AZ

The book describes how to hike basically any Utah mountain range. It's divided according to a particular area, and larger mountain ranges are split into several sections. Kelsey's writing style is quite specific, each section includes a sketched map, several photographs and description of hikes, difficulties, access routes, ... Once you get used to it, though, it is a quick, general and informative reference for anyone who wants to hike Utah mountains. A word of warning, the author is a fast walker, his times are e.g. about 1/2 of those from Vernath's Hiking the Wasatch

You might need to know your yard needs Nitrogen...but when is the best time to add the fertilizer?
How often should I trim my roses?
When is the best time to plant shrubs?

In categories including bulbs, roses, shrubs, trees and yards, you will learn the best time to do the various tasks of maintaining a beautiful yard and garden. For those of us in Texas (or similar zones) it's an essential guide that deals with our warm winters and hot summers.

I love it! Very helpful information that I refer to regularly to know what needs to be done 'this month'.

Not designed to be a colorful rendition on plants, if you're looking for a picture-book, this is not for you. But it's well organized and easy to read or browse. There are lists of plants that do well in our area, with some warnings of plants that don't do well, say, in the panhandle, where the climate is different.

Unless you're a master gardener, or even if you are, this would be a beneficial guide.

By now even I, a Philadelphia gardener who visits Houston every 6 weeks or so, know that Dale Groom is a genius--Texas style. In "Month-by-Month Gardening in Texas," he and his equally wonderful cowriter, Dan Gill, provide a treasure trove of information for everything from roses to houseplants in the easiest-to-use format I've ever encountered.

You want to know what you need to do in March? Turn to the large, easy-to-read, illustrated (but not too much) calendar-type March pages. You'll find out how much water your houseplants need, if and when you need to prune your bushes, if it is too early or too late to plant your annuals, and so forth. The at-a-glance style of the book provides quick and easy answers that anyone can understand.

Very serious gardeners, who are interested in the details of propogation and grafting, for instance, will not find the depth of information they need in this book. This is exactly what it says it is: a month-to-month guide. This was a gift to me from a near-and-dear Texan, and I cherish it. You will too.

I was disappointed in The Arizona Handbook. If you're planning on driving in the state, you won't be able to use the book to plan your trip. The book lacks details such as mileages between cities, and orientations on how to get to cities or sites, are not given (e.g. there is no indication of the route to take between the North and South Rims, am important detail). In other respects,it provides too much information and not enough commentary. For example, it lists restaurants and accomodations in various areas, but does not rate them or give you an idea on which of the many places is recommended, or even which would be a good place to stay. I'm not saying not to buy the book, but if you do, you'll need to buy another one to supplement it. It's definitely not a complete handbook.

Recently my wife and I planned a trip to Eastern Arizona. We got copies of all the available guidebooks to Arizona and began going through them for information. It soon became clear that Bill Weir's book had by far the most information. He has been everywhere. The book is well-written, authoritative without being pedantic, and is nicely laid out so that it is easy to use. We especially appreciate his coverage of hiking trails.

When we use an Arizona guidebook the first thing we do is crack it open to its section on Flagstaff, where we live. When we did this, we found that the book passed the acid test. This is the best book of its kind, and the one that we will use from now on.

With its 600 pages of text and 32-page index, you immediately sense that this seventh edition was written by a person who knows Arizona extremely well. Flagstaff resident Bill Weir really packs in the practical details of travel, making it unnecessary to spend time wading through the myriad brochures available at roadside tourist information centers. Bill has done that job for us, and he intersperses just the right mix of historical photos, maps, sidebars, and charts to make our trip a real learning experience. Visitors, local residents, and libraries alike will find this in-depth handbook a veritable cornucopia of all things Arizonan.

I was disappointed in latest Wasowski book. Projects by landscape architects using Texas natives seemed more like Texas architectural guide.Pictures were small and one did not recognize xeriscape award recipient,Ron Bolton of Dripping Springs. References in back were useful.Good coffee table/novice gardener book.

