasayten Wilderness, Methow-Chelan.

1 comments about Cross-Country Ski Tours: Washington's North Cascades (2nd Edition).

1. This book helped me out a lot in terms of finding areas to ski in when I first moved to Washington from Montana. However, some of the dialogue disturbed me, as I am a cross-country skier who also works for an organization that fights for the elimination of catastrophically damaging logging techniques. One quote is as follows: "In the rosy glow of the 1980s, it seemed that the overcutting of timber on forest lands was, if anything, a boon to the cross-country skier: more forest roads to explore in the winter, more clearcuts for downhill runs, and easier access to high meadows." At one point, it even described clearcuts to be "picturesque." I see clearcuts as the rape of the land, and because I learned how to cross country ski on narrow trails used for hiking in the summer rather than forest service roads, many of the descriptions turn me off to areas rather than draw me in. Where can I ski in a truly wild area, enclosed by frosted trees?

1 comments about ADC the Map People Metro Washington, DC. Pocket Atlas (Laminated Folding Maps).

1. I was very disappointed after purchasing this street map book. Apparently majority of Montgomery County isn't considered Metro Washington, DC. Don't expect to see any streets north of Bethesda - Whiteflint, Rockville, etc. are all missing. This definitely isn't a map street finder for someone living in the MD suburbs

No comments about Washington D.C. (America Series - Mini).