Seen all the theme parks? Tired of geocaching? How about an adventure into the past guided by historical maps?

When I lived in New Haven I used to go to the Yale map library and check out old maps of the north east. Comparing maps from the 1800, 1900 and now one can see how regions changed. Settlers came, eeked(sp?) out a living on small farms in the Adirondacks, Catskills, Appachians etc. On the old maps they even often marked the names of people living on the farms and in the small villages. These farms, roads and villages started to disappear on the 1950's and '60s maps.

I used to bring copies of 100year old maps in the Westy, then take trips along the back roads imagining how it would have been a 100 years ago, with houses and barns where now only stone foundations remain, cows herded across the Catskills mountains, where there is now only forest, and people walking or riding on then well used trails, which are now only faint tracks through the woods.

So if you are into an adventure of that kind, check out where historical maps and records are kept in your region, copy some of the original material and set out in the Westy. On some old farms, that are now reverted to public lands you could even set up camp with the Westy and pretend to be a first settler yourself. (And you'll find that many regions that were settled and lively 100 years ago are now so deserted that probably nobody would notice if you stayed the night)

Sure you can find predigested guidebooks to the past, but following those will only take you to where the masses go. Doing a little research yourself and you will truly get off the beaten track.

Cheers,
Martin (with adventureous '82 Westy 1.9TD "Poppie")

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