Excuse me for mildly venting. This is not a troll...if I even know what a troll is (I thought it was something that lives under a bridge...now you know how old I am! LOL).

Does it 'get to' anyone that people who can afford to travel all over the world don't seem to be able to read a roadmap or cannot afford to buy a road atlas? There are so many inane requests here for routes to/from places that are so obvious on the map. Recently, I have seen requests for routes from Los Vegas to Zion Natl Park, for heavens sake! And the best route from South Rim of GC to Monument Valley and then Canyon de Chelley! Even a cursory glance at a roadmap reveals that there are few if any options.

There are often itineraries that offer flexibility. I am not addressing my comments to them. Neither am I reticent to offer information about road conditions, but please minimize questions about topics that are obvious to a mildly interested person.

If you are driving while on vacation, you will need a roadmap anyway. Maybe it would make sense to spring for it while you are in the planning stages of your trip? Or is that too logical?

Please, please, please.

I beleive that people know how to physically get from place to place. People are often interested in which route will afford them the opportunity to see/visit the best sites. This type of information is not on the map.

Sometimes, dear Polly, the adventure is in the journey, not the destination.

Polly, I have plenty of maps, but sometimes there are a multitude of ways to reach one's destination, and looking at a map will not always tell you which route is the quickest, easiest or most scenic. For that information you need to ask the advice of others who have traveled those roads before you.

Is that logical enough for you?

A road atlas is like a sex manual. Sure, it has some value, but there's no substitute for having done it or at least hearing from someone who's actually done it.

Polly, I AGREE. It amazes me that people have lost the simply skill of reading maps. A simple cursouy look should give you an idea of the terrain and type of road. Then you can get mileage and figure out time appropriately. People in the pre-computer age seemed perfectly capable of doing just this. I would hate to think that today's people aren't capable.

It used to be that people even kept an Atlas or map in their car and even managed to navigate that way. Perhaps this skill was lost when gas stations stopped giving maps away for free.

If the adventure is in the journey than why bother with directions at all?

The journey is in the adventure. And, I like to plan my journeys myself.

polly, i think that you also are assuming that most people want to travel via car. many times i see posts from people asking how to get from a place like LaGuardia Airport in NYC to Manhattan. Obviously, they could read a map and drive there. But, often times they are interested in hearing their options on alternative transportation such as the subway, the bus, etc.

LOL...please look at a road map and see how many options between LV and Zion. I agree with you...finding interesting things along the way is a good reason for the posts, but that is seldom what I see in the questions which I am addressing.

I love this forum and have benefited from it greatly. Generally wonderful people here ready to help and add that interesting little tidbit. I just hate to see the space taken up with frivilous requests.

LOL @ your id, cracker...actually, I prefer cookies!

i was so glad to see someone else didnt know what a troll was but noone has answered! pleeeeeeze - what is a troll?

I agreee with Polly...I see folks ask the darndest questions along the line of "how far is it from Boston to NY" or (my personal favourite) " how long will it take me to get from Bar Harbour to Bangort-I will be travelling with 3 kids?"
To the poster who asked about "trolls"- they are posters who ask (or answer) a question just to get others all riled up. Sometimes the results are fun, other times very nasty indeed...but a little like free speech IMO-to experience the best, we must tolerate the worst.

LJ, I fail to see what is wrong with the question about how long it will take from Point A to Point B. This can't always be dtermined by looking at a map or knowing the mileage. How do people know about traffic patterns, whether there are lights, construction, etc.? Sheesh! So sorry to burden you with what you consider stupid questions.

I agree a road map is good to have but not, necessarily, for determining distances between two places. Try adding the red or black numbers to try to determine the distance from Denver to Yellowstone. For that I use the driving direction sites on the Internet. I prefer "maps.yahoo.com" as opposed to Mapquest which seems to operate slowly on my computer.

Great Point!

Go to Wal-Mart and get their Rand-McNally road atlas for something like $5. Its a great deal and a very good atlas. Also, if you can post a question here, you can go to Yahoo Maps or Mapquest for information. Please try these obvious avenues for "how far is it type questions".
p

Hey Polly, shove a cracker up your ass!!!

The only stupid question is the one that goes unasked. Polly, et al, I'm pretty sure at some point in your life you've asked something that someone else considered dumb or uneducated. I hope the next time you have an inquiry, someone tells you how "inane" your question is.

Alright, enough already! Here is the answer. Obviously you all have access to the internet, or you would not be posting here (gimme a break, it's Friday). Type the following into you're browser www.mapblast.com (your browser is that little white line directly to the right of the word 'address' above.

They have all kinds of options: you can type in your starting point and your final destination, and it will print you a map WITH instruction on how to drive the best route.

So, you don't even need to buy an atlas. You can even print the map and instruction out and take them with you.

No more questions about how to get from aone place to another here on Fodor's from now on. You have been warned!

So then, I presume mapblast will tell us when there is construction on the roads, which roads are more scenic, great little eating places along the way, interesting rest stops and places to stretch one's legs, times to avoid certain roads, areas that are poorly marked, etc, etc, etc, and all the other great information I've gotten by asking stupid questions here on Fodors?

Hey guys, re-read Polly's OP and concentrate on understanding her intent. She specifically said she was not speaking about routes that offered flexibility, but addressing the "what's the best route to take?" question when there is basically only one route. Not construction questions, not how much time. She specifically says that was not what she meant.

That is one facet of a great source of puzzlement: the segment of posters who seem to want to do virtually no footwork themselves. "I'm going to HI, what should I do." Don't want to look at a map or guide book, but want "the best of the best" packaged up and offered on Haviland china (sometimes with an ASAP added on because "we are leaving tomorrow").

These forums have great info but you are not making the best use of your time by expecting someone here to guide you every step of the way through YOUR trip. Wit the different age groups and different tastes, what one person finds fantastic you might find gawdawful. One person's treasure is another's trash and vice versa. Read, find out what's of great interest to you, make lists, then ask for opinions here based on info you want clarified further.

The same stuff gets repeated over and over because the same people are responding. You may find some wonderful new thing to do in your research. We did in Bermuda using a number of books, found a century old half complete abandoned stone church in St George that was eerily beautiful, yet never mentioned here, and unknown even to a friend of ours who lived in Bermuda.

What you get out of a trip is directly proportional to what you put into it. Ask here by all means, but educate yourself first so your questions address those issues that are truly meaningful for you and your interests.

People? AMEN.

I do have a suggestion for people who don't want to do any research on their own. They need to sign up for a tour. Let the tour company do the legwork for you. They'll research hotels, attractions and routes.

While I absolutely agree with People??'s post, why bother venting about posts that you find stupid? Just ignore the post. You are not REQUIRED to answer a post (or even read one).

We travel with an Atlas all the time. *G* But when we're having to follow the map to get there, my husband drives and I navigate! Our most memorable instance of his navigation had us on the southern part of I-285 around Atlanta. I was in the left lane when he told me to take THIS exit. If there had been any traffic, we wouldn't have made it. That was 15 years ago!