So what have we done to get ready for this trip?  Other than buying backpacks and new tents & hiking boots?  I have READ!  The internet is great for finding things but I'm old school and still prefer the printed page to websites.  So I've ordered books from amazon and frequented the local library and made a few trips to the used book store 2o miles from here.  Of course I've read the travel guides and have gleaned some good ideas from them.  BUT the best planning books for me are the nature related ones.

The Visitor's Guide to the Birds of the _______ National Parks.  Is a great series!  I put the blank in the title because the books are available for the national parks from the east coast to west.  I have all of them except the Pacific Coast.  The author describes his own travels and birding in the national parks.  He, Ronald H. Wauer, gives great descriptions and wonderful info about what types of birds you can see, where they are most likely to be and where they live.  Although the books focus on the birds you learn a lot about the trees, vegetation and surroundings of the national parks.  The one thing lacking in these books are color photos;  so  I read them with bird and tree identification books close by for easy reference.  

Speaking of identification books- I tend to study them.  I find it easier to identify birds when I know what I'm looking for and where they are.  Sounds, songs, calls are NOT my strong point so I concentrate on the shapes, sizes and colorings.  I also find that I prefer to take a picture of a bird and then enlarge it to identify more difficult birds.  I have rather good success with this method.

I also enjoy reading the books- Best Easy Day Hikes in _______.  Again fill in the blanks with almost any area you could walk in and there are a surprising number of places I didn't think had good walking places.  For example, San Diego.  I thought cities didn't have hiking trails.  But if there are trails anywhere then these books can find them.  I have the books for Yellowstone, Santa Fe and the Grand Canyon.  These are the places we will be most looking for good hikes.  I am still looking for one for South Dakota- badlands.  We've chosen a few hikes from each of the books for our itinerary.  In Yellowstone we chose to backpack because of a trail that 1. crosses the continental divide and 2. has a very nice backcountry camping area.  In the Santa Fe area we will be walking through some canyon lands and Bandelier National Park (or is it monument?).  And at the Grand Canyon we have 3-4 hikes planned that include both above and below the rim at both the north and south rims.

Finally, I like the books entitled Off the Beaten Path in _____.  You guessed it. Fill in the blank with a state's name. I found Fort Osage, a replica of a fort made by Lewis and Clark during their exploration with the Corps of Discovery.  Fort Osage is on the south side of the Missouri River just east of Independence, MO.  The people at the fort dress the part and pretend to be soldiers or others from the 1800's.  This stop will be the culmination of our study on Lewis and Clark.  

For those of you that don't know us well, we home school.  And in anticipation of this trip we started studying about Lewis and Clark.  We're almost finished reading Seaman.  Seaman is Lewis'  Newfoundland and he traveled with the Corps the whole way! 

So whether you read books or websites there is a lot of information out there to plan the kind of trip you like.  Maybe birding and other nature loving activities like us.  Historical sites or even gourmet restaurants.  The point is to READ and discover your own perfect trip.