Moon Yellowstone and Grand Teton: Including Jackson Hole (Moon Handbooks) [Paperback]

Don Pitcher (Author)

Book Description

Series: Moon Handbooks | Publication Date: May 5, 2009

Travel photographer Don Pitcher reveals the splendors of Yellowstone Park and Grand Teton, from the sought-after vacation town of Jackson and a world-class museum complex in Cody to the gorgeous badlands topography of Old-West Dubois. Pitcher is the essential tour guide, providing itineraries such as Yellowstone in a Day, Five Days in Jackson Hole, and The Seven-Day Grand Loop. Moon Yellowstone and Grand Teton is packed with maps, photographs, illustrations, and has a special emphasis on leading destinations such as Old Faithful Geyser, Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River, Mammoth Hot Springs, the Snake River, and Jackson Hole. Complete with details on watching wildlife, and including information on activities such as camping, hiking, and horseback riding, Moon Yellowstone and Grand Teton gives travelers the tools they need to create a more personal and memorable experience.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Perhaps Don Pitcher’s love of travel came about because he moved so much as a child; by age 15 he had lived in six states and two dozen East Coast and Midwestern towns. Don’s family hails from Maine, but he was born in Atlanta, making him a southerner with New England blood. He moved west for college, receiving a master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, where his thesis examined wildfires in high elevation forests of Sequoia National Park. When his first (and only) scientific paper was published, he appeared headed into the world of ecological research.

Don landed what seemed the coolest job on the planet shortly after grad school: being flown around Alaska’s massive Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in a helicopter while conducting fire research. Wild places continued to beckon, and over the next fifteen years Don built backcountry trails, worked as a wilderness ranger, mapped grizzly habitat, and operated salmon weirs—anything to avoid an office job. After that first season in Alaska, he spent three months in the South Pacific, and quickly found himself addicted to travel. His explorations eventually took him to thirty-five countries and all fifty states.

Don is the author of Moon Yellowstone & Grand Teton, Moon Alaska, Moon Wyoming, and Moon San Juan Islands. He also produced three photographic books for Fodor's, served as editor for Best Places Alaska, and is a contributor to Triporati.com and other websites, as well as DK Travel books. Don's photos have appeared in a multitude of publications and advertisements, and his fine art prints are sold in many Alaska and Washington galleries.

Don lives in Homer, Alaska with his wife, Karen Shemet, and their children, Aziza and Rio. When not busy on other projects, he also works as a wedding photographer and volunteer radio DJ. Visit www.donpitcher.com to read his blog and learn more about his writing and photography projects.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing; First Edition, Fourth Edition edition (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598801600
• ISBN-13: 978-1598801606
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #387,537 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Wyoming

More About the Author

Born in Atlanta, Georgia as the middle son of two teachers, Don Pitcher grew up all over the East Coast, from Florida to Maine. He moved west for college, receiving a masters degree in fire ecology from the University of California Berkeley. A love of nature pulled him north to Alaska, and an aversion to office work kept him outside for the next 15 years, conducting ecological research, building backcountry trails, working as a wilderness ranger, mapping grizzly habitat, and operating salmon weirs. He went on to write or photograph a dozen guidebooks for Avalon Travel, DK Publishing, Sasquatch Books, Heyday Books, and Fodor's. He also contributes to Triporati and other websites, and is a professional wedding photographer. Don Pitcher's photos have appeared in a multitude of publications and advertisements, and his prints are sold in many Alaska and Washington galleries. He lives in Homer, Alaska with his wife, Karen Shemet, and their children, Aziza and Rio. Find out more on his websites: www.donpitcher.com and www.weddingsinhomer.com, or visit his Facebook pages: www.facebook.com/donpitcherphotography and www.facebook.com/pages/Don-Pitchers-Travel-Guidebooks/314113916371.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Comprehensive and Engagingly Personal Guide to Two of America's Most Special Places, December 29, 2007

By 

jeffergray (Reisterstown, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moon Yellowstone and Grand Teton (Moon Handbooks) (Paperback)

If you're planning an extended visit to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, I highly recommend this guidebook. (If you're only going to visit the Parks for three or four days as part of a longer trip, however, it's probably more detail than you would need.) We recently visited the two Parks for a total of twelve days, and I found this Guide extremely helpful. Unusually for a guidebook, I actually read it pretty much straight through before we left. It's an enjoyable read, even aside from the quality of the information it presents.

