Maps

The earliest know map in the world was etched on a clay tablet around 600 B.C. in Babylon. Ancient Greeks produced the first paper maps in the world. In 1579 the Guang Yutu atlas was produced and included 40 maps and using a grid system. The first maps of the entire world began in the 1500's as explorers sailed the seas discovering new lands never before seen by Europeans. In the 20th century aerial and satellite surveillance have made maps as precise as possible and make the map and direction apps that are in use in everyday life.

I saw a news story one day this week about paper maps making a comeback. Apparently, the younger generation has a new interest in paper maps. I have always enjoyed using a Road Atlas when planning and taking road trips in the past. The Road Atlas is a wealth of information that you just can't see spread out on a single page of internet web page on your phone or computer screen.  

With the Atlas you can see a lot of out of the way places of interest. I have used an Atlas when planning long road trips from OKC to the California coast and I have used it for short trips from OKC to Dodge City, KS. You can easily chart your route across numerous states and note any places of interest that you would like to explore. On our family trip to Dodge City, I noticed an interesting place in Greensburg, KS. Greensburg is home to the World's Largest Hand-Dug Well. So, I had to put that as a stop along our drive just to see what this place was. It turned out to be a very interesting museum that was about the well and about a tornado that destroyed the town in the past. Then we walked down a staircase into the well. How many of you have ever been to the World's Largest Hand-Dug Well? I bet not many!

If you were to look up your route on your phone in the maps app, you don't see this site listed unless you really zoom in on Greensburg. Which, you would probably never do if you were just passing through. The Atlas is so much better at showing you interesting sites in one easy, hand held, paper map book. Maybe the younger generation, now interested in paper maps, will not miss out on all the interesting spots out in this great world of ours.

I remember, back in the 90's using Mapsco books at work to get around the DFW area. I did not like those things. You had to find the address you wanted and then find what map page you needed. Then one page was so zoomed in that you had to flip to the page before or the page after to figure out where you were going. The modern smart phone is much better at getting you from one location to another. We also had maps for all the bigger cities in Oklahoma. When you need to go to one of those cities, you picked out the appropriate map from the map drawer and hit the road. My, how times have changed.

Paper maps would still be very handy these days if you found yourself somewhere without cell phone coverage. Some people couldn't get across town without using their directions from their phone with Siri telling them every turn to make. 

Maps are used to get from one place to another. Maps are used to plan details of vacations and weekend trips. Maps are used to track where you want to go or track where you have been. In our Road Atlas, I use a highlighter and mark every state we have been to on the U.S. Map and then sometimes highlight the entire route of a vacation road trip on the state maps within the Atlas. I've seen a few RVs that have a map on the back with colorful states placed on the map as the travelers have visited those states. I have a canvas world Conquest Map on my wall that I bought for a wall decoration. It came with pushpins so I can mark where I have visited and where I plan to visit. I just don't want to mess up the beautiful map with holes, so my map remains pin free at the moment. 

There are problems with a paper mat. Most do not show you where a good dining spot is or where the next hotel will be. It won't give you reviews of the sites it shows on the map. It won't give you advice on "things to do in xyz city". The smartphone or computer are much better tools for planning a lot of travel details. Another big problem with a paper mat......folding the darn thing if it is one of the foldable ones. Atlas, no problem. Folding map equals frustration. 

Do you still use a paper map in some instances? Do you use the Atlas as a planning tool for road trips? Have you seen anything interesting because you spotted it on a map and thought "you never know until you go"? Do you have a wall map that you use pushpins to mark where you have been and where you wish to go?