Where can you walk on a beach full of broken pottery? What smells might you discover at the country’s only perfume museum? Is there any evidence that Big Foot is real? It’s no surprise that these are some of the questions that you might ask about California. In fact, the very title of this book, Secret California: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure, may seem like an oxymoron to those who live here and already know about the quirky sides of California’s cities, beaches, wine regions, and mountains. Learn the fascinating tales behind all the points of interest and discover some new places to look for adventure.

Diane LeBow’s stories, like her life, take you to places and experiences you’ve probably never imagined. They are passionate, poignant, funny, sometimes tragic, and always unexpected. Share a meal with Corsican rebels in the ragged mountains of this ancient island, meet a black stallion in a blizzard on the Mongolian steppes, assist Afghan women exiled in Tajikistan in writing a Declaration of their Rights for the new Constitution, and savor a love affair with an elegant French Baron..

Anyone who has ever been trapped in a hot car with bored kids is well aware that they need a sure-fire way of easing the resulting tensions. MILES OF SMILES: 101 GREAT CAR GAMES & ACTIVITIES fills that need and, according to one enthusiastic user, “may be the ultimate solution for back seat squabbling.” It contains games and activities with travel-related themes. 97 games require just minds and mouths to play, and the other 4 need only simple props: a penny, a pencil, and some crayons.

Looking for gourmet alternatives to packaged trail food? These “just-add-water” recipes put tasty, wholesome, nutritious meals in the hands of wilderness backpackers and other explorers. In this book, you’ll find flavors from the world’s major cuisines that can be adapted to your needs, whether you just prefer whole foods with minimal additives or even follow a special diet. Trail-tested by a dedicated group of backpackers, this collection of recipes relies on freeze-dried or home-dehydrated ingredients that can be rehydrated in warm water.

Going on a thru-hike? The daunting task of preparing meals for a long-distance trek just got easier. Here is a comprehensive guide to planning fast, wholesome, high energy meals with minimal additives and preservatives. Detailed information on nutrition, equipment, resupply, and food safety is included. The magic is that the prep work is done at home so delicious meals can be brought to life on the trail with nothing more than a warm water soak.

In “Dance Life: Movin’ & Groovin’ Around the Globe”, Lisa Alpine combines her three all-encompassing passions—writing, travel, and dance—into a bouquet of 27 stories that span her lifetime and the globe. From twerking with a nun in an Albanian orphanage to salsa dancing with a hottie under the burning sun in Cuba, to braving an attempt at flamenco on a Parisian tabletop, these toe-tapping tales will inspire you to follow the call of a wild life, leaving home with your passport in hand and your dance shoes stuffed into the suitcase.

An American couple in Italy investigate the suicide of a cleric in the picturesque Italian city of Orvieto―and find themselves plunged into a conspiracy that may destroy the Catholic Church.

This guidebook includes detailed access information that will help wheelchair-users and slow walkers plan the ultimate national park road trip around the US. It’s also a great idea book, for folks who are undecided about which national parks to visit. Barrier-Free Travel; National Park Lodges for Wheelers and Slow Walkers is an excellent resource for seniors, parents with stroller-aged children, Baby Boomers, folks who need to take things a littler slower, and anybody who uses a cane, walker, wheelchair or scooter. A must-have resource for any national park road trip.

This is a reminiscence of life as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in the Fiji Islands, South Pacific, in 1968-69. These sketches describe the experiences, difficulties, and rewards of earning one’s living in a foreign culture where one must learn to speak the language, follow the customs, and adopt the lifestyle of the local people in order to survive. The text relates the adventures of three young Americans, fresh out of college and filled with youthful idealism, and how they came to be on an island called Vanua Levu, the “Big Land,” in Fiji.

When Mike Bernhardt’s wife died in 1991, he turned to writing poetry as a tool of healing. He later solicited the poetry of other people whose loved ones had died and received hundreds of submissions from around the world. The result was Voices of the Grieving Heart. More than just an anthology of poetry, it is a companion on the darkest road many of us will ever have to travel: grieving the death of someone we loved.

The Curious Traveler series continues with 21 brand-new true travel stories: Walk on a man-eating lake • Enjoy a psychic massage • Hunt down an ancient cannibal • Make your own Japanese pizza • Learn the story of a shrunken head • Consider the surprising history of white powder in the jungle • Stand at a portal to the Uncanny Valley • and more ……

In Walk, Hike, Saunter, long-distance hiker Susan Alcorn introduces you to 32 experienced outdoors women who consider hiking to be an essential part of their lives. Their stories are told with honesty, insight and humor. They share their wisdom and proven tips to inspire women and men of all ages. A major theme of Walk, Hike, Saunter is that there are many paths to incorporating hiking into your life. Whether hiking is one of many things that you enjoy doing, or whether you find hiking such an passion that you don’t mind living out of your car in order to pursue it — you can reap the rewards of exploring the world on foot. Simply begin with walking because as we immerse ourselves in nature, enjoy new vistas, and explore interesting cultures our lives will be enriched.

Witnessing the sweep of the Milky Way, the remains of comets burning up in our atmosphere, or the shimmering aurora, we better understand the universe and our place in it. Lonely Planet’s Dark Skies, the first world’s guide to astrotourism, can help you experience all of this and more first-hand. Meticulously researched by dark sky expert Valerie Stimac, this comprehensive companion includes guides to 35 dark-sky sites and national parks, where to see the aurora, the next decade of total solar eclipses and how to view rocket launches, plus the lowdown on commercial space flight, observatories and meteor showers.

With its shimmering vistas of fog, light, and cityscape, San Francisco Bay is famous worldwide—yet very little known. The bay, together with its inland delta, is one of the largest estuaries in the Americas. It is a crucial bird habitat, a vital fishery, a major shipping center, a source of precious water, a playground for its cities, a natural treasure in trouble, and a stirring challenge to our human stewardship. John Hart’s lyrical writing and David Sanger’s eye-opening color photographs reveal this marvel hidden in plain sight—its varied past, its complicated present, and its promising future.

Join in these true travel adventures: Make a pilgrimage to see a 2,500-year-old tooth • Consider the fate of a three-legged elephant • Participate in a shamanic ayahuasca ritual • Talk alien spaceship propulsion with a SETI scientist, and many more • “Witty and compassionate” —Constance Hale • First Place, San Francisco Book Festival

Track lions on foot, without a gun, in Botswana • Taste-test the world’s most expensive coffee—which happens to be made from the excrement of a small Balinese mammal • Marry a Maasai warrior in Kenya • Search the Irish countryside for an erotic goddess • Escape a kidnapping in Tunisia • This storytelling is quirky, thoughtful, occasionally unsettling, often funny, and always appealing.

Unparalleled in scope and intimacy, Morton Beebe’s beautiful photographic excursion around his native San Francisco contains more than 200 full-color pictures of favorite sights in and around the City by the Bay, and essays by well-known San Franciscans capture the vitality and allure of this diverse and fascinating city. Now in its Third Edition, this popular classic has been substantially revised and expanded-with 90 new color photos and three new essays. For resident and visitor alike, this “brightly colored dazzle of a book” (Coast Book Review Service) offers an introduction to San Francisco that can’t be topped.