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DeLorme Road Atlases

Started by XamotCGC, October 12, 2022, 05:27:26 PM

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XamotCGC

Anyone a user of DeLorme Road Atlases?   I really like the one they made for Kentucky.   The maps are so detailed.
Roads clinched.
State Routes: Kentucky:  KY 208 KY 289 KY 555 KY 2154 KY 245 KY 1195


US 89

I have the Utah one and love it. It is especially useful when doing road trips, hikes or whatever in the large tracts of the state where cell service is spotty to nonexistent.

hbelkins

I've had the Kentucky and West Virginia editions, and one other (either Tennessee or Virginia) but I have no idea where they are. They certainly aren't the latest versions. I would invest in new copies but they're pricey.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

triplemultiplex

Love em.  My youth involved a mild obsession with those 1:100k scale atlases for the states; back when all the road cartography was red lines. They were a joy to update by hand with a fine tip red ball point pen and a white out pen.
I'd have em on road trips as a kid and rough in the new bypass or whatever lightly in pencil and then when I got home, go in and draw in a more permanent version with ink.  I took great pains to try and match the appropriate line thickness based on whether it was the main highway, a ramp or a minor crossroad.

This was all before it was super easy to look at the entire planet in relatively recent satellite photos.  (Remember Microsoft Terra Server?  Sooo many 1991 aerials!)

Those Delorme atlases were a huge influence on me becoming a roadgeek.  I remember a mild excitement at discovering an I-296 shield in the Michigan atlas because this wasn't something that showed up in the Rand Mac.  And I was still several years away from finding Kurumi's old 3di website, so this discovery fascinated me and hinted at the kooky concept of "unsigned" interstates.

I was also a big fan of the way Delorme made business route shields for their atlases.  I thought it looked cool. I adopted that style as my own whenever I draw maps, fictional or otherwise, to this day.

I still have an old Delorme atlas with the red roads I keep in my vehicle and periodically update with ink and whiteout.
I prefer it over the newer cartography style they use; especially their dogshit highway shields now. Yuck!  Old school Delorme Atlas forever!
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

CapeCodder

Love DeLorme. I had an early edition of both their Maine and New Hampshire atlases. Their OG cartography was great.

DandyDan

I've always been a fan and have one for each of the four states I've lived in (Minnesota, Illinois, Nebraska and Iowa).
MORE FUN THAN HUMANLY THOUGHT POSSIBLE

epzik8

My dad had the Maryland/Delaware one and I liked the topographic feature on it
From the land of red, white, yellow and black.
____________________________

My clinched highways: http://tm.teresco.org/user/?u=epzik8
My clinched counties: http://mob-rule.com/user-gifs/USA/epzik8.gif

Ted$8roadFan

I have DeLorme atlases for most of the eastern seaboard and love all of them. I prefer the older style of cartography (not sure of the dates); some of the newer atlases look like they were computer-generated.

SectorZ

I have many of the eastern seaboard ones, and they're all incredible.

Too bad that Garmin has slowly been killing what's left of the company. First the computer software, the corporate store/HQ in Maine, then the hardware lots of hikers used. I don't even know why Garmin bought them.

triplemultiplex

I checked the date on the one I keep in the vehicle: copyright 2002.
Yet due to my continuing, manual updates, it's still quite accurate.  Yeah, it's missing a bit of urban sprawl, but who cares about subdivisions?  The freeway/expressway system in the state is immaculate. ;)

Contributing to its longevity is the cover I got for it a long time ago and the fact that I can store it flat rather than tucked into some seat-back pocket.

Another Delorme memory: going to Gander Mountain (RIP) and they had a whole rack of pretty much every Delorme state atlas and I'd park myself there for 20 minutes while my dad looked at whatever he was looking for.  Then I'd buy a chocolate walleye on our way out.
The packaging was different back then, but I think this is the same product, still available!
https://baraboocandy.com/products/wally-walleye-solid-milk-chocolate-1
Damn, I might have to jet up to Baraboo this weekend and get one for old time's sake.  And also like hike or whatever.
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

FrCorySticha

I've had one of the Montana atlases for years. It sits nicely under the center arm rest of my pickup, ready for any backroading needs. They are fantastic for finding little roads and hiking trails out away from civilization.

SSR_317

Quote from: SectorZ on October 14, 2022, 08:28:41 AM
...

I don't even know why Garmin bought them.
It's called killing off the competition, part of Capitalism 101.

Yes, I know they weren't DIRECT competitors, but some people are techno-phobes and others simply PREFER printed maps over (still) unreliable online maps.

SSR_317

Back when I worked in downtown Indy, we had a wonderful little map store that carried the DeLorme Atlases. Spent many of my lunch hours there. Over time, I acquired many DeLormes for not only the Midwest, but many Western states. When I also visited Phoenix (which I did annually for many years to attend IndyCar races there), I made it a point to spend a couple of hours at Wide World of Maps (now known as simply Wide World Maps), where I bought several additional DeLorme and Benchmark Atlases.

I bemoan the loss of printed maps due to the computer revolution, but understand why they are going the way of the pay phone and non-digital photography. But nothing online can replace the look & feel of a good Atlas in my book. They helped fuel and sustain my life-long fascination with geography, maps, navigation, and exploration of our world.



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