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Friday, December 01, 2023

Should've used a DeLorme Atlas

Google Maps is being blamed for leading a number of drivers on their way back to Los Angeles from Las Vegas down a dirt road to nowhere during a dust storm in the Mojave Desert earlier this month.

*****

I've used a DeLorme Atlas for I don't know how long - 30-40 years, maybe?
Not only do they show every damned road in the state, but the dirt roads and 4WD trails are shown as dotted lines.
As a hybrid topo/road map, you just can't go wrong with them. Of course it helps if you can read a damned map, a skill that a lot of people don't seem to have any more.

28 comments:

  1. Being an ijiot is is a gold mine these days: "I am too st.p.d to live, who can we blame and sue".

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  2. I use an Esso fold out paper map I got back in 1961. It works, but ya just gotta adjust for the fold creases.

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    1. Drove thru western Nebraska once with a 20 year old gas station map. Got lost because they had moved the highway over a couple miles.

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  3. I collect the DeLorme atlas' for every state I go to.
    Handy thing to have. Plus, for travel planning you just can't beat laying a map out on the table. GPS can't be used that way.

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    1. I ordered my Tennessee DeLorme's before I left California, and when I was there I owned ones from California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah.
      I never owned or used a GPS until I moved here, the DeLorme's worked just fine for me and never led me down the wrong road.

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    2. I have Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Utah.

      If you do use gps, you can buy the digital DeLorme's and download them into your navigation software.

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    3. most people today have no idea how to "read" a map, let alone use one right.
      spent 2-3 days last summer teaching my grandson how to read a map, both road and topo. and I also have a few DeLorme atlas around here. dave in pa.

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    4. Last year I looked high and low for a Rand McNally. After much searching, I happened upon a DeLorme at a gun show of all places.

      I have a love affair with paper maps and charts. I am very pleased with the DeLorme.

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    5. I'm thinking I got my first one at a gun show also.

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  4. Those dumbasses blindly follow anything their gps and/or cellphone tells them even when their eyes literally show them something different. I had to install "Private Property" signs in an effort to reduce the number of dumbasses that come up to my house at all hours of the day and night because their technological wonders directed them to my place. I had one guy looking for a local mountain that is popular with hikers. I pointed to it (clearly visible, 7 miles away). He said he knew that was it but his gps told him to turn into my place. Some people should not be allowed outside a padded room.

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  5. I agree. Most younger people can't. It is actually kind of fun to look at them and know where to go. The topos are a different story. We were hiking on the PCT and the topo map was not up to date, well actually it was. Let me rephrase that, Nothing wrong with the maps, it was the state of Washington that does not maintain their trails. We ran into a shitload of trouble accessing the PCT on side trails. Trees 5 feet high were blocking the trail. And you don't climb over them. Asked a ranger about not maintaining trails and she said it keeps the number of hikers down. SOBs.

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    1. No kidding. Just how far down the dirt track did she get in a car that was damaged by driving in the dirt. Would she have kept going if the trucker hadn't come by? Then there were the other lemmings who followed.
      Then they have the gall to blame the software. I reckon that's par for idiots.

      There are still large areas in the western states that have spotty or no cell coverage. Those stupid dummies got lucky.

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    2. I've got news for you: There's places in the midwestern and eastern US with no cell phone coverage. I live 40-50 miles NNE of Nashville and I don't have cell phone coverage at my house.

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  6. A few miles outside of Bridge, Oregon there's a long private driveway with a huge sign at the bottom that says "THIS IS NOT A GPS ROAD TO POWERS".

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  7. Bought a DeLorme atlas in the 90s. Used it to locate all of my Town Border stations, Industrial customers and interconnects with other Gas companies. Made it easier to find the shortest route. I have one in my Honda always.

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  8. I have the Missouri edition in my truck right now.

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  9. I just look for moss on the north side of the trees…

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  10. I haven't needed a road map in a long time, but as long as we're on the subject, remember when phone books had street maps? I used to get the Portland and Vancouver phone books just to have the maps.

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  11. The article mentions the F1 Gran Prix.
    This morning I read an article about the event, written before the event.

    It was the 1st Gran Prix in Vegas. City leaders anticipated the three day event would bring $1 Billion to the city.
    Race organizers tried to put up barriers to prevent establishments from viewing the race. Also, they wanted to shine bright lights at non-paying businesses during the night race.

    Businesses could pay $12,500 per head based on maximum occupannts for the privilege. After pushback, organizers settled on $50,000 per business to view the race.

    The article spoke of how repaving the roads for the race were causing severe traffic delays and detours for the populace. Also, while the city profits, the residents are left with disruptions and mountains of litter. Vegas wants to attract more mega events. Residents and casino workers are opposed to it. The next Super Bowl will be in Vegas.

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  12. I miss the good old Thomas Guide

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  13. When I got out of the AF in 78 I had a pocket full of money, a motorcycle, and no responsibilities. I covered 12,000 miles going from Cali to Mississippi, guided by Rand McNally all the way. I had a big atlas for the whole country and and I got an atlas in every state I visited.

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  14. Ironically, my first GPS was... a DeLorme. It was a receiver unit that interfaced with a laptop. You ran the software on the laptop and plugged the receiver into a serial port. (Remember those?) The software on the laptop then plotted your position on the map. This was in the early 90's and it worked great. (I still have that receiver around here somewhere.)

    The Garmin I have also works great and is voice controlled. I keep it up to date, but I'm also not stupid. If it tries to route me through the ghetto, I will ignore it.

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    1. I've got a Garmin GPS. It's had me fording streams and has no problem sending me down a 20 mph dirt road because it's 'faster' when there's a perfectly fine 60 mph paved road a mile away.
      I use it only in towns or on the freeway for obvious reasons.

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  15. Paper maps do not need batteries, or L1/L2 signals. The "Australian Map Fold." There is also a "Turkish Map Fold", sort of like origami. Seriously though, Dads are failures if their kids do not know how to read a map. Sometimes, it's just that the kid is not wired right.

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  16. ok, wait. driving from Vegas to El Lay - or, vice versa - and you need a fucking MAP, or GPS? Granted, I've driven it umpty fuckin' zillion times... but a fuckin' MAP, or some electronic shit? El Lay to/from Vegas? Fuck.
    Maybe you can find one with directions to find your own ass in the dark with both hands... for fuck's sake.

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  17. Dad (US Army Engineers) taught me to read a map before I could read Dick and Jane (Yeah, I'm that old). Have FIVE atlases in the truck; 2 Michelin in different scales, great for route planning, 1 Rand-McNally for larger scale state maps, 2 DeLorme, 1 Fla (which doesn't have a lot of topo to map) & 1 Tennessee (home state). And yes, compass too. While the Smarter Half will use the GPS on her "smart" phone we defer to the maps once off the major roads.

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  18. I keep Montana and Wyoming in both cars. There's a lot worth exploring there.

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