Salvatore M. Trento's "Field Guide to Mysterious Places of..."

This is a great time of the year for me to tip my hat to Salvatore M. Trento.  Mr. Trento has written a very interesting series of books about some very mysterious (and often very overlooked) sites in North America.

Salvatore graduated from Oxford University, giving him a whole lot more cred that other writers of similar books.  He has done a lot of work researching and documenting sites that are difficult to explain and he looks at these sites in an unconventional way.

Various tunnels, caverns, carvings, cliff dwellings and petroglyphs are the main focus in the books, with a small bit of attention given to UFOs and that sort of thing.

I kept a notepad handy as I read each book, as many of the sites mentioned were very fascinating and mysterious, and I wanted to know more about them.  Interestingly, some of the sites are hard to research on line, so I know the author has really looked in to these mostly obscure sites.

AND, some of the sites are easy to access, while others are more difficult.  Salvatore gives directions to each site.  At one, he mentions that, to access the site, a person must ask one of the local fishermen for help crossing water.  You KNOW I am curious about such out of the way places!

Some of these sites I will never get to (though I have enjoyed reading about them).  Still, many I would love to visit.  Places like Nova Scotia have been bumped way up on my "to visit" priority list.  Also, certain other states are looking more interesting by the minute. 

Salvatore discusses the history of each area.  He talks about early records of the mysterious sites, and what has been recorded concerning them.  He brings up theories and discusses why the usual explanations often don't fully explain why something is there.  If early European explorers didn't build it, and if the local Indians at that time weren't sure about it- how did it get there?  Why were items never known to the area (and possibly only accessible 1500 miles away) used in construction?

Mr. Trento is enthusiastic about the sites and his travels.  I hate to use a cliché, but his books have inspired me to want to travel off of the beaten path.  More importantly, these books are reminding me that there are still many areas to explore, and there are exciting mysterious places you can see, where a pricey ticket is not required.

These books belong on the bookshelves of all adventurous travelers!