Records of favorite spots

[Iggy]

How does everyone keep track of spots where they have boondocked or parked overnight? I started out keeping a written journal of everything I did and where I stayed. I often forgot to write for several days and would have to try to remember. The biggest trouble was recording the approximate address of where I parked. The journal kinda fell by the wayside after a couple months. Plus I can barely read my own writing.
I'm sure that there are apps for Android that you can use to keep track of where you stayed. Does anyone know of one that works well for this? Maybe a GPS location journal and a place to write a few notes. I'm all for discovering new places to park but sometimes you want to remember that perfect spot that you found once!

 

[rvwandering]

I find it easiest to put them all on a map - https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=210711839070103512786.0004e039a19ec37a6a084&msa=0&dg=feature

I use Google satellite view and Google Earth to make sure I have the exact location and don't worry about addresses.

 

[Patrick46]

Tonyandkaren...

...you guys compiled that map, and have camped at all those different places???

WOW!!!

That is an outstanding job you've done, putting that together!!!! What an awesome resource you've created!! Kudos!! :angel:

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who'll get some use outta that! SAVED!!!

 

[rvwandering]

Thanks for the kind words Patrick! We wander around a lot.

Our buddy Van-Tramp has a map too - http://www.van-tramp.com/wp/confirmed-boondocking-locations/

 

[akrvbob]

Tony and Karen, (but I'm pretty sure this is Karen!) would you consider writing a blog post for me explaining how you made that map? It would be for my blog and we would put a link back into your blog.

Preferably you would include snips of each step so we had a visual guide. It's very easy to do with the Snipping Tool that came with windows 7 and 8. I save the snips as jpegs and then load them in Picassa where I can easily add text.

I ask mainly because I'm too dumb to figure it outmyself and would love a primer!!!

I certainly understand if you don't have time!!
Bob

 

[rvwandering]

Yes, this is Karen. I'd love to do a blog post but we're heading into Canada tomorrow so I won't have internet available except when we find free WiFi spots. We'll be coming back to the states in mid or late September and I should be able to do it then. Remind me if I forget!

 

[akrvbob]

I understand. We just got back from Alaska and internet is so hard to find in Canada. I highly recommend Tim Hortons though! They are a great little fast-food type restaurant with very good prices and great and free wifi. There's one pretty often along the Alcan:

2 in Whitehorse
1 in Fort Nelson
1 in Watson lake
1 in Dawson Creek.

There may be more but that's all I saw. Before you get to Dawson Creek they are everywhere. If I had known I would have searched their locations before we left.

Oh, and try not to get any tickets on this trip!! I thought of you when we were behind a guy plodding along around the Turnagain Arm!! He had at least 100 cars backed up behind him.

Bob

 

[rvwandering]

We only had four cars! :-D That's what we get for going to Seward in September when all the tourists are gone and the cops don't have anything to do.

I forgot to mention - we are going into Canada but way on the other side of the country. Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. We won't be going back to Alaska for awhile. :-D

 

[akrvbob]

I didn't know about it at the time, but Walmarts StraightTalk which is a pay-as-you-go plan, offers a month of international service for $60. Had I know about it before we left I might have gotten it.

My Verizon worked badly even in Alaska but Straighttalk worked fine because they buy from all the major cell companies. If I went again I'd look into it before I left.
Bob

 

[light trip]

Awesome tonyandkaren, I've booked mark that one. Thank you.

 

[caseyc]

Dang, you've visited all those places? Nice mapping job you've created!

For myself, I will enter a favorite address in my smartphone contacts synced to my Google account. When I want to go there again, I click on the address and Google Navigation takes me there.

 

[offroad]

Straighttalk gets service from AT&T towers and Verizon towers depending on your phone. CDMA or Gsm.

 

[BackCountryNomad]

I use Zeemaps.com. I have several hundred boondocking places pinned on my personal map. Never gone and always accessible via Internet and printable.

 

[offroad]

I use Zeemaps.com. I have several hundred boondocking places pinned on my personal map. Never gone and always accessible via Internet and printable.

Will zeemaps.com be around in five years? Always a concern. Others use google maps specifically because of long term data availability and convenience to conversion to something else later.

 

[Wabbit]

I find it easiest to put them all on a map - https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=210711839070103512786.0004e039a19ec37a6a084&msa=0&dg=feature

I use Google satellite view and Google Earth to make sure I have the exact location and don't worry about addresses.

Hmmm...anyone have any ideas why just the google map loads for me with no markers? Thnx!

 

[GrantRobertson]

Hmmm...anyone have any ideas why just the google map loads for me with no markers? Thnx!

You probably aren't logged in. Sometimes, even if you are logged in to Gmail, you won't be logged in to Google Maps. I think the "sign in" link is in the upper right corner.

 

[Wabbit]

Yeah logged into both gmail and maps. Just checked it on my laptop and link works there, but not on my tablet. The tablet(Iconia A3) opens the link in google maps app, and on my laptop it just opens another Firefox tab and works there. At least I can see it on my laptop though. Will download it later and then see if I can work with that on tablet. Not much experience with google maps, imagine that will change soon enough(yay!)

 

[Matt71]

I use communitywalk.com for my maps.

It lets you use all kinds of custom icons. I have tons of stuff on it.
Most maps I've seen only let you put 100 locations or less on their maps, but Communitywalk has a soft limit of 1000. 
I currently have over 1600 locations on mine an don one has complained, though it does load a little slow sometimes.
It's also free, or you can go ads free for $4 a month.

The only problem I have ever had with it is that their language filter is really struck. Anything that is even remotely sexual in nature will get your map shut off, then you have to contact them to turn it back on and rename whatever the offending label was. My map got shut off for including The Sex Museum in new york, an address that had the word spanking in it and a few other words I can't recall. It has something to do with the Google ads they run on the site confusing them with porn. Just so happens that the ads free version of the site doesn't have this problem.

Overall I like it.

 

[offroad]

Can you download all your waypoint bookmarks from community walk and remap them to google maps ? What happens when that company goes bankrupt in a year (they all eventually do) or gets sold to a competitor who wants to shut it down ?

 

[Matt71]

Can you download all your waypoint bookmarks from community walk and remap them to google maps ?  What happens when that company goes bankrupt in a year (they all eventually do) or gets sold to a competitor who wants to shut it down ?

Community Walk lets you export a Google Earth file
The site started their blog in 2005, so they are at least 10 years old.
I don't think they're going anywhere soon.
Even if they do get bought out, whoever bought them would be foolish not to use their setup. They are by far the best free mapping sight I've found.

,Matt