Traveling is so much fun because you get to go places you’ve never been before. Of course that creates a few challenges, because you’re not sure what to expect when you arrive, and that can cause some people a little anxiety. Here’s an idea for scouting new places to park or camp.
Let’s say you’ve read in the Open Roads Forum about a casino in Minnesota named Mystic Lake that has a great RV park. You check their web site and it doesn’t give any information about the RV park?! You finally locate the RV park web site, but you still don’t have a good idea exactly where it’s located, how it’s laid out, or what it looks like. What now?
You could try using a mapping program, or an online mapping tool like Google Maps. Here’s a screen shot of a google map of the area around Mystic Lake Casino and the Dakota Meadows RV Park.
Notice on the map I’ve circled “satellite” in red. If you click that button guess what you get?
WOW, you can really see that RV park now, can’t you? And look, there’s a golf course, and the casino is near by.
Click this link to play with the map, zoom in and out, pan around the area, etc.
You can use Google Maps to find most any place in the world, although in some areas you’ll see less detail than others. Most often you’ll have the highest resolution and best detail in major cities and near major attractions. Have a little fun and type your home (or current) address into Google and take a look.
There’s also a more powerful tool called Google Earth. My friend (and RV NET blogger) Chris Guld of Geeks On Tour has some cool Google Earth demos that you can see at THIS LINK.
What other uses can you imagine for this tool? Post your input HERE on the Open Road’s Forum.
Happy travels and good luck,