Maps and Books and too much to do.

My to-do list is growing faster than my to-done list. I keep thinking of all the old things I did with previous trips along with new things I'll do this time. I am either getting too imaginative or too scattered. In any case I need to get to work(er)!

I called the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center in Ketchikan yesterday and had a good discussion with the person on call. We decided, for what I was doing, to use three maps for my ferry/island leg.

Tongas National Forest NFS map. This is the stretch of U.S. National Forest from the BC border on the south all the way to Skagway/Haines (BC border on the north). It has most of the forest roads as well as all of the campgrounds.

Wrangell Island map is an enlargement of the island with more details, trails, and roads than the USFS maps.

Prince of Wales Island road map is the only map that shows all of the roads.

Other maps and books I am bringing along:

Mileposts 2009 edition. I just bought the new one (used it before). It is deemed the bible for Alaska RV travel but... It is annoying with all the ads and the way it is put together and it is thick and heavy (to accommodate the advertising I imagine). I have better data this time with the book shown next.

Alaskan Camping by Mike and Terri Church. It is a campground-rvpark book and real easy to read. Nice LARGE icons that describe at a glance what amenities the sites have to offer... and best of all, NO ADVERTISING. Far superior to Milepost which is the old standby. Thinking sometimes old myths die hard... because it is untrue that Milepost is a must-have (I was a believer of this myth also until I got the Church's book). Milepost will be stored deep under the drivers seat for most of the trip but this book will be on the dash.

Alaska Atlas by Delorme. I have used this each trip. As a road atlas goes, it works.

British Columbia Road Atlas, by MapArt. Fine for a semi-dash-top map reference but very rough. No forest roads or logging roads or campsites. I'll take it along but I don't recommend it.

I'll also take two copies of each of the Automobile Club maps of the states and provinces I will tour.

I'll post/edit new books and maps here later.