Discover the story of the land of Myakka. This book takes you into shady hammocks of twisted oaks and up into aerial gardens, down the wild and scenic river, and across a variegated canvas of prairies, piney woods, and wetlandsall located in Myakka River State Park, the largest state park in Florida. Each adventure tells the story of a unique facet of this wilderness area and takes you into secret places it would take years to discover on your own.

Whether you're visiting the park for the first time or have frequented the area since childhood, the adventures described here are sure to awaken your primitive instincts to explore the unknown. If you return to the same places at different times of the year, you'll find enough adventures to last a lifetime. You'll never be one of those people who ask "What's there to do in the park today?"

A handy collection of easily prepared and revised old recipes adapted for the on-the-road cook and camper. Includes sections on campfire cooking, equipment, menus, and pre-travel food planning and stocking. Lay-flat binding.

Joshua Tree National Park is the most popular rock climbing area in the world--and for good reason. When other climbing locales are buried in snow, Josh is basking in Southern California sunshine. Thousands of sport and traditional routes on park's distinctive domes offer climbers of all abilities endless variety, from classic, well-protected cracks to delicate friction faces and edgy vertical testpieces. Excellent bouldering abounds, and superb camping in the beautiful, high-desert environment encourages extended stays. Simply put, no climber's career is complete without at least one trip to Joshua Tree, and many people find themselves returning year after year.
"Rock Climbing Joshua Tree West is the first of two volumes that together replace "Rock Climbing Joshua Tree, published in 1992 and 1986. Covering climbs in the western half of the park, completely revised and with thoroughly updated route information, and extensively illustrated, it's the climber's comprehensive and indispensable guide to the area.

As Spanish authorities colonized Alta California, they established 21 Franciscan missions and four forts, or presidios, to bring the native inhabitants of the region under control and to provide for security and defense. Today, the missions and presidios are among California's most popular historic landmarks, and enduring reminders of California's Spanish and Mexican past. For travelers and outdoor enthusiasts who want to experience a taste of all that the area has to offer, this book contains short hikes, biking, and other outdoor recreation opportunities, plus travel information and natural history. It is a fun and fascinating tour of the missions and presidios for vacationers and history buffs alike.
Other books in the "Exploring series include Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Canyonlands and Arches National Park, Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores, Dinosaur National Monument, Florida's Atlantic Coast Beaches, Florida's Gulf Coast Beaches, Glacier National Park, Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Hawaii's Parklands, Mount Helena, Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and Southern California Beaches.

Seeking a taste of unspoiled wilderness, more than eight million people visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park each year. Yet few probably realize what makes the park unusual: it was the result of efforts to reclaim wilderness rather than to protect undeveloped land.
The Smokies have, in fact, been a human habitat for 8,000 years, and that contact has molded the landscape as surely as natural forces have. In this book, Daniel S. Pierce examines land use in the Smokies over the centuries, describing the pageant of peoples who have inhabited these mountains and then focusing on the twentieth-century movement to create a national park.
Drawing on previously unexplored archival materials, Pierce presents the most balanced account available of the development of the park. He tells how park supporters set about raising money to buy the land--often from resistant timber companies--and describes the fierce infighting between wilderness advocates and tourism boosters over the shape the park would take. He also discloses the unfortunate human cost of the park's creation: the displacement of the area's inhabitants.
Pierce is especially insightful regarding the often-neglected history of the park since 1945. He looks at the problems caused by roadbuilding, tree blight, and air pollution that becomes trapped in the mountains' natural haze. He also provides astute assessments of the Cades Cove restoration, the Fontana Lake road construction, and other recent developments involving the park.
Full of outstanding photographs and boasting a breadth of coverage unmatched in other books of its kind, The Great Smokies will help visitors better appreciate the wilderness experience they have sought. Pierce's account makes us more aware of humanity's long interaction with the land while capturing the spirit of those idealistic environmentalists who realized their vision to protect it.
The Author: Daniel S. Pierce teaches in the department of history and the humanities program at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, and is a contributor to The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture.

Descriptions for nearly 500 routes, selected from the more than 5,000 established climbs in the Southern California area.

In a place as vast and extreme as Alaska, no one takes safety for granted. Whether adventurer or homesteader, tourist or native, people look out for themselves and for each other. But sometimes it just goes bad, and no amount of resourcefulness or resiliency can make it right. That's when search and rescue teams kick into gear, launching operations by air and by land that have generated amazing tales of heroism, tenacity, and human kindness. Some of those stories have been gathered in Search and Rescue Alaska, including: *Rescues on Denali, North America's highest peak, from the mountain's first search and rescue in 1932 to a rescue in 2017 that highlights the utility of modern equipment and decades of SAR experience *A World War II search and rescue that ended with a remarkable recovery more than half a century later *Rescues during the Good Friday quake of 1964 *The rescue of mountaineering students and their instructors in the Chugach Range *The rescue and recovery of Klondike-bound gold-seekers caught in an avalanche on the infamous Chilkoot Trail These stories and others in this compilation of essays will kindle a new appreciation for the skilled and selfless pilots, troopers, military personnel, and rangers on call for search and rescue in Alaska.

