Standing up Country: The Canyon Lands of Utah and Arizona - One of my favorite picture/history books of the region. It's the late historian C. Gregory Crampton's classic "biography" of the elaborately carved sandstone country of southeastern Utah and northeastern Arizona, and it;s been reprinted in this lavishly illustrated, colorful new edition. This land of unparalleled grandeur is one of the earth's great places, and its recorded history is as old as the United States itself. However, for most Americans, the region remained largely terra incognita until 1921, when the groundwork was laid for the eventual construction of Glen Canyon dam and the creation of Lake Powell. Dr. Crampton led the survey team that catalogued all significant archeological and historical sites that would be inundated by the reservoir, and Standing Up Country is based in large part on that fieldwork. The original edition, published in 1964, inspired a whole new generation of photographers to discover the scenic beauty of the canyon country for themselves. This edition includes some of their most spectacular work, plus rare historical maps and photographs, some of which have never appeared in print before...

National Geographic Park Profiles: Canyon Country Parklands - This collection is put together like a National Geographic magazine, with the stories all focusing on the 130,000-square-mile wilderness dubbed "the Great Unknown" by Major John Wesley Powell in 1869. Now shared by Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona, this area includes dazzling mesas and buttes, soaring stone pinnacles and arches, and daunting deep canyons and cliffs. Presented in the magazine's personalized reporting style with National Geographic's infamous color photos, this is a book worth having if you're headed to these parks--or have good memories of a visit there. A 16-page special section covers the diversity of plants and animals in the area. Pity it's out of print—well, a pity for me, since I paid cover price for it way back when; you can get it at B&N.com used for $3.50...

The National Geographic Destinations, The American Southwest - Travel to a destination that has a special place in the American imagination -- a beautiful land of deserts, mountains, plateaus, and canyons. A land whose geography and layers of culture give it a wonderfully distinctive character. The ancient cultures and their Indian descendants were followed in time by Spaniards who came up from Mexico with Coronado in search of gold. Anglos came next from the east, bringing railroads, mining, and ranching. More recently, especially since the advent of air-conditioning, scientists, artists, tourists, and retirees have flocked to the area. Over the centuries, each wave of people has added its contribution to the Southwest's unique blend of cultures and traditions, making it the fascinating place it is today. Like its companion volume above, it's also out o print—and even cheaper used at B&N.com, just $2.56. You can't miss with a price like that...

America the Beautiful: A Photographic Journey Coast to Coast-and Beyond by Life Magazine - For decades, LIFE magazine has attracted many of the world's most talented and best-known photographers. In this majestic coffee-table gift book, that vibrant tradition snaps into focus in more than 100 stunning pictures of America's scenic beauty. The photographers featured include Ansel Adams, Joel Meyerowitz, Galen Rowell, and Michael Melford. The subjects range from the sublime to the awesome: Grand Canyon, Big Sur, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Nantucket Island, the San Francisco skyline, the bucolic Amish countryside of Pennsylvania and Ohio...

National Lampoon's Vacation - You know that scene where Clark W. Griswold (Chevy Chase) drives the Family Truckster off the highway in truly spectacular fashion and lands in a ditch, and then he has to cross the barren, baking red desert to try and find a gas station, nearly dying in the attempt? Well, they filmed that in Monument Valley, where, as luck would have it, Stew and I also got lost on our trip. OK, so this movie won't help you plan the perfect trip—but it will tell you everything you need to know about what not to do. Join Clark and the family (hey, is that a pre-pubescent Anthony Michael Hall I see?) in their ill-fated cross-country road trip in the Family Truckster station wagon to the fabled Wally World. If you've never laughed heartily at dead aunts tied to the roof rack, national park thievery, blatantly racist caricatures of East St. Louis hoods, adolescent drug use, near-death in the desert, and hostage situations, you simply have to see the movie. A classic...