Forty years ago when I traveled the country by automobile as a salesman, I was intrigued by the use of mile marker posts as locaters on interstate highways as the system was being built. Initially they were used by truckers for “smokey” locations and quickly the CB radio network proliferated. Soon automobile travelers joined and for many years “CBers” were and still are a primary communication network on interstate highways.
My idea started with those mile markers (mm’s) locating a traveler, then identifying destinations (another mm or an exit mm), and finally how to put that information into print to help travelers find those exits with services and locate destinations as they traveled. Traditional maps/atlases added interstate and mile marker information, making them overly detailed and unwieldy. The result is they serve little use during a trip. And presently no map/atlas exists that uses mile markers to help the traveler keep track of his trip and to easily find the many services located at exits as he travels.
The KNOWhereToGo on interstates answers these needs. It is spiral bound (8.5”x 11”) and is designed to conveniently remain open as you drive. Mile markers and mileages are included on the maps at key points. The level of map enlargement (explained below) determines the amount of mile marker detail included . As your trip progresses, the distances to different destinations along your route can easily be determined. The distance to a destination is the difference between the mm (at your location) and the destination mm (on the map). Traveling at 60 miles per hour translates miles into time (a mile a minute). To keep the maps uncluttered, motel/hotel & restaurant services located at the interstate exits (identified by mm) are not included on the maps, but rather are listed in convenient tabular formats at the end of each set of maps, in exit number sequence (ascending). As you approach these exits, the table lists the available services.
Mile markers are the key to KNOWhereToGo maps. The interstate system is divided into ten regions (3-7 states per region). That division allows display of each region on three levels of detail, while maintaining each map’s simplicity. Prior to the ten regions, an overall view is shown on one map, displayed on two sets of facing pages including only mileage between interstate intersections.
The first level of each region is a map of the region on one page with mm’s for interstate intersections & state lines, and mileage between intersections. The second level is the region enlarged to multiple pages (from two to five) to increase the detail, particularly designed to follow your trip. Mile Markers are added for many cities, state & US highways, rest areas, service plazas (toll roads), and beltways around some major cities. Metro areas around major cities comprise the third level.
KNOWhereToGo on interstates can also be used as a trip planner or to supplement computer trip services. The connector system assigns a number (highlighted in yellow) where an interstate crosses from one region into another. The distances across regions from one connector to another are contained in tables (totaling the mileage segments). Alternate routes for long trips can be compared by adding a few distances from the table. One map on three pages includes the interstate system, all connectors and the distance tables.
I hope that you will find this guide as useful as it was designed to be.
Bruce Rodgers,
Publisher
