Small enough to fit in your back pocket, this guide features twenty easy-to-follow hikes in Big Bend National Park. Look Inside to Find Half-hour strolls to full-day adventures Accurate, easy-to-follow directions to the trailhead Hikes for hikers of every ability, including families with young children Clear, accurate, and concise mile-by-mile directions for each hike GPS coordinates

Pack up the car and enjoy thirty drives through some of the most spectacular scenery in the Tarheel State. This indispensable highway companion maps out trips for exploring scenic byways and side roads, from the deep forests and breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Parkway to the majestic lighthouses and historic villages of the Outer Banks, from the lush rolling country of the Piedmont to the rugged terrain of the Appalachian Mountains. Inside you'll find: Itineraries ranging from 10 miles to more than 115 miles in length Route maps for each drive Where to find treasures such as windswept dunes, mountain streams, magnificent fall colors, roaring waterfalls, and local wildlife Historical information and suggested side trips Tips on camping, travel services, and best driving seasons

Texas is unique, not only because it is the only state to enter the Union by way of a treaty, but because a clause in that treaty gives Texas the right, in perpetuity, to divide into as many as five separate states. These "Five States of Texas" reflect the remarkable geographic variety of this vast landscape. From the plains and mountains, beaches and deserts, forests and rugged canyons, Laurence Parent captures the beauty of the Texas landscapes, places, and people that are as diverse as its many-faceted culture.

From the sandy beaches of the Outer Banks to the rugged mountains of the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina offers something interesting around every turn. Author Laurence Parent describes thirty drives covering the state's most fascinating and beautiful places.

From the rugged Guadalupe Mountains in the west and the deep canyons of the Red River in the Panhandle to the lakes on the eastern landscape, the Texas backcountry is as spacious and diverse as the Lone Star State itself. This guide contains unforgettable hikes that suit all abilities and interests.

"Laurence Parent's work is superb. He is without a doubt one of the signature photographers of Texas. He has shot many of the iconic images of Big Bend National Park-- images that have appeared in the New York Times, Texas Highways, Texas Monthly, and Texas Parks & Wildlife, as well as in books about the park and West Texas." -- Jack Lowry, Editor, Texas Highways "Joe Nick Patoski's writing in Big Bend National Park is compelling and knowledgeable, done with great confidence and passion for the subject." -- Jan Reid, author of The Bullet Meant for Me and editor of Rio Grande

Big Bend National Park is one of the few places left in America where a person can literally get away from it all. Nestled in the great bend of the Rio Grande that forms one of the most distinctive features of the silhouette of Texas, the park is several hundred miles from any large city. Within its 1,250 square miles of mountains, canyons, desert, and river, Big Bend National Park offers visitors respite from the stresses of urban living-- a place for taking stock and charting new courses. That's one reason why many people return to the park year after year.

This book is the first and only comprehensive photographic and word portrait of Big Bend National Park. Laurence Parent presents a magnificent photo gallery of park scenes. He portrays the mountain ranges-- Chisos, Dead Horse, Rosillos, and Sierra del Carmen-- from first light to moonrise and in all seasons and weather. He includes dramatic images of Santa Elena, Mariscal, and Boquillas canyons, as well as landmark features such as Mule Ears Peaks, Elephant Tusk, and the Chisos Basin Window. Parent also portrays the ephemeralbeauty of Big Bend wildflowers, including giant bluebonnets and blooming prickly pear cactus, as well as the traces of human habitation at ghost towns scattered around the park.

Joe Nick Patoski complements Parent's images with a masterfully crafted word portrait of Big Bend National Park. Patoski describes the powerful geologic and volcanic forces that created the awe-inspiring landscape of the Big Bend. He reviews the park's natural history and also its human history, from the prehistoric hunter-gathers who ranged over the region to Cabeza de Vaca, who was probably the first European to see Big Bend, to the creation of the national park in the 1930s and 1940s. Patoski also summarizes recent conservation efforts that have led to the protection of 2.1 million acres on both sides of the Rio Grande.

Although no single book could ever hope to contain the vastness of Big Bend National Park between two covers, this one beautifully captures its essence.