The ghost towns of Southern California-some dramatic and nearly intact, others devastated-are well worth visiting. Most are remnants of once-colorful mining towns, though there are also railroad towns, a World War II relocation center, a promoter's swindle, and a failed socialist colony. Some excellent attractions remain. One of the best-preserved stamp mills in the West is in Skidoo. Smelters, homes, stores, and the remarkable wooden American Hotel can be found in Cerro Gordo, which the author calls "California's best true ghost town." Seasoned back-roads traveler Philip Varney, who has visited nearly a hundred ghost towns in the area, provides a down-to-earth and helpful guide to more than sixty of the best in Southern California and nearby Inyo and Kern counties. He defines a ghost town as a town with a population markedly decreased from its peak, one whose initial reason for settlement no longer keeps people there. It can be completely deserted, have a resident or two, or retain genuine signs of vitality, but Varney has eliminated those towns he considers either too populated or too empty of significant remains. The sites are grouped in four chapters in Inyo County, Death Valley, the Mojave Desert and Kern River, and the regions surrounding Los Angeles and San Diego. Each chapter provides a map of the region, a ranking of sites as "major," "secondary," and "minor," information on road conditions, trip suggestions, and tips on the use of particular topographic maps for readers interested in more detailed exploration. Each entry includes directions to a town, a brief history of that town, and notes on its special points of interest. Current photographs provide a valuable record of the sometimes fragile sites. Southern California's Best Ghost Towns will be welcomed both by those who enjoy traveling off the beaten path and by those who enjoy the history of the American West.

Originally published in 1995, soon after Death Valley National Park became the fifty-third park in the U.S. park system, The Explorer's Guide to Death Valley National Park was the first complete guidebook available for this spectacular area. Now in its third edition, this is still the only book that includes all aspects of the park. Much more than just a guidebook, it covers the park's cultural history, botany and zoology, hiking and biking opportunities, and more. Information is provided for all of Death Valley's visitors, from first-time travelers just learning about the area to those who are returning for in-depth explorations. The book includes updated point-to-point logs for every road within and around the park, as well as more accurate map than those in any other publication. With extensive input from National Park Service resource management, law enforcement, and interpretive personnel, as well as a thorough bibliography for suggested reading, The Explorer's Guide to Death Valley National Park, Third Edition is the most up-to-date, accurate, and comprehensive guide available for this national treasure.

Awarded the 2009 Bronze Medal in the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation's annual Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition: "Whether you want to stand on a glacier or have a beer with local bikers, this is the definitive (as well as wonderfully eccentric) guide to the immensity of the southern Sierra and Owens Valley. John Muir would be pleased."—Mike Davis, author of City of Quartz and Ecology of Fear The only complete guide to California’s southern Sierra Nevada—some of the most stunning wilderness in North America—is better than ever in this revised, updated edition. Detailed reviews of lodging, dining, and recreation, plus outfitters, campsites, trails, and points of historic and cultural interest.

From the book's beginning: She calls it desert dancing, what we do out there. It's a place some of us call home, no matter where we live; a place you go back to, even when you've never been there before. Deserts around the world may be different, but the feeling is the same; the hearts of prophets and devils alike beat stronger there. A place you feel eternity. Home for the spirit. Forbidding -- to some. Bleak and lonely. No desert rat can deny these feelings at times. That's part of it. It's also the primordial challenge of surviving, low-tech life and death, surrounded by a rugged, powerful beauty and the wonderful adaptations of Mother Nature to the difficult, dry world of the desert. Animals that can live their entire lives without a drink of water. Seeds that can lay dormant for years, then germinate after a desert rainstorm that offers just enough water to bring them to life. The more high-tech my tools and toys, the more I need my desert time, my desert dancing. Reviews: ... goes beyond being a simple A to B guidebook. Desert Dancing reads like the journal of a friend, who, in a highly readable style, shares with you a wonderful trip. Excellent research, combined with an in-person familiarity of the subject at hand, makes this a necessary volume for anyone considering a trip into the desert, or for the armchair explorer who wants to gain a sense of what the desert is all about. -- Bob Moore, Editor Route 66 magazine. Wow! You can feel the heat, see the old West as it was and what it has become. This books makes you want to pack up your vehicle and head to the desert, but don't leave home without the book - you'll get lost in that vast sea of sand without it. Read this book and you'll enjoy what the California desert really has to offer. Water, water, water, please! An outstanding adventure. Excellent reading. -- Leslie Curtis Riley from Clovis, CA. A combination guidebook/journal to this enchanting region. Filled with historical notes and details of the culture, Desert Dancing is a trip for your senses. Alongside practical travel information you'll find insight into the area's past, and the legends and myths that survive today. Visit sacred places and learn of their mysteries. Directions, places to stay and eat, plus advice on safe passage in this harsh but beautiful terrain