This fully updated and revised guide to over 450 public campgrounds in Southern California is perfect for tent and RV campers alike. Within each campground listing is vital information on location, road conditions, fees, reservations, available facilities, and recreational activities. The listings are organized by geographic area, and thorough site maps will simplify the search for the perfect campground. Southern California offers a surprising array of quiet, out-of-the-way parks replete with lakes, rivers, rugged hills, and even rocky cliffs. Camping Southern California provides useful tips on camping etiquette and enjoying-or avoiding-the region's diverse and abundant wildlife. Look inside for: * Campground locations * Facilities and hookups * Fees and reservations * GPS coordinates for each campground * Recreational activities * What equipment and clothing to bring

A superb souvenir of this exotic terrain, Big Bend Vistas takes you on five journeys that begin at Panther Junction and travel to Study Butte; then on to the Chisos Basin, Santa Elena Canyon, Boquillas Canyon, and finally to Persimmon Gap. Easy to read and understand, Big Bend Vistas describes how volcanoes millions of years ago created some of the most striking scenery in Texas. The author includes vivid photographs, maps, and diagrams that explain the landscape and geology of Big Bend National Park in layman's terms. This is the third edition of Big Bend Vistas in the acclaimed "Vista" series dedicated to making Texas geology interesting for everyone.

With its diverse landscape, its relatively mild climate, and its magnificent scenery, California is a paradise for outdoor and sports enthusiasts. If you're looking for the ideal spot to pitch your tent or park your RV, Camping Northern California offers up more than 700 public campgrounds throughout the area's widely varied scenery. The state contains 27 national parks and monuments, over 500 state and county parks, 20 million acres of national forests, and numerous other recreational lands under federal, state, and local jurisdiction. Stretching from the northern mountains to the southern deserts, the campgrounds range from primitive sites for tents or self-contained RVs to plush resorts with all the amenities. What they have in common is that they all provide a memorable outdoor experience. Easy-to-use maps and charts will help you choose the perfect site for your next camping trip. Whether you want to fish, hunt, or just get away from it all, let this book be your guide. Look inside for information on: * Campground locations * Facilities and hookups * Fees and reservations * GPS coordinates for each campground * Recreational activities

From the Great Smoky Mountains to Point Reyes National Seashore, America's national parks are home to some of nature's great wildlife spectacles. Here, Gary W. Vequist and Daniel S. Licht, two veterans of the National Park Service, focus on twelve animals that have been imperiled and at risk, but are now protected within the National Park System.Showcasing one species for each month of the year, including gray wolf, black bear, prairie dog, sea turtle, bison, bats, salmon, elk, beaver, American alligator, gray whale, and bald eagle, Vequist and Licht pair each premier species with a featured park, adding information about other parks where the species may also be readily seen and identifying other animals to look for in the same habitat--animals that prey, are preyed upon, or exist side by side with the focal species.Beyond being a guide to observing these remarkable animals, "Wildlife Watching in America's National Parks," as the title implies, is also a book about America's national parks. Reminding Americans why national parks are truly our "best idea" and encouraging readers to go find out why, these career wildlife specialists stress that it is "impossible to fathom America without these animals and without the parks in which they reside."Nature lovers, travelers, and outdoor hobbyists of all types will be enthralled by this inside view of America's wildlife and the breathtaking photographs of places they inhabit.
List of Wildlife and Parks Featured
Yellowstone National Park: Gray Wolf
Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Black Bear
Badlands National Park: Prairie Dog
Dry Tortugas National Park: Sea Turtle
Theodore Roosevelt National Park: Plains Bison
Carlsbad Caverns National Park: Bats
Olympic National Park: Pacific Salmon
Buffalo National River: Rocky Mountain Elk
Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Beaver
Everglades National Park: American Alligator
Point Reyes National Seashore: Gray Whale

Located astride the Tennessee-North Carolina border, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park contains more than one hundred trails that trace eight hundred miles of rugged terrain. This fact is certain to bewilder any newcomer who might be eager to explore the Park's backcountry but is unsure where to start. This book, intended as a beginner's guide to hiking the Smokies, offers lively, informative descriptions of twenty-two trails that can be completed in a day or less.
For anyone who has yet to discover the beauty of the Smokies, the highest North American mountains east of the Mississippi, the trails described here offer a splendid introduction. Scenic overlooks at Mount Le Conte, Clingmans Dome, Gregory Bald, and other peaks are included along these pathways, as are some of the well-known waterfalls of the Park, such as Laurel Falls, Rainbow Falls, and Ramsay Cascades. In addition to vital data about the length of the trail, its elevation gain, and "how to get there," each trail description is packed with interesting facts and Smoky Mountain lore. Detailed maps are also included. In their introduction, the authors provide a brief overview of the park's history as well as useful tips for novice hikers.
The Authors: Kenneth Wise, an administrator at the University of Tennessee Library, Knoxville, has hiked in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for more than twenty years. He is the author of "Hiking Trails of the Great Smoky Mountains: A Comprehensive Guide."
James Andrews, a partner in the firm of Andrews, Hudson & Wall, P.C., has hiked the Park trails for more than a decade. He is the coauthor, with Wise, of "The Best Overnight Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains."

With hikes in Glacier and Waterton varying from half-hour strolls to full-day adventures, this guidebook is for everyone, including families.

In 1942, the United States government ordered more than 110,000 men, women, and children to leave their homes and detained them in remote, military-style camps. Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps where Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were interned during World War II. This book is about the site and its history.