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maps & cameras

When it comes to the idea of exploring via maps & cameras, I do that a lot, but in a different way, via this:


Some neat areas in there. Some of them are popular areas, others are ones that I saved... the one where I load up a spot that starts with a single house directly in view is where I'm at, and you can get an idea of the sort of area I'm in. Lucky in that there is real quiet here... the roads nearby are barely used. The park in particular, which I do show in there, has no outside sounds coming in and is always just nature noises (unless the park guys are there, keeping the paths maintained, they do a good job).

There is a lot of places to explore in there. Though, it's not the only program that can do things like that. A very different one:


That program is very specific for that particular place, a shrine named Fushimi Inari, found in Japan. Since this program focuses on one area rather than, well, the entire bloody planet, you get a LOT of detail up close.

There are others like this too. Many others. And of course, some programs that are about places you cant truly reach... gotta say, the moon is pretty quiet. So is the Horsehead Nebula.

I like to show off the VR stuff like this because I really think this tech can be VERY beneficial for those on the spectrum. And it's a lot of fun, with a great many things to do. But yeah, GREAT from a sensory standpoint, and has many potential therapeutic uses.

And as you can see, you can explore the world and learn things via it too.
 
Yes indeed tech can be beneficial for people on the spectrum.

I look forward to trying new explorations next time I take my laptop to the library.

I have a few google earth pics saved of peaks & favorite high altidtude lakes I’ve hiked. Also a couple of places I hope to visit again once international travel feels safer. Hopefully that’ll happen sooner rather than later.
 
Before some of this, I had to rely on books. But, I like experiencing things in person, as that is a full sensory experience. You may think you see a steam train, but experiencing a ride engages all senses. One of the best, I remember, is the Cumbres & Toltec out of Chama, NM. Or, how would one describe Yellowstone NP?
 
@Gerald Wilgus
I enjoy maps and cameras in addition to real-life travel, real-life movement. :)
Certainly real in-person experiences are usually better and more intense. Since some of us on the spectrum have trouble with travel, being out & about, etc.; it’s good to have the option of the virtual.
I love travel except for airports & other crowded, loud, overly bright places. Those cause me a lot of trouble, but with some strategies I get through them. Well, most of the time.
 
Maps and cameras, two of my favourite things :)... I mean in real life

Nothing beats traveling a desolate road on the prairies, using my back roads atlas to navigate (I mean the paper kind, not a computer GPS! :rolleyes:), and the camera part is obvious for those who know me...

Sometimes I do pre-scout a location on Google Maps streetview, before I plan to go somewhere... Check out Manyberries, Alberta on streetview, one of my favourite small towns...
 
Yeshuasdaughter said:
Maps are my happy place. I could stare at maps for hours. I don't like the intrusion of cameras everywhere. It's disturbing. However, I love traveling to far off places with the satellite view of Google maps.

I just love, love exploring maps. Especially old maps and atlases. It's my autism happy place.
Click to expand...

I recently purchased a 1938 road map of western Canada for a great deal, I have a small collection of vintage Canadian road maps, that 1938 map is by far my oldest one...
 
watersprite said:
@Gerald Wilgus
I enjoy maps and cameras in addition to real-life travel, real-life movement. :)
Certainly real in-person experiences are usually better and more intense. Since some of us on the spectrum have trouble with travel, being out & about, etc.; it’s good to have the option of the virtual.
I love travel except for airports & other crowded, loud, overly bright places. Those cause me a lot of trouble, but with some strategies I get through them. Well, most of the time.
Click to expand...
@watersprite, I agree, especially airports.

I used to pore over USGS Topo maps when contemplating hikes or waterproof river maps like the Belknap River Guides to Lodore/Dinosaur or Desolation Canyon. On my first trip through Desolation, a work trip with the Forest Service, we had flash floods every day which created changes. Our group was the first to run a new rapid that we named Belknap Falls. It's now in the guidebooks and I never thought that I'd ever have a first run to my credit.
 
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Yeshuasdaughter said:
Maps are my happy place. I could stare at maps for hours. I don't like the intrusion of cameras everywhere. It's disturbing. However, I love traveling to far off places with the satellite view of Google maps.

I just love, love exploring maps. Especially old maps and atlases. It's my autism happy place.
Click to expand...
I could get lost in maps. and I have always had a soft spot for illustrated maps. Some are quite delightful. Don't get me started about Atlases and Globes. I had a Great Aunt who was an