In my first book, Spirit of the American Southwest, I attempted to do what this website does: discover new, sometimes subtle, dimensions and fascinating realities on the trail and on the road. Spirit's stories are told in words and photos, with easy to understand geologic and archaeological descriptions of the particular locations. The geographic focus is on Arizona, New Mexico and Utah with hikes that range from desert and mountain preserve trails in the Phoenix area to national parks (Zion, Utah) to some very remote trails in Arizona and New Mexico. Spirit of the American Southwest can be purchased at www.Amazon.com or through my publisher, Sunstone Press.

My second book, Hiking North America's Great Western Volcanoes, is smaller and easier to take along on the trail. Hiking is more a story than a photographic record of what I believe to be some of the most beautiful and interesting volcanic landforms in the west (photos are included). As in my first book, the emphasis is on geology and archaeology, but the geographic scope is wider. The first hike starts in northeast New Mexico, just west of the Great Plains and continues west to California and up through the state of Washington, where the trail ends at Mount St. Helens. Again, the goal is similar to that of this website: to find new realities on and along the trail and to appreciate their existence. Like the first book, this one can be purchased at www.Amazon.com or through my publisher, Sunstone Press.

There are many other books on the subjects of hiking and the disciplines we covered in this web site. My favorite author is John McPhee who can write about geology, paleontology or any discipline without the use of photos or graphics -- his writing is that good. Some of his books that I enjoyed the most:
Rising from the Plains (a great geologic and historical tale about the birth of the Rocky Mountains)
Basin and Range (a tale about the dynamic earth best displayed in the southwest)
Assembling California (how California came to be)
In Suspect Terrain (the land and human history along the east coast)

My three favorite (educational) books are:

Modern Physical Geology by Thompson and Turk

Prehistoric Past Revealed by Douglas Palmer

Anthropology by Carol R. Ember, Melvin Ember, Peter N. Peregrine

There are also local (state and national) organizations dedicated to their specific discipline or professional study. For instance, each state has a Geological Society usually available through the Internet. Other disciplines have like groups or societies. A search of the Internet should find them. There are some links in this web site that may help.

Good luck on your search for reality along the trail and on the road.