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Best Road Atlas?

S

starlight

Novice
We are planning for our trip to pick up our 560 in late September / early October. We are a non-GPS family (always love our maps). This our first venture out from the west coast. We are going from Necedah to San Diego CA. Can anybody recommend any particular road atlas? We are going to get the book on Corps of Engineers camping that Skip recommended. Aside from that, nothing yet. Saw the National Geographic road atlas on-line but not in stores yet. Ivan will definitely not stop and ask for directions, so I'd like to be prepared. :) All thoughts on points to see along the way are also welcome. Thanks!
 
I think Evan meant a MacBook with Google Maps. : ) However, we use the Rand McNally road atlas - Deluxe Midsize which is a little smaller than 8 1/2 x 11". It has most of what the big map books have but fits great in door pockets and is spiral bound to stay open to the page you want.

It is guaranteed to get you from here to there as well as having many city maps and other interesting stuff along with individual state maps. It's hard to get lost for long with this one. Sorry about Ivan.

Hilditch
 
I prefer my laptop with DeLorem, which includes a hockey puck GPS. Also use the Nuvi. Yes, there is a paper atlas in the vehicle.

Guaranteed all drivers will take the wrong road. Not a matter of if, but when.

Jean
 
Gimme a Garmin! LOVE my GPS! I can't tell you how many arguments it's saved us from and how many conversations we've been able to have about things other than "which way" or "why won't you stop and ask directions!!!!*&(*$%$#!!" Peace....PRICELESS!
 
GPS are nice, but watch out for that "Recalculating" function. Mayhem is just around the corner.

LOL

JP
 
Yeah, that's why God gave US the brain - to tell the GPS to shutup...I love the mute button...Bill wishes I had one....sometimes...
 
I haven't joined yet but I am going to get AAA. It has an option to include towing a trailer if you get stuck. I believe that AAA still has triptiks that include a route map, guide books and state maps. I also have a GPS but I also enjoy maps.
 
We use VZ navigator on our verizon wireless phone and it's great you can even use it for walking directions and keep it in your pocket.Also it updates it self every time you turn it on,the cost is $9.99 a month and it is well worth it,and it is one less thingt to carry. :)
 
When we did our "Big Trip 2010," I picked up a map, Tour Guide, Campground Guide and National Park booklet from AAA for our entire route. I was afraid they would balk at all of the request, but they very graciously filled up two of their plastic bags. We then put them in order of travel in plastic bins and swapped them out as we progressed. I had also highlighted the proposed route in our old Rand McNally atlas. As it turned out, we used the Rand McNally most of the time (it's the big 11x15.5 inch one)but we found the Tour Guides to be a big help in selecting motels, restaurants and reading about towns along the way. The National Park booklets were also interesting, but once you get to the visitors' center of a Park, you get a map, additional information and the rangers are very helpful. For me, planning a trip using maps, etc. is as much a part of the experience as the actual travel; I can't imagine giving that up to a GPS! Kathy (I do plan to look at the mid-size Rand McNally mentioned above to see if the print is large enough)
 
We use the same books and methods as Kathy and Bob but we also get the state maps from AAA. I love to poke around in them before the trip hightlighting the route and then it is a ritual to pull out the first state, putting that away at the state line and going on to the next - gives me something to do since I am not the driver. I use the triptic on line or google maps to make notes on the maps of the mileage between points of interest. I have tried printing out the triptic but it is too detailed - I prefer the big picture. We do use a Garmin mostly for getting through any big cities otherwise we get bored with Garmin unless we are looking for a coffee house, pit stop or gas. It is also helpful if we run into road construction or some other traffic tie up.
 
Thanks for the tips everyone! We're going to check out AAA, commandeered an extra Nuvi my mom had with her old car, and will check out the Rand McNally atlas Hilditch suggested. I'm game for taking a scenic tour as much as the next person, but having these options will help make it a much better scenario with our toddler in tow. Ivan's a google man, just not on the go. We'll also check into Evan's recommended software (alas, Hilditch, my parents have not yet converted us to the ways of Mac). I'm thinking happy road trip thoughts already. :)
 
I think I'll ck. out AAA too...

As an aside, we have points with our timeshare and we can use them with Coast to Coast campgrounds - they're very nice...not roughing it, but lots of fun! I'll keep ya posted... (PS - anyone want to buy a timeshare? Camping R Us, not Timeshare R Us...)
 
We have traveled extensivel by car and truck using all that was mentioned, Rand McNally, AAA books and GPS. I have to look at real maps (paper), the AAA books are great for discovering those out of the way places you might have passed up and the GPS is great for getting out of whatever you got yourself into, like finding that highway on-ramp in a big city. But we also carry one additional resource, the latest "Next Exit". The 2011 edition is out and it tells you what is at or near any given exit from the Interstate System. It is all listed by Interstate and Exit number. We use it all the time if on, or even near, an Interstate.
 
We had the Next Exit and gave it to our son but now that we have our 560 will be getting another. Does it tell you things to see in the area? Or would AAA trip tics be better? Used AAA years ago and loved it.
 
It is pretty much just what is right there near any given exit. In looking at it right now I see that it also includes places where you can wash a trailer. Or "warsh" if you are from that part of town. :-)
 
Next Exit sounds interesting. We're going to give it a shot too. We're having fun planning the trip from Wisconsin. So much to see, so little time...
 
I love the National Geographic Road Atlas Adventure Edition ISBN 0-7922-8989-7 (2004). They're still selling it on the National Geographic website for $20.

http://shop.nationalgeographic.com...-and-reference/national-geographic-road-atlas

It lists National Parks, National Forests, State Parks and various points of interest. It's my go-to US atlas - I keep one in my car and one in the house. I hope they will come out with an updated edition soon.

I also make sure to get state highway maps (free at tourist information centers) for the states we're going to visit - they usually have a lot of detail (like county roads). We also have Delorne Gazetteers for our near-by states, but we usually only refer to the gazetteers if we see a "road less traveled" (not on the state highway map) and we're afraid we could get lost.

Here's a little gizmo I came up with when my parents came to visit me in Illinois from Washington State in their Pleasureway camper van. My father doesn't like to drive for too many hours a day so trying to figure out where he was going to camp from day to day was a big headache for him (and my poor mother).

We got a US highway map (one big foldout map) from AAA and I used the map scale and a compass to create 50 or 60-mile radius circles (I figured that's a pretty good hour drive estimate) on one of those transparent plastic folders (could also use a transparency sheet or something like that). Basically, it's a see-through bulls-eye with each line another 50 or 60 miles from center - I think I made it with 5 or 6 lines. Now my father can put his little bulls-eye on his starting point and have a general idea where 4-6 hours of driving (as the crow flies) will take him.

I also gave him a National Geographic atlas so he can see what State Parks or National Forest/BLM areas are in his driving radius. It made a big difference on his drive home – he didn’t have to spend a lot of time worrying about where he was going to camp.

They have a Tom-Tom and they love it, but it's sent them on some real benders. I don't have a GPS or a smartphone so I always bring plenty of maps...
 
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