Yellowstone Treasures: The Traveler's Companion to the National Park [Paperback]

Janet Chapple (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

Winner, Benjamin Franklin Silver for Travel

 

The first and oldest national park in the world can be enjoyed mile by mile with this complete travel guide. Along with fascinating facts and anecdotes, readers will learn of Yellowstone's geyser basins and the frequency of the geysers, out-of-the-way hikes, and flora and fauna. Easy-to-understand scientific explanations and diagrams complement an array of short walks, the right season for camping, and the park’s campgrounds and facilities. Updated road logs highlight more than 100 historical points of interest, including the often misidentified locale from which artist Thomas Moran painted his “Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone” masterpiece and where five stagecoach robberies occurred along the Grand Loop Road. New text examines areas that have changed in recent years, including the reconstructed Canyon-to-Dunraven Pass and the newly completed North Rim Drive at the Grand Canyon. Additionally, numerous new photographs feature historical and contemporary images.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Yellowstone Treasures tackles the park with a broad brush and is ideal for those making the ritual family vacation out West . . . [D]esigned for those traveling by car, with the pages following the roadways in and near the park. The book covers geology, wildlife and history while giving practical advice."  —Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"For most readers, Janet Chapple’s new 384-page guide to the park may be the only one they ever need . . . a rousing success with her knowledgeable treatise on one of America’s most-loved natural travel destinations . . . only those who actively use Chapple’s book will become intimate with Yellowstone."  —The Oregonian

"Yellowstone Treasures, unlike many park and recreation guides, is not a dull read. It is nicely organized and flows well from tips to anecdotes to blurbs on accommodations and the main attraction: her recommended routes for further exploration."  —Billings Gazette

"Author Janet Chapple steps outside the park boundaries to let you know what to expect as you approach Yellowstone, no matter which direction you're coming from."  —Chicago Tribune

"Love Yellowstone National Park? So does author Janet Chapple, whose parents worked at the Old Faithful Inn. Her new book . . . an updated third edition, [is] a must-have for women who want to see the most and best of this 3,468-square-mile national keepsake."  —solowomanrv.blogspot.com

"Yellowstone Institute student, professional cellist, and geyser geek presents the national park in all its seasons."  —forewordmagazine.net

About the Author

Janet Chapple is the author of previous editions of Yellowstone Treasures and editor and coauthor of It's Up to You!: A Handbook for Practicing Music. She lives in Menlo Park, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Granite Peak Publications; 3rd edition (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970687338
• ISBN-13: 978-0970687333
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Wyoming
  • #6 in Books > Travel > Reference & Tips > Food & Lodging > Parks & Campgrounds
  • #12 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Reference

More About the Author

Please visit: http://www.yellowstonetreasures.com for lots of information about Yellowstone, including over thirty nuggets with pictures. You will also find a link to my blog on that home page.

My association with Yellowstone goes back to early childhood days when my parents worked in Old Faithful Inn. My love of Yellowstone Park can be traced to memories of waiting for geysers to erupt, visiting with rangers, attending slide shows and sing-alongs in the amphitheater, playing hide-and-seek in the inn, and watching as my father assigned passengers to the big yellow tour buses.

Knowing about my connection to and love of the park is what led a friend to ask if I wanted to collaborate to update the long-popular Haynes Guides to Yellowstone (which went out of print in the 1960s). Although the friend soon dropped out of the project, the momentum took hold, and I was hooked!

Taking extended field trips once or twice a summer, reading, researching, and writing throughout the other seasons, I took five years to create Yellowstone Treasures, which was released in January 2002. A second, fully updated, edition of Yellowstone Treasures was published in 2005, and the new updated third edition in April 2009. "I plan to keep updating and marketing it as long as I can or until I am 80 years old--whichever comes first!" is my promise to myself and my readers.

When asked whether I really walked all the geyser routes and hiking trails described in the book, my answer is that I hiked on all the trails I recommend, some of them several times. I could never be in the park without walking around all of Upper Geyser Basin. Once I started out alone in an October snowstorm, but was soon joined by a bison. In summers, together with many friends and family members, I explored trails that I now recommend and a few others I don't. I recommend those that are not too strenuous--they are ways to get away from crowds and enjoy the Yellowstone that not everyone sees.

My husband, Bruno Giletti, Professor Emeritus of Geological Sciences at Brown University, contributed the geological history chapter to Yellowstone Treasures and wrote many of the geological sidebars that appear throughout the book, as well as taking the majority of the colored pictures.

Along with constantly updating and promoting Yellowstone Treasures, I continue researching and sharing my knowledge and love for the park by writing articles for the book's companion Web site, www.yellowstonetreasures.com. I am also completing two other books about Yellowstone. My husband and I live near San Francisco but make frequent trips to Yellowstone.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

96 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best guide book ever written, July 16, 2006

By 

Evan's Mom (Long Island, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yellowstone Treasures: The Traveler's Companion to the National Park (Paperback)

Of all the travel books I've ever used for sightseeing, this is by far the best of them all. All other travel books, especially the consistently mediocre Frommers and Fodors could learn a lot by Chapple's layout and content. We had several books with us for Yellowstone, but this was the only one we needed - every leg of Yellowstone is clearly laid out with mile markers regardless of which direction you are traveling, which is only one of the things that separates this book from the competition. It also covers surrounding areas (entrance cities) of the park, as well as maps, the animals, geography, geology and history, all in a compact fashion. It is extremely thorough and well written. Buy this book for your Yellowstone trip - you won't regret it.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful and Handsome Guide to Yellowstone Park, February 5, 2002

By 

elena luisa garella (seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yellowstone Treasures: The Traveler's Companion to the National Park (Paperback)

This is a handy and detailed guide to Yellowstone with descriptions of the Park's features arranged by the five main roadway entrances: West, South, East, Northeast, and North, plus the Bechler Region.

For each approach there is a full color map with icons symbolizing the main attractions, facilities, trails and so forth. The guide then takes you mile by fraction of mile with a description of the historical, geological and natural features you will encounter. There is also a historical chronology, a discussion of the wildlife, an chapter on the 1998 fires, and a lot of useful travel phone numbers and tips.

The inset maps, pictures, and sidebar stories are wonderfully presented-- when you look at this book you will be drooling to visit the Park! It is beautiful, and the solid fund of information makes it a good buy at only twenty bucks. The geologic explanations are particularly neat.

This is a guide that will suit educated visitors (and daydream wanderers) who have want to know the story behind the major and minor sights. You may need a more tourist oriented guide if you want detailed info on in-park and near-park lodgings and places to eat. Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park by Lee H. Whittlesey would make a fine counterpart to Yellowstone Treasures.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars extremely comprehensive guide through the park, January 9, 2005

By 

Laura Hazen (Northville, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Yellowstone Treasures: The Traveler's Companion to the National Park (Paperback)

This book will take you through the park and list each (hundreds of) potentially interesting items with a clear description of where they are found. I would recommend reading this book prior to visiting Yellowstone and highlighting those items that you would like to see. Then having your passenger follow along with the book as you drive, alerting you when you approach one of the items that you have highlighted.