The ROAD TOURS OF THE SOUTHWEST series is just that -- a literary tour of the Southwest's most scenic icons. Namely, national parks and monuments, archeological ruins, state and tribal parks. This series features 17 select and so-called "Circle Tours" that begins in a favorable tourist locale and returns. Thus, Southwest tourist hubs such as Flagstaff, Kayenta, and Phoenix, Arizona; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Kanab, Utah; and Cortez, Colorado. In all these so-called Four Corner States hubs, there are distinct regional tours headed in certain directions. For instance, from Albuquerque, tours head west and north while in Flagstaff tours head east, north, and northeast. Accordingly, the scenic destinations for each series follow a recommended route, and much like a roadmap, the destinations are sequential. For those who rely on conducting their tours without a tour guide, this methodology is meant to save drivers time and money and distance.Compared to other sightseeing books, what makes the ROAD TOURS OF THE SOUTHWEST series unique is the fact all of the scenic destinations are based on popular regional destinations that are usually within a couple of hundred miles from the starting point. Readers simply select the series volume that holds one's interest and based on desirable scenic destinations. The other notable aspect of this series is the low-cost for each volume. Moreover, all of the information is factual, in that not only a description of each scenic destination is presented, but also the essentials of each destination's geologic aspects, human and natural history. Where relevant, added bonus material such as hiking trails relevant to the destination, and special bonus subject matter such as an abstract of the Colorado Plateau Province that defines the large landscape of the American Southwest, archeological timeline and dating, the history of the Ancestral Puebloans (the indigenous culture of the Colorado Plateau), and an array of other applicable subject matter. Contact information and directions are also included in all these scenic destinations.The research behind this series is based on the author's extensive exploration throughout the Southwest, mainly as an interpretative educator and guide. The material in each destination is "layered," which means the information graduates from the essential to more in-depth. The reader decides on how much to read or ignore.Road Tour Series: 13 (114 pages) 17 Volumes total
About the Author: After being Honorably Discharged from the Navy (submarine service), Rich Holtzin has lived in the West and Southwest for over four decades. Earning three academic degrees in Eastern and Western Philosophy, for some thirty years, he made a living as an outdoors educator and interpreter teaching a variety of geosciences, human, and natural history geared to the Colorado Plateau Province. Additionally, Rich was a professional studio and stage musician and taught guitar and music theory, including composing two soundtracks for the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Parks; a high school Educational Assistant and Substitute Teacher; a Commercial Pilot flying a variety of aircraft; a professional Photographer; a GPS surveyor and Topographical Mapper for the U. S. Forest Service; a Planetarium Control Room operator; a museum docent; and the Coconino County Sheriff's Office. What Rich is more enthused about, however, is serving in the role of an Interpretive Guide and Educator for the Grand Canyon Field Institute (a National Park Service endorsed outreach program (http: //bit.ly/1D6YS1u). He was also an instructor at Northern Arizona University and Yavapai College (respectively, Flagstaff and Prescott), as well as the owner of a Southwest eco and cultural tourism enterprise. Fairly recently, he became the Executive Director of a think tank in Albuquerque, based on astronautics and aerospace S.T.E.M. classroom projects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), including the co-author of a math-lab book based on rocketry (www.stemfortheclassroom). For more of RICH HOLTZIN'S backstory, peruse his website under his legal name: www.richholtzin.com He also writes books under the nom de plume, RK ALLEMAN, as published on his Amazon Author's Page.