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DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer

Quote:

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera (Post 11038542)

We make maps for a living. Not road maps, just aerial orthophotos to a set specific scale. We always put a north arrow on it, and a scale bar and flight date. Of course it is not a true map unless a surveyor is our customer, and they put their stamp on it.

It always amused me when the first thing many people do is rotate the map upside down or sideways because they "always drive in from the north" or some other silly excuse. The up arrow should point up here in North America. It might be different in Australia, since everything else is down there.

Of course Texas (always has to be Texas) is all messed up. They had surveys from railroads, landowners and anyone else and just spit on the ground and say, that is the start point of the world, and build off at any odd angle at random. Much of Texas is sideways! They have no concept of cardinal directions.

If a city is built around the bend of a river there is some excuse, but in the middle of nowhere, why build roads at random angles? Trying to figure out a Texan is impossible. :rolleyes:

Minneapolis and St. Paul, where I grew up, were started on the banks of the Mississippi as trading posts or camps, then became villages, then cities. The oldest part of both cities is along the river, (of course), and the downtown of both cities is more or less where the cities started. It's pretty obvious when you look at a map.

In Minneapolis, which I'm more familiar with, the areas and streets follow the river at first, (SE and NE Mpls.), then you can almost see where someone said, "wait a minute," and they started building the rest of it plumb. For 50 or 100 miles in every direction, including ever growing suburbs and outer cities, it's all pretty much square unless roads follow another river or body of water, which MN. has a lot of. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hugh R (Post 11038565)

If you lived in LA 40 years ago, the first thing you bought, if you were smart, was a Thomas Guide. Used to have LA, Orange County and Ventura guides, each one was amazing in detail and about 1" thick.

Still have them. Established areas don't change. What road maps don't tell you is about construction and emergency vehicle activity. A CB helped immensely when out on the highway.

FWIW, every road map I've ever seen folds up accordion style and then in thirds, once the accordion part is finished.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera (Post 11038917)

In my office just feet from my keyboard is a display we put together of some OLD road maps. Central USA from 1950. Texas in 1936. Colorado from 1950. California 1950. Alabama and Georgia from 1973 and North and South Dakota from 1950. They all came from my grandmother-in-law's house when the family was cleaning out the place.

They are all in pretty good shape. They are folded and just show the covers, but the entire map is there.

Most people needed those to get around LA. YOu ask most people today how to get from W LA to Sierra Marde. They will need to whip that phone out and tap on that map.

reading that title made me LOL. I still have all mine in a box somewhere. Just last year, I throw out my Thomas Guide to Orange County that had been sitting in the back of my 4 runner since 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hugh R (Post 11038565)

Thomas Guides were a necessity in CA. I wonder if they only covered CA or the whole west coast or (?) Other parts of the country had their own map companies that produced similar map books, in Minneapolis it was called a Hudson guide, from the Hudson map company.

That entire industry was just wiped off the map, (sorry), with the invention of GPS mapping on phones. It started w Garmin type devices but smart phones killed them dead.

My favorite map books were the huge Rand McNally ones of the entire USA and Canada with pages for each state, (CA. was 2 pages!), and pages for most cities within the states. I still have one in my Airstream trailer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speeder (Post 11039270)

I still have mine. Took it with me when we drove to Calgary this winter, but never used it ( I was actually kinda sad because of it) Instead, my wife used her phone. I am a map nerd. As a kid, I would stare at maps from all over the world for hours (spend many hours looking at socal) dreaming of the far away places I would visit someday, like 4wheeling in Anza Borrego.:eek:

Quote:

Originally Posted by flatbutt (Post 11039147)

I always use paper on my bike trips. I luv poring over one in the evening planning the next day's route.

Same here. I use the GPS in my jeep when I’m driving, but nothing like having a paper map when I take a motorcycle trip. I love being able to open up the map and see the whole state.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speeder (Post 11039270)

Thomas Guides were a necessity in CA. I wonder if they only covered CA or the whole west coast or (?)

I have seen TG's for coastal WA state.

The full US Rand McNally is superb. Has gotten me to half the country.

Analog road maps are great for seeing just where you are, and what is coming up. For the turn by turn and what lane to be in on the interstate interchanges a GPS or phone app is king.