By Jamie Jensen
Avalon Travel Publishing, Moon Travel, $29.99, 987 pages
In its sixth edition, Road Trip USA is in an obvious success with travelers who have time and patience to explore the country through two-lane blacktops. This is a massive volume (nearly 1,000 pages), but printed as a trade paperback on high-quality glossy paper stock. A formidable guide covering a very large country, it is divided into 11 road trips; each one is extensive but doesn’t go into detail of the many stops along the way. Interested travelers will need to get more detailed local information during their trips.
“After traveling well over 400,000 miles in search of the perfect stretches of two-lane blacktop, this is the book I wish I’d with me all along.”
Author Jamie Jensen adorns the pages with numerous thumbnail photos, sketches, historic photos and postcards, as well as little detailed road maps to locate yourself. He lists a limited number of restaurants, hotels, hostels, guesthouses, even campgrounds listing prices you expect to pay and phone contacts (web links would’ve been useful, too). Because of the tremendous coverage, each stop receives minimal attention (two pages for Chicago, San Francisco and Kansas City, fourteen pages for Colorado). Many sidebars help you with information and planning. Jensen also suggests side trips. Each of the 11 trips is color coded on the side edge of the pages. The index is huge and appears to be complete.
Reviewed by George Erdosh
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