I treasure field guides and own a ton of them; here are some of my favorites. As usual, I've placed all of the relevant external links near the bottom of the page. The ones in the left hand column (under the heading of "Links to Recommended Books") take you to Web sites which give more information on each work. The links on the right guide you to various topics referred to in the text.

Do I need to mention once more that Trails and Grasslands is a noncommercial Web site? I've simply described items from my own collection that I think you might find useful when touring the Great Plains. Along these lines, when I reference Amazon's Web site in what follows, it's not that I'm trying to drum up business for that company. But I do think you'll find the extra information on their site (about the authors, publisher's data, reviews, etc.) to be interesting.

Identification Guides

Grassland Plants of South Dakota and the Northern Great Plains by James R. Johnson and Gary E. Larson is a classic, recently revised and reprinted. It covers both the grasses and wildflowers, with wonderful photographs, that you're apt to see in the Great Plains.

Another good one is Theodore Van Bruggen's Wildflowers, Grasses & Other Plants of the Northern Plains and Black Hills. I always take this one when I head out to the Buffalo Gap National Grassland (an annual occurrence, it seems!)

Since I love exploring the Oregon Trail, I recently picked up the mammoth Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains by Stubbendieck, Friisoe and Bolick. This is perhaps the best bargain you'll ever find — I mean, the tome is huge, and at only 25 bucks postpaid, well...

But if you only have room for one, then go with Lauren Brown's Grasslands. This is a master field guide, covering birds, grasses, flowers, insects, mammals, reptiles, etc. It's full of excellent color plates and identification tips, and the opening essays on the different types of grasslands are superb.

Remember, if you'd like more information on any of these, check out the links below. Since I own more than fifty different field guides of one sort or another, I only list the ones I use frequently. But this should give you a pretty good idea of what's available.

Caves and Geology

Elsewhere in these pages I've mentioned how visiting Jewel and Wind Caves was a major turning point in my life. This led to a half-decade of wonderful adventures underground — eventually my knees became too wobbly to go on, but it sure was exciting while it lasted! Of course, you don't just enter a cave on a whim. It's important to join a speleological society of some sort, if no for other reason than these are the people who know where the wild caves are. And it's equally important to study proven techniques before you head out. Let's face it, caving can be inherently dangerous, and you need to know what you're getting into ahead of time.

The preeminent book on the subject is Caving Basics: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginning Cavers, published by the National Speleological Society (NSS), and edited by G. Thomas Rea. This is a collection of articles by a number of different, well respected cavers, covering just about ever aspect of the sport imaginable. You'll find chapters on helmets, lamps, cave packs, ropes, clothing and other equipment needed. The section on techniques covers safety, moving in a cave, fitness, first aid, vertical caving on rope, reading maps and so forth. And there are several articles on the science of caves.

I got my copy right at Jewel Cave, in the little bookstore there. I just checked and see that Amazon can also get it as a special order. But if caves really fascinate you, you might want to consider becoming a member of the NSS and buying a copy directly from them. In any event, I highly recommend this book.

Another fantastic one is The Jewel Cave Adventure by Herb and Jan Conn. This exciting tale will appeal to everyone, whether they work up the courage to go below ground or not. The Conns were a husband and wife rockclimbing team who back in the 1960s were convinced to go underground and help with the exploration of Jewel Cave. Back in those days this was considered to be a small cavern. The Conns helped map almost 50 miles of new passages, and today it's known as the third longest in the world!

This is a heck of a thrilling story, filled with danger, suspense and sweat, but I think you'll be surprised at the amount of humor in it as well. I couldn't put the book down and neither could anyone else I've loaned it to. (My late mother was 84 years old when she read it and absolutely loved the tale.) In a lot of ways, The Jewel Cave Adventure took me back to my childhood; it reminded me of when I found Kon-Tiki in the 6th grade library collection.

If rock hounding is your bag, then you'll want to lay your hands on these three excellent (and inexpensive) books before you head out. The picture shows my personal copies; click the footnote link to see the complete bibliographic details. (By the way, when I display pictures of books on this Web site, it's simply to let you see what the ones in my collection look like; I'm not trying to cash in on someone else's handiwork). The geologist's hammer here was a gift from my sweetheart.

