Reasons to love paper maps as much as we do

Finding your way, or maybe not

Recently we challenged our teens to find their way to their grandparents' home without using a digital device... at all. They were given map books, pencil, paper and the offer that if they could write it all down enough so we could follow it to completion, we would take them on a road trip of their choice. No questions asked.

Spoiler alert: They could not.

You would think as paper map enthusiasts we would have been able to rear children to navigate this world without Sir Edmund Hillary GoogleMaps. Yet, here we are. In their defense, they are inundated with the immediacy of the world around them so no matter how many times they've read the maps as kids, found the routes we traveled and calculated the number of miles to the next rest stop, they may stumble a bit getting the turn-by-turn routes planned out on the first try.

So what's so glorious about traveling by map?

We would not be good Gen Xer's if we did not admit the positive influence of cinematic features traveling by map; especially the greats such as Indiana Jones (all four movies), the Muppets, the Goonies, and Twister ("Don't fold the maps.")

But beyond the subliminal map messages brought to us over the silver screen, why paper maps?

Here's our top 10 reasons to love paper maps:

1. Highlighting your route. We have a smaller, spiral bound map book just for this purpose.

2. Topography and Cartography are great words.

3. There's a sense of longevity with paper maps. It's cool to be vintage.

4. Comes in various shapes, sizes and level of details

5. Keeps children busy on car rides. Ask them to plan a road trip, find landmarks, etc.

6. Tactile is better than digital any day. There's just something special about laying out a map book to plan a road trip.

7. You find all the best back roads, dirt roads and local bypasses

8. You avoid the hustle of the "fastest route"

9. No digital footprint or "history."

10. If the internet goes down, you'll still know how to get places.

So get yourself a paper map, spread it out on a table or pin it to a wall and plan your next adventure. Grab a highlighter. Mark it up. You'll be glad you did. Shoot, you may even take it with you.