Try and trust those weird directions from your GPS sometime when you have time and a good map with you. I moved from Ohioto theHouston area, I depended on mine. Several times it gave me wierd directions to someplace I knew how to get to tried one time when I had extra time, found out their directions may have been round about, but in the long run it was much easier. --- On Sat, 1/28/12, Mary <[log in to unmask]> wrote: From: Mary <[log in to unmask]> Subject: [Ohio-birds] eBird/trip planning To: [log in to unmask] Date: Saturday, January 28, 2012, 10:01 AM When trip planning I think you probably have to use more than one tool. I use google maps a lot both for finding things like access points (won't necessarily tell you whether its public or not but at least you can see the roads) and directions. I don't have a smart phone so I have to trip plan and take directions with me as well. You can put the coordinates into google earth and maybe google maps? and then use to and from directions. When going to southern Texas I used google earth and maps to locate all the hotspots and wrote down all the information I could in a notepad. Phone numbers, addresses, directions, coordinates, hours. Versatility is the key to reliable birding travel:) I have a GPS that I have a love/hate relationship with. It has taken me by more crazy routes and been totally lost over 50% of the time. I have learned not to trust it. But when you are out of town it WITH a good map can be a great help. The Northern Alabama Birding Trail guide has addresses, directions and coordinates. I loved the coordinates! So many roads have more than one name and a GPS will only recognize one, typically the one not in the brochure, so the coordinates came in handy. Smart phones and google are taking over GPS units, you can use coordinates in those too. Mary, Fairborn ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]