New programs for mobile devices keep coming for Route 66 travelers. Now we have a “Road Trip 66” app that was made available for iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads about a week ago.
It arrives about the same time as the RoadsideAmerica.com app for Garmin global-positioning units. And, in December, the Route 66 Attractions app also was released for Garmin GPSes.
After playing with the “Road Trip 66” app for a day or so and exchanging e-mails with its creator, I’m confident roadies and even novice Route 66 travelers will find it useful.
“Road Trip 66” contains more than 1,400 roadside attractions, motels, neon signs, restaurants, and museums on the Mother Road. Using a Google Maps base, it helps guide you down the proper path of Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica.
The download from the Apple app store costs $3.99, and requires an iOS 4.0 or later for iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads.
“Road Trip 66” isn’t strictly a GPS system. But if you have Internet access, or use the iPhone’s or iPad’s 3G connection, the app will figure out your approximate location. It won’t give you turn-by-turn directions. But it will show you Route 66’s path with a big red overlay on Google Maps. It’s easy to follow. And even without a connection, you can still use the app for trip-planning.
From there, the online app shows all of the Route 66 attractions with virtual push-pins. Or, if you wish, you can opt to see a list. You simply tap the push-pin or item with your finger for more information. That includes address, phone number and website (if applicable). Many of the detail listings also include a photograph.
Screen-shot examples of the Cadillac Ranch listing are shown below:
The app proves to be intuitive. You can move the map to another location by sweeping your finger across the screen, or you can use the app’s search function. The map can be enlarged or shrunk.
More about the app’s features can be found here, or in the Apple app store.
I admired the app for including many obscure Route 66 alignments or landmarks in its mapping, including Admiral Place in Tulsa, the Los Lunas alignment near Albuquerque, Tank Farm Loop near Bristow, Okla., Sidewalk Highway near Miami and Afton, Okla., and La Bajada Hill in New Mexico. For this reason alone, the “Road Trip 66” app will come in handy for many travelers.
The app also provides a “Wanna Go!” button so you can keep track of the Route 66 attractions that you want to see.
One problem I encountered with the app was it sometimes crashed when I swept my finger too fast. Then again, my iTouch is almost two years old, so the problem may be attributed to my device’s age.
I found a number of errors in the listings, a few of which may be attributed to development deadlines. (After all, Apple apps can’t be built overnight.) But the reason I’m not as hard in this review as I was with a recent Route 66 book is because the developer has promised to update the app at least quarterly and is encouraging users to submit corrections or additions. That’s one of the big advantages apps have over books — they can be quickly updated for future and current users.
That leads us to this: “Road Trip 66” is the brainchild of Kansas City-based designer Kelly Ludwig, who also has created “Best Roadtrip Ever!” apps for varying sections of the United States. She said in an e-mail:
For a number of years, I volunteered/traveled with a KC-based PBS travel series “Rare Visions & Roadside Revelations,” shooting photos of amazing folk art environments & meeting the artists, mostly along the back roads.
As you well know, all roads eventually lead to 66. My first trek was too many years ago in college with a couple of friends. Just this past Christmas, I drove back to Amarillo meet that friend and his family, so that we could drive a section 66 together, and revisit scenes from old photos we took on that Spring Break trip. I have been known to travel between KC and St. Louis or Michigan or Tahlequah via Route 66.
Driving gives you time to think. Through the small towns, and witnessing the pride in their Route 66 heritage (and economic survival) created this overwhelming desire to help in some way, the best way I know how. Promote.
I decided to use what I know (travel, Route 66, design & photography) and apply it to what I want to learn (an easier way to have travel resources at my finger tips, instead of sprawled throughout the car, sliding onto the floor board when I stop.) I found a partner, Propaganda 3, willing to kick in his company’s technology resources and I have spent the last two years researching, testing and designing.
Hopefully, the app (technology) will bring a new crop of 66-ers on the road, who, too will fall in love with it and want to support the businesses and preserve the treasures.
(Hat tip: Sara)