Lanterna Rally

Author: Brook Besser

Publisher: NightBlaze Books

Published: 2010-03

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 0984409300

NEW REVISED EDITION that simplifies the highway naming and adds a number of new features that make the book easier to understand and navigate. Contact [email protected] with any questions. Please read this entire description and the notes at the end... Yellowstone National Park is the focal point of Wyoming; however, there is so much more if you know where to look. Hidden gems like badlands and petroglyphs can be found in the plains and valleys, and with 15 mountain ranges over 9,000 ft, Wyoming is hardly the boring prairie that many people envision. Even where the plains seem unspectacular there is a rich history along pioneer trails that served as the gateway to the west throughout the 19th century. This book identifies ALL of this, and is simply a book you should not be without. Most Wyoming travel guides are written to explore a specific subject or location, but it would take a stack of books to cover the state for all subjects. Think of these books as a mile wide and 100 miles deep. This remarkable guide, on the other hand, has most everything in the entire state laid out by the highway mile markers so you will always know what is ahead and exactly how to get there. This book covers National Parks and Monuments, State Parks, sightseeing, camping, picnicking, hiking, historical sites, archaeological sites, rest areas, RV dumps, and general points of interest. The book has over 1900 entries, so think of it as 100 miles wide and 10 miles deep -- enough information to get around, but not an overload of information to wade through. Without a book like this putting together a trip across the state requires a great commitment of time and effort. The author knows this, because he has done it many times. In order to provide massive amounts of information into a book of reasonable size and cost, first off the book, it is not a pocket guide but instead is full A4 paper size measuring 8.3 x 11.7 x 0.5 inches. If this was a pocket guide it would be well over a thousand pages. Secondly, the book is laid out in a clear and concise report style format. The descriptions are brief and to the point and not filled with colorful adjectives. Instead the book uses a simple 5-star "Cool Rating" to convey the author's opinion of the impressiveness of each attraction. In addition, the first two lines for each attraction provide the mileage, GPS coordinates, elevation, which entity owns the land, and a grid system that corresponds to the maps in the book, or can locate the attraction on any map. The detailed directions are also condensed to generally fit on a single line. Just to put a final point on the amount of information in this book, the index is extracted directly from the book itself, and therefore is so comprehensive that it contains over 2,300 entries. So, don't think of whether you should buy this book or that book, this book stands on its own or as the ultimate companion book to any other Wyoming travel book. It will pay for itself many times over in time and fuel savings. If you put it in perspective, the price of the book is around what it costs to operate a vehicle for about 30 miles; maybe 10 or 20 in a big RV -- pretty insignificant. Complete coverage of Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, Fossil Butte National Monument, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site, Snowy Range, Bighorn Mountains, Wind River Mountains, Sinks Canyon State Park, Guernsey State Park, Glendo State Park, Keyhole State Park, Green River Lakes, Casper Mountain Park, Jackson Hole and much more. NOTES: Because grayscale photos never do justice to things of beauty, the book contains no photos. However, dozens of color photos can be seen on the book website wyomingroadtripbythemilemarker.com.