National Geographic Driving Guide to America, Pacific Northwest (NG Driving Guides)
If you've ever had aKerouac-inspired desire  to take to the open road but need a little formal direction,National Geographic's Driving Guides to America: Pacific  Northwestwill motivate you to pack the car and strike out on your  journey. For each of 22 long drives in 3 states--Washington, Oregon,  and Alaska--National Geographic provides the itinerary, general  driving directions, and highlights of sights to visit along the  way. Cruise the Denali Highway through Alaska's wild interior, get  your feet wet in Washington's Hoh Rain Forest ("140 inches of annual  rainfall"), or gaze at the jaw-dropping awesomeness of Oregon's Hells  Canyon, "the deepest gorge in the United States." The suggested  routes, which include mileage, estimated trip length, and the best  time of year to travel, are perfect for planning your trek and  choosing where you want to stop. Brief descriptions, complete with  phone numbers and business hours of the various sites, correspond to  highlighted points on the maps.Sidebars offer background and share interesting details about the  sights along the mapped-out itineraries.  You'll learn, for example,  that the deep blue of Crater Lake "stems from the lake's exceptional  clarity and depth. As light passes through clear water, it gets  absorbed color by color ... Crater Lake is so deep--1,932 feet, among  the deepest in the world--that every hue gets absorbed except for that  radiant dark blue, which is scattered back to the surface."  Complementing the text are more than 120 full-color photographs,  including one of magnificent Crater Lake, which measure up to National  Geographic's characteristically high standards. A full index and an  appendix with contact information for motel chains and tourist boards  round out the reference. Next time you get the urge to visit the rocky  beaches and stunning, jagged mountains of Oregon, Washington, and Alaska,  grabNational Geographic's Driving Guides to America: Pacific  Northwestand hit the road.--Heidi Robinson