By Chris Guld, GeeksOnTour.com
From the Oregon Trail in Wyoming, to George Washington’s boyhood home in the Chesapeake, we’ve driven by a lot of historical markers in our motorhome this summer. I’m always curious when I see the sign, but rarely enough to pull over. So, I use the app called “Explore Here.” Just open it up to the homepage, and I see a category called “Nearby.” If we just passed a marker, it will show up in this section. I’ve been impressed with how complete it is. It uses the Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org) as its source.
Yesterday we were driving on the Tidewater Trail in the Chesapeake area and saw a sign as we passed it. In order to read the sign, I pulled up my Explore Here app and looked at the nearby section. I could see that sign on the map, so I clicked and read the text. Many of the signs also have photos. There is also a setting to get a push notification when you are passing a historical marker.
The app currently is only available on Apple iOS although they claim it is “coming soon” to Android. Meanwhile, on Android you can go directly to the source, the HMdb.org website, and you will also see a “near you” button there.
- App: Explore Here
- Cost: Free
- Available on: iOS, Android coming soon
- Author: Wes Vance
Chris Guld is President and Teacher-in-Chief at GeeksOnTour.com. She and her husband, Jim, produce a free YouTube show called What Does This Button Do? They have been Fulltime RVers, popular seminar presenters at RV Rallies, and regular contributors to RVTravel.com, for many years.
##RVT1015
Thanks Chris and Wes. I’ve used it just a little and look forward to using while I travel.
Nice app, this will be very handy as we often pass roadside historical markers but haven’t stopped to read them. Re: cost, the Pro version with additional functionality is available at a subscription price or $9.99/yr.
There is another nice, complimentary app called “Roadside America” which lists lots of offbeat places. It would be great if the two were combined :-).
Good tip, some times with a trailer there is not room to safely stop, or enough notice that it is coming up.
Hello everyone! Wes here, I’m the founder and developer of ExploreHere. I’m happy to announce that both iOS and Android are now available in their respective stores!
I’m always looking for ways to improve the app, so if you have any suggestions – feel free to message me in the app, or chat with me on the website at explorehere.app.
Hi, Wes! Welcome! Thanks for the update on your app, which Chris Guld of Geeks on Tour wrote about recently. Good luck with your updated app. It’s very cool! Have a good night. 🙂 –Diane
It doesn’t display well when using larger fonts on iPhone.
Love this! A lot safer than trying to slow down, too. And the driver gets a real-time, customized tour from the passenger seat!
Can’t share on FB I get this message: Your message couldn’t be sent because it includes content that other people on Facebook have reported as abusive.
Not only would it not let me post but I am now blocked from posting in facebook for 24 hours. They say I abused the community standards.
That’s ridiculous! Sorry, rvgrandma. I hope your evening/night goes better. 🙂 –Diane
I agree then it will not let me send a complaint to Facebook about it.
It is hard because I am admin for a group of men/women whose spouse has Alzheimer’s or other dementias. But it is not my first time. Last spring I was in jail for using the word ‘beat’ in a post saying I hoped the republican candidate beats the democratic candidate. I was accused of inciting violence.
Sheesh! Sometimes our filter is a little over-zealous, but not like FB. That’s nuts! Plus, if I don’t agree with our filter bleeping something, I’ll just “adjust” the word that it bleeped and put it back in. Ha! Have a good night. 🙂 –Diane
Just fyi – I shared this article to my Facebook page and it worked just fine. No clue???
Can’t enter my email for the android updates…
I think I see what you mean, when I tap on the spot to enter my email, my keyboard appears and immediately disappears! I was able to copy my email from elsewhere, then paste it in. Or, you can use the chat feature on the author’s website wesvance.com to tell him about the issue
Hey Tim! Sorry about the email issue, I’m looking into that right now!
But also, as of a few days ago, the initial release for Android is available, and can be found on the Play Store!
I’d really appreciate any feedback you have about it.
Says it is not available yet for Android.
Right, while we wait for the Android version, you can use hmdb.org
Hey Richard, thanks for the patience, I’ve been working hard on the Android version and it’s now available on the Play Store!
Let me know what you think!
Thank you