• Geology, Geologic Time and Nebraska, Marvin P. Carlson

• Minerals and Gemstones of Nebraska, Roger K. Pabian

• Record in Rock: A Handbook of the Invertebrate Fossils of Nebraska, Roger K. Pabian

In case you're interested, I bought these at the Visitor Center at Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historic Park. You've got to see this! It's an astounding bone bed smothered in volcanic ash, nestled in the hinterlands of Nebraska, and makes an excellent day trip if you're using Niobrara State Park as a home base.

If You're Heading to the Hills

If you're planning a trip to the Black Hills National Forest, then here are a couple booklets I highly recommend. I bought both of them out that-away a number of years ago, but at least one of them is also available by mail order; check the links below.

The first is A Birdwatcher's Guide to the Black Hills, by Richard A. Peterson. This 80 page guide is indispensable, I think. First, it gives a comprehensive rundown on the terrain and vegetation characteristics of the Black Hills and how these can be appealing to various species of birds. Nicely drawn maps help out here. Even more engaging is a complete list of birds you're likely to meet, with full local details on each. This includes things like which of the biotic communities they're most common in (lower hills, upper hills or adjacent plains.) And there are also individual notes — obviously straight from the author's field log. All in all it's a very practical book, but I haven't been able to come across it on the Web. I bought my copy at a National Park Visitor Center (I don't remember which) in the Hills, and you may have to do the same.

Also recommended is An Introduction to Custer State Park, by Jerry Sanders and Tom Baskett, Jr. It's a 48 page guide with really nice color pictures and maps. The booklet begins with some history of Custer State Park, and a bit about Peter Norbeck, one of the guiding forces behind its creation. Then there are a series of chapters on the geology, mammals, birds, wildflowers, trees and so on. The photographs and descriptions are excellent. Finally, the authors wrap things up with a full accounting for all of the recreation available in the Park: camping, fishing, hiking, lodges, etc. I bought my copy at the Peter Norbeck Visitor Center in Custer State Park, but this would be a good guide to procure ahead of time when planning a trip there. And, oh, there's a section on the adjacent Wind Cave National Park, too.

As time permits, I'll be adding more entries to this list of field and nature guides, so please stop back occasionally to see what's new. And if you think of one I ought to be listing, drop me an email and tell me about it.

The Classic Camping Book

Long time campers have discovered all sorts of tricks to make negotiating the great outdoors easier and more rewarding. The classic reference on the subject is the Fieldbook of the Boy Scouts of America. This giant compendium (over 600 pages!) is filled to the brim with information on hiking, navigation with map and compass, outdoor safety, backpacking, canoing, mountain climbing, caving, wilderness rescue, weather, the night sky, nature observing and loads more. You'll find articles on sleeping bags, tents, water purification, cook stoves, and just about everything else related to camping. It really is a humdinger of a book. Mine is getting dog-earred from use now, but it's still one of the best investments I ever made.

The Fieldbook was written by a large team of people, and is published by the Boy Scouts of America. I don't much care for some of the social stances taken by this group, but fortunately that clap-trap doesn't work its way into the book. Anyway, you don't have to be a Scout to buy it. I found my copy at the local Troop supply house, and that might be the easiest route for you, too. And now that I think about it, I've also seen it in outdoors/sporting stores. Otherwise, I believe you can request one by mail order from the national office. Check out the links below.

• All the Birds of North America
• Boy Scout Fieldbook
• Caving Basics
• Familiar Butterflies of North America
• Field Guide to the Grasses, Sedges and Rushes of the US
• Geology, Geologic Time and Nebraska
• Grasses: An Identification Guide
• Grasslands
• Grassland Plants of S. Dakota and the Northern Great Plains
• An Introduction to Custer State Park
• The Jewel Cave Adventure
• Minerals and Gemstones of Nebraska
• Nebraska Range and Pasture Grasses
• Record in Rock
• Trees of North America
• Vascular Plant Species of the Pawnee National Grassland
• Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains
• Wildflowers, Grasses & Other Plants of the N. Plains

• Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park
• Black Hills Parks & Forests Association
• Boy Scouts of America
• Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources
• National Speleological Society
• The Nature Study Guild
• Niobrara State Park
• Univ. of Nebraska Extension Publications
• Univ. of Nebraska Press