For one who loves books they visit libraries and book stores to just smell the paper. Well that works for lovers of gardens also. This book contains picture of beautiful and practical gardens. I have to admit I bought it for pictures of my favorite garden that people come from neighboring states to see. That is Weston Gardens (designed by Randy Weston). Ninety percent of my plants and ideas come form walking through Weston gardens. Many of the other gardens also have practical ideas for Texas gardens.

An eye-opening look at what can be done with natives. This book probably couldn't have been done ten years ago, but clearly the native plant movement is alive and well and growing by leaps and bounds. Common sense gardening. A must for any Texas homeowner.

I was glad to find this book, and got lots of ideas about places to go from it. It does have lots of useful information, but I found it to be lacking some very necessary details about the canyons needed to plan a hike to this area. Take a good map and call the local BLM office for details before going. I've seen people turn up on the local six o'clock news a couple of times because they got into a canyon they couldn't get out of using one of his books! Also, all distances are metric :( so be prepared to convert everything to feet and miles.

My son and I have personally hiked many of Michael Kelsey's routes as described in this book. Yes, you need to know something about hiking and route finding, Michael does not baby you along the way or remove responsibility from the hiker. But he does not overdramatize the hikes to avoid liability, and he also does not preach to his readers. What he does do extremely well is concisely give you an idea of how to get to some of the most remote, pristine, and special places in the entire world, places innaccessible merely because most people were unaware of their existence. Michael has opened the door to these places. For this I will be forever grateful.

This is the bible of Canyoneering in SE Utah. The simple maps, concise descriptions and knowledgeable tips will get you into as much trouble as you want . . . and that's why we do this, right? The park service has baned Kelsey's books from their bookstores because he "reveals too much," and they claim people "get into trouble" following his guides -- bugger to them! People can be unprepared idiots. If you read the damn book you'll realise that only trained people should be stemming up slot canyons, swimming hypothermic plunge pools and gingerly investigating delicate Anaszi ruins -- not your average hee-haws looking for a good place to swill a 12-Pack of beer. The beer swillers don't want this book, go to Lake Powell instead.

Found this guide book very helpful in a canyoneering trip down this nice canyon. I read the book before an April 2003 Paria Canyon trip starting at White House Trailhead and going all the way to Lee's Ferry. One thing was missing from my pack though....the book!

My trip I carried the BLM map/travel guide you can purchase at the Paria Ranger Station. It was $8.00 and I had a detailed map with camp sites and all known streams for water. The Kelsey Book has little dots or symbols for the sites which were pretty useless when the maps are so small in print. I was glad on the trip I had the BLM Guide for the trip.

Check the weather forecast before you leave and again at the ranger station. The summer of 2003 in September there were flash floods in the canyon from storms over 40 miles away!

The Paria Ranger Station reports temperatures to the weather service and rain/snow amounts. You will have to go to noaa.gov site for the info. Enter Kanab or Salt Lake City in the today's forecast box and then at the bottom of the forecast page will be additional forecast info - press the forecast discussion. On the new page enter state summary and look on the page for Paria Ranger Station!! There the high and low's will be listed with any precipitation amounts. The ranger station calls in the info every day.

Remember to pack the book for your trip to help you with your travels down this great canyon.

This book is outstanding. I'm an avid canyoneer and these books got me started. Many think they're too good. I follow the canyoneering boards and people consistently complain that Kelsey gives away too much information and allows, "just anyone who buys the book" to get in the deepest, darkets canyons. The land managers down right hate these books because people get into trouble. I think a good guidebook tells you about an area and it's up to the individual to be responsible and not exceed their abilities.

Aside from the extermely thorough and detailed area information, Kelsey takes pains to explain the history of the area and to prepare you for what you need to do spend time in these strange lands. I have hundreds of guidebooks from around the world and none of them comes close to Kelsey's in these areas. They are a treat to read.

There are a few quirky things about Kelsey's work. He lists everthing in metric. I agree this makes perfect sense from a technical (the rest of the world is metric and it makes much more sense) point of view but still have to do a poor job of converting everything back to miles in my head. It would be better to list miles in brackets after the kilometers. Kelsey is also (apparently) very fit because his hiking times are impressively rapid. I usually add 50% to his times to get a realistic estimate of how long it will take me.

All in all, I couldn't recommend Kelsey's books more. He is an extremely hard working, dedicated author. His works are jewels for this area and will long be recognized as not only the geographical authority but also the historical authority in this wonderful part of the world. Buy everything he writes.

I have been down the Paria twice now and both times reading this book by Mr. Kelsey made for a well prepared and enjoyable desert hiking experience. Revisiting it last week before I took a solitary second trip on the river after 6 years was once again very valueable in final last minute preparations. His thoroughness in detail of vital survival information like the availibility and location of year round springs, the subtle physical description of the terrane and moisture conditions to be expected in some of the slot canyons, and his own exploration of side tributaries can help a hiker gain access to details she might miss otherwise and to remember to carry the appropriate gear. This book will enhance the overall appreciation of her experience. I laminated his detailed maps of the river before going on my first trip and again used them for this recent trip. I cannot stress how useful they are when you are out there in the wilderness and on your own. Really, get this book before you go.

High marks for creativity, uniqueness and just plain fun. The book is spiral bound so it will lay flat. This makes it easy to use. More importantly each page has been divided horizontally into three independent sections. The flowers on the top section of the divided page are tall with a height range of 3-6 foot. The flowers in the middle section of the divided page are in the medium height range of 1-3 feet. The flowers on the bottom third of the divided page are of a low height ranging from 1 inch to 1 foot. So by choosing different top, middle and bottom sections you can get an idea of how the staggered heights of the flowers in your bed would appear simultaneously. By flipping back and forth between different choices for the top, middle, and bottom sections (which move independently of one another because of the division into three seperate sections) you can compare various color, height, and texture combinations. Alternatively use it to compare flowers that bloom in the cool season, those that bloom in the warm season, and those that bloom year round and get an idea of how your bed will appear over time as the seasons change.

There are 138 tall, 138 medium and 138 short flowering plants illustrated. Happily this is unique entries, that is, there is not 20 separate entries for tulips. So you are being introduced to many lesser-known varieties of flowering plants for Texas.

The general information is printed on a soothing happy shade of yellow paper. The wording is informative without being dry.

I am not awarding 5 stars for two reasons. First the illustrations are hand painted. While it is great that there is a close up of the bloom, as well as an illustration of the entire plant, this is not as informative as an actual photograph. Secondly because of the split page structure there is only a single paragraph for each plant listing. This leaves out some important information, such as pest problems (I see that disease problems are mentioned.)

I recommend this book for its fun factor. It would make a great gift for any Texas gardener. Give it a try!

I have lived in Texas for 15 years, this is a must have selection for your garden. The Texas flowerscaper gives you great references as well as care for each plant. Also many tips about which plants need alot of water for each region. Excellent book!!

Great month-to-month guide specifically for the desert southwest. Each month tells you what to look out for, and how to prepare for the coming months. This book was somewhat limited in extent. Ruled margins provide a great place to take notes and personalize the book in respect to your own gardening experience. Overall, a good buy.

The guide is the best I've found, but it's not a stand alone resource. It's more comprehensive and with better comparison tables than the older "Hiking the Bitteroots." However, it lacks good mapping. If you're gonna use this guidebook, also get the two plastic topo maps of the Selway Bitteroot Wilderness from the Forest Service.

The Swell is a great place for exploring interesting slot canyons difficult and easy. This guide has a very good history section, but is a little weak on the hiking info. Why do I say this? Because Kelsey's information is not always accurate - he often makes a few guesses, underestimates difficulties or distances, and sometimes just gets things a little confused. Steve Allen's 'Canyoneering' is a much better primary source, and this makes a good secondary source.

As a student of geography and land use planning, Kelsey's book has provided further references for deeper research.

I've done several hikes based on the 2nd edition of this book (and other Utah hiking books by Kelsey), and I've learned that for the simple hikes, he offers plenty of good help. For the longer or more complicated hikes, I will always consult both Kelsey and Steve Allen's canyoneering books and several maps. I've also learned that Kelsey walks much faster than I do. Once you figure that kind of thing out, it's a pretty helpful guide. This edition has added some new hikes that look pretty interesting (that are not in Steve Allen). If you're planning hikes in the San Rafael Swell, you don't have much choice besides Kelsey and Allen. I say buy them both.