Park-ing in the Southwest

by

Lauren Roberts

Do you love natural history? Are you drawn to national parks? Is camping or backpacking something you enjoy? Are you a photography buff? Do volcanoes, dams, rocks and gemstones, dunes, deserts, arroyos, slot canyons, springs, hanging gardens or ancient landscapes interest you? Yes? Have I got the vacation book for you!

The Southwest Inside Out: An Illustrated Guide to the Land and Its History by Wiewandt and Wilks (Wild Horizons; $24.95) is more than a travel guide or coffee table book or even a geological exploration. Originally published in 2001 and re-issued in an updated edition in 2004, it is a uniquely designed, gloriously photographed, beautifully illustrated, well-written book that imparts a wonderful overview of this region of the country. Prepare to grab your keys and head out the door.

Its emphasis is, as it notes, “defined more by natural features than by political boundaries . . . extending from northern Mexico to the northern limits of the Colorado Plateau in Utah and Colorado . . . and from California’s eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada across the states of Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico, into western Texas.”

When you dive into this, you begin to realize just how much there is and how truly exciting it is. More than 300 photographs, 33 illustrations and seven maps cover this unique area in exquisite detail. Some you may know about or heard of—Meteor Crater is probably one—but do you also know about Arizona’s San Francisco volcanic field, one of six hotspots in the southwest that is eminently capable of erupting anew? And that there are no less than ten parks in this region that “showcase awesome landscapes of volcanic craters, cones and lava flows?”

“Standing Up” is one particularly enticing chapter about Monument Valley, a park bordering the Arizona-Utah line. “In a land where shallow seas and dune fields once stretched to the horizon,” they write, “steep-sided tablelands and soaring spires now reach for the sky like outlaws in a western movie.” Included is the eerily beautiful Bryce Canyon National Park, numerous mesas, buttes and pinnacles where many western films were shot, a fantastic pinnacle called Totem Pole (where numerous commercials have been shot), another equally amazing one known as Spider Rock, and a particularly fantastic form of rock shape called hoodoos (which reminds me of the drawings in my 1950s-era space books) as well as arches and bridges, and cliffs and alcoves that housed early Americans.

Most of us know of the Grand Canyon and Bryce National  Park. But have you been to Arches National Park where more than 2,000 arches and windows exist? Try Goblin Valley State Park for the hoodoos; children will particularly love these rocks formed by wind and soil erosion into mushroom and cartoon character shapes. These are only two of the 100 parks and other notable sites listed.

Each section utilizes a large number of photographs, illustrations, maps, quotes, detailed captions and fascinating text (comprised of  Native American legends, prehistoric and historic vignettes) that will pull you not only into the simple beauty of its natural charms—hanging gardens, musical dunes, vanishing lakes, slot canyons, cosmic collusions—but also into the complicated process that created them. You will see the focus from various points of view—overhead, close-up and ground level. You learn how each landscape is formed with clear, concise, simple explanations. You learn about the animals and plants that thrive in these difficult environments and how they do it. You’ll share notable achievements such as the land-based speed record set at the Bonneville Salt Flats, and the moving rocks that trek across Racetrack Playa in Death Valley with less speed but more mystery.

And for travelers seeking outdoor adventure, you'll find helpful websites, photographic tips, and annotated listings for 61 books and 100 scenic attractions, supported by a full index. Included are 39 national parks and national monuments, plus many state parks and other sites worth exploring. A key identifies those with food, lodging, camping areas, back-country hiking, water, and toilets.

Unlike most books on the southwest, this one covers a broader region—the Greater Southwest—defined more by natural features of desert and canyon country than by political boundaries. So in addition to Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico, you'll find much of southern California, western Texas, western Colorado, and parts of northern Mexico—a great benefit to travelers.

“People have been looking at this country for a long time,” says C. Gregory Crampton, “loving it, cursing it, gutting it, changing it, enduring it. Not all have found it to be beautiful. Many have come to know parts of it very well; few have come to know all of it.”

Here is your opportunity. It is rare to find a travel book that is equally gorgeous and practical. This one is, though it is not a guidebook nor does it pretend to be. Housing, meals and travel arrangements are not covered, but a special section on “Capturing the Beauty” (photo tips) is remarkably useful. The listing of 100 parks and other notable sites (mentioned above) provides information about each site including its features and phone numbers and web site addresses. There are also suggestions for books, websites, tours and exhibits. If you are entranced by or at least interested enough in seeing—and in truly appreciating—this part of our country, you simply cannot do better than this book to do just that.


Almost since her childhood days of Mother Goose, Lauren has been giving her opinion on books to anyone who will listen. That “talent” eventually took her out of magazine writing and into book reviewing in 2000 for an online review site where she cut her teeth (as well as a few authors). Stints as book editor for her local newspaper and contributing editor to Booklist and Bookmarks magazines has reinforced her belief that she has interesting things to say about books. Lauren shares her home with several significant others including three cats, 900 bookmarks and approximately 1,000 books that, whether previously read or not, constitute her to-be-read stack. She is a member of the National Books Critics Circle (NBCC) and Book Publicists of Southern California as well as a longtime book design judge for Publishers Marketing Association’s Benjamin Franklin Awards. You can reach her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it