Perfect Suggestions for Wonderful Winding Drives

books:

	• Backroads of New England: Your Guide To New England's Most Scenic Backroad Adventures (Pictorial Discovery ... Kim Knox Beckius Voyageur Press, 2004 - 160 pages average customer review:based on 4 reviews view larger image
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needs more maps

This was obviously a carefully researched, well-written book, with great photos. But I was disappointed that there was so little focus on maps. Rather than showing a detailed maps of a recommended route, the author chose to write a verbal description of a recommended route. That's sufficient if you wish to follow the author's route exactly. But if you would rather create your own route with some guidance from the book, it's virtually impossible.

Perfect Suggestions for Wonderful Winding Drives

When fall comes in New England, the trees turn into a splendid mass of reds, oranges and yellows that temporarily distract us from the coming winter. At the same time, the first fresh snowfalls have a special beauty that New Englanders love as well. But the first blush of spring causes a special joy to burst out from our hearts. In the lazy days of summer, we love to watch the wind blow the grasses and trees from languid poses.

At any one of those times, I find myself thinking how much fun it would be to see some new sights in the context of those favorite New England conditions. In the forty years I've lived in New England, I've found many of my favorite locations purely by accident. The back roads are always the best. But I don't have the time to randomly drive all the back roads to find the best ones.

That's where Backroads of New England comes in. Kim Knox Beckius has found 30 delightful drives over back road that mix scenery, history, culture and just plain fun. I have taken about half of the drives in the book, so I can swear by those. I am looking forward to doing the rest now that I know where to go.

How can I tell I would like the others? First, Ms. Beckius provides helpful essays about where to begin, what to see, and what to stop and do along the way. She even includes some suggestions for hiking to beautiful waterfalls. Second, William H. Johnson's gorgeous photographs colorfully illuminate the main sights for each drive. Whether you love covered bridges, snow-capped peaks, delightful streams, pounding surf, or mysterious vistas, you can page through the book to find the places that speak mostly fervently to your soul.

The book is also organized by state. So if you are planning to go just to Maine and arrive by air in Portland, you can simply focus on the Maine trips and those in New Hampshire and northeast Massachusetts that are not too far away. If you live in New York, and want to drive for no more than two hours, you can focus on that radius in western Connecticut and Massachusetts.

I have been looking at travel guides for New England for many years. I've never seen a finer one for back roads adventures.

Give it a try!

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Perfect Book for a New England Vacation

My wife and I just came back from vacation in New England. Aside from the Delorme maps, this book was the most important item we took with us. We went on several of the scenic drives described in the book, and they were all absolutely beautiful! The directions were perfect, even if they don't tell you the distances involved. The photographs in the book are worth the price alone, but it's even better when you come across the places pictured in the book and find out they're just as gorgeous as the author said they would be. If you're going to New England, you need this book.

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A Great Combination of Words and Photos...

Kim Knox Beckius, a well-known New England travel writer, has teamed up with New Hampshire photographer, William Johnson, to create a pictorial guide to 30 scenic drives throughout the region.

You get five scenic drives each from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Rhode Island offers up another four, and Maine weighs in with a larger six. The drives cover the best of New England, from mountains to the ocean, and from the lakes to the beaches. And a whole bunch more.

Kim doesn't spend a lot of time on directions. They tend to be brief and on the side of the pages - enough to get you around but not much more. Kim focuses her travel writing skills on making sure you experience in words the sights, sounds, and smells of each region. The beautifully produced photography greatly enhances this experience.

While I love this book if you're looking for one crammed with detailed directions and a step-by-step tour of attractions this isn't it.

This is a book to keep near you throughout the long winter... to browse whenever you want to remember a drive already taken... or one waiting for you in the spring.

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From the sandy shores of Cape Cod to the distinct ridges of Vermont?s Mount Mansfield; from Connecticut?s Quiet Corner to the Kancamagus Highway through the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire; and from tiny Lubec, Maine, at ""the Beginning of America,"" to the ""Graveyard of the Atlantic"" at Point Judith, Rhode Island, thirty of New England?s most varied and vibrant attractions are presented here, inviting you to explore them. "Backroads of New England"?written and photographed by local experts?takes you on routes that lead to the area?s most secluded and overlooked natural areas and sites that capture New England?s colorful history. Whether you?re planning a day trip, looking for unusual destinations, or simply want to learn more about the locale, "Backroads of New England" will lead you deep into the soul of New England?beyond the bustling cities and common tourist attractions. About the Author/Photographer: Kim Knox Beckius is the author of "The Everything Guide to New England". She has produced about.com?s New England Web site (www.gonewengland.about.com) since 1998. William H. Johnson has been the sole contributor to the "New England Seasons" calendar for the past ten years. His images have been published in textbooks, magazines, greeting cards, and more.

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