this book was recommended to me via a newsgroup posting back in 1997, during my planning for an east coast solo tour. while the author's itinerary took her all the way to maine, mine started in naples, FL, and ended in washington, d.c. i found the book to be most useful in planning my route and campground locations. i followed up my reading of this book with the acquisition of road maps and a AAA campground guide for my route. in and of itself, the book was more enlightening than a detailed touring planning guide, but this was not the author's intent; rather, this book is more of a diary, and certainly helped give the flavor of a day-to-day tour. other books which went into detail regarding the logistics of a loaded tour were essential as well. i would recommend this book to the newcomer to loaded touring.