Road Trip Preparation - Reading

I am planning an extended road trip that will involve driving more than half way across the US and back. Along with plotting routes, checking info on the internet, and making hotel reservations, I’m doing some focused reading to prepare myself for the journey. Building up my knowledge about what the natural world holds has always been an interest of mine and a theme for much of my traveling.  Here are the favorite books I’ve collected through the years and am referencing now.

• Roadside Geology Series. This series of books came out in the 1980s and offers geological notes by mile marker along major highways. For the first half of the trip, I’ll be on my own so won’t be able to reference the books while I drive. Still – I’ve perused them enough to observe the geology along the highway crossing the Appalachians then the Mississippi River; skirting the hot springs of Arkansas then onto the relative flatness of a prehistoric seabed in Texas; climbing to the Edwards Plateau passing sand dunes of silicon then gypsum; crossing the Rio Grande rift.  On the way back, I’ll have a sidekick and the person not driving can provide geological commentary as we move along the interstate highway.

• Audubon Field Guides. The one I am looking at the most right now is the Field Guide to the Southwestern State. This well formatted book with lots of illustrations gives information on habitats, flora, invertebrates, and vertebrates. This is not the optimal time of year for botanizing….but whatever there is to see, I’m primed to see it.

• Field Guide to the Birds. The Field Guide to the Birds of Texas and Adjacent States by Roger Tory Peterson is the one I am looking at now. The copy I am referencing is probably over 30 years old --- used frequently in the past and still worth taking.

• The Off the Beaten Path series of books is also on my bookshelf but I’m not referencing them much this time since I am sticking to the interstates to get to my destination as quickly as possible; maybe they’ll be a primary reference when I can spend more time off the main highways.

Have you done this kind of theme reading before a trip? If so – what was your theme and favorite book?

Gleanings of the Week Ending November 12, 2011

The items below were the cream of the articles from this past week!

1. 25 Inspiring Pictures of Snow - beautiful!
2. Castles in the Desert: Satellites Reveal Lost Cities of Libya - now if the country could become safe enough to find out more about them from the ground.
3. 5 Foods Threatened by Climate Change - Arrgh! Chocolate is one of them!
4. Cave Paintings Showed True Colors of Stone Age Horses - yes - there were spotted horses around at that time so the paintings are realistic rather than symbolic
5. Nature Notes: The Black Oaks Of Yosemite National Park, The Video - great visual about how the Indians processed the acorns for food
6. Impact of Space Weather - now that we are more dependent on satellites (for things like GPS), maybe we should be paying more attention 
7. New System of Intelligent Management of Street Lighting Enables 80% Savings in Energy - makes sense to only power lights when you need them, just like at home
8. Condors in Grand Canyon – 3 chicks - one has already died but the other two seem to be thriving; bit about trash being a potential threat quite depressing
9. Why we need public libraries is the future - for a subset of the reasons we need them today but very real and long term (it's not about books)