GPS for your other activities

There are plenty of GPS units that will help you stay on track while you're on the road. DeLorme's Earthmate GPS PN-20 is a little different.

The PN-20 is designed as a complete handheld unit to be used while you're out of your vehicle. If you're a hiker, biker, backpacker, or indulge in any other activity that takes you away from your RV and into the back woods, this is for you.

The PN-20 is designed to go with you and let you know where you are, even if there are no roads anywhere in the area. It's design is nothing like the pretty, shiny dash-mount or pocketable units you're used to seeing. In stead this baby is ruggedized with rubber grips, protective housing, waterproof seals, and a lanyard hole so you can hang it from a backpack or belt clip.

It runs on AA batteries since you're not likely to be near an AC adapter while negotiating the rapids, and rather than being optimized for road maps, it uses DeLorme's Topo USA map set.

The Topo maps are (as you might expect) topographical maps showing land and water features along with altitudes and foot trails.

The PN-20 uses flash memory rather than a hard drive. That means that you need to select the area you're interested in from the computer-installed Topo maps and copy them to the device before you start out. This turns out not to be as much a problem as you might think, since unlike cruising in your RV, you're unlikely to cover an area larger than what you can download while on foot or boat.

If you're planning a trek outside your vehicle this Summer, take a look at the PN-20. It sells for less than $400 at DeLorme.com and may be worth your life if you're lost in the woods.

And where have you been?

Some of us are obsessed with where we are about to go. Others may be equally enthusiastic about just where they've been. Then there are those that want to know how much the trip cost, plotted on a map, what their fuel mileage was, and so on.

For those of you with that kind of desire (and the right kind of cell phone) try Driving Log from Concrete Software. It runs on your cell phone, links to your GPS, and collects data for display and analysis. And you can even let all of us more casual travelers in on your adventures by displaying your results online.