The Moon Guidebooks only seem to have emerged onto the scene within the past several years, and for many readers they are still likely to be less familiar than such old standbys as Fodor's or even Lonely Planet. But I've used several guides from this publisher now and have found them to be uniformly excellent.

In terms of the book's coverage, you get 70 pages on Yellowstone Park itself; 64 pages on the Yellowstone Gateway communities; 33 on Grand Tetons National Park; and 91 on the Jackson Hole area. There's also a 33-page "Background" section that provides interesting information about the geography and climate, flora and fauna, and the often controversy-ridden history of both Parks, and a 4-page section on avoiding or dealing with bear attacks. Finally, there's a solid 6-page bibliography with suggestions for other reading.

The book includes an abundance of maps - in the sections focused on sightseeing (as opposed to where to stay and eat), you'll typically find at least one map every four pages. There are interesting, even compelling sidebars, such as the one about "Beaver Dick" Leigh, an English immigrant and early resident of Jackson Hole who on Christmas Day 1887 watched his wife Jenny, newborn baby, and four other children all die of smallpox and left a heartbreaking account of the experience, which the author quotes in full (p. 113).

This guidebook is thorough, accurate, and useful, but beyond that, I enjoyed the glimpses of the author's personality that he lets come through in his writing. "The Buffalo Bill Museum is a real joy," he tells you, although his assessment of the Cody Firearms Museum is more restrained: "it's interesting even for those of us who consider the proliferation of guns a national menace. . . . All told, this museum houses more implements of destruction and mayhem than you're likely to see at an NRA convention." Or: "For those who love history, Trail Town is an incredible treasure trove without the fancy gift shops and commercial junk that tag along with most such endeavors. This is the real thing, low-key and genuine."

He also writes effective descriptions that will help you decide what you may want to see:

"Togwotee Pass is one of the most scenic drives imaginable, with Ramshorn Peak peeking down from the north for several miles until the road plunges into dense lodgepole forests (Shoshone National Forest) with lingering glimpses of the Pinnacle Buttes. At the crest it emerges into the grass-, willow-, and flower-bedecked meadows with Blackrock Creek winding through. Whitebark pine and Englemann spruce trees cover the nearby slopes. . . . Togwotee Pass is a complete shock after all the miles of sagebrush and grassland that control the heartland of Wyoming. It's like entering another world - one of cool, forested mountains and lofty peaks instead of the arid land with horizonwide vistas."

In short, this is an excellent guidebook to Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and the immediately adjacent areas. If you're planning a more extensive ramble around other parts of Wyoming, then you'll want to check out the author's Wyoming volume for Moon, which tops out at a comprehensive 728 pages. (The Yellowstone-Grand Tetons coverage in the statewide volume runs about 180 pages, about half as long as in this separate volume specifically focusing on the Parks.)

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Guidebook Has Everything, February 27, 2009

By 

Mary C (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moon Yellowstone and Grand Teton (Moon Handbooks) (Paperback)

This is THE most helpful guidebook to take on a trip to the two parks. There is SO MUCH to see and do--and lots of it is "off the beaten path". This book contains it all--from the hard-to-find cabins that are run by the locals to the dozens of white water rafting companies! And all the information is there--phone numbers, websites, prices, times, etc. Although the book does not give a review per se to every hotel or activity, the comments are plentiful, are very helpful and I've found these evaluations to be right on the money. The maps are also plentiful, very clear and well-marked. There is a section of information on all the cities that surround the parks and what to see and do there. There are also sections on background history of the parks, park etiquette, environmental issues, and traveling tips. Planning ahead for your visit is a must as the accommodations and activities fill up quickly--and this book gives you all the tools you need to make your trip to this most beautiful spot in the USA the trip of a lifetime.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only travel book you need, May 30, 2007

By 

Mrs. Pamela Holmes - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moon Yellowstone and Grand Teton (Moon Handbooks) (Paperback)

When I'm planning a trip the first thing I do is order a Moon Handbook for the area in which I want to travel. They are invariably well informed because the people who write are passionate about the area and will suggest places that some people may miss out on.

The layout is good and the maps are excellent - simple to read and navigate by. We travel pretty extensively in Canada and America and the Moon Travel Handbooks are the only travel books we take with us.

I particularly like the suggestions for hiking trails and what you can expect to see as well as the rating for each hike e.g. easy flat walk or moderate walk with some steep ascents.

Before you book the suggested accommodation check on tripadvisor to get traveller reviews and make your judgement from those. This book had the usual good tips on where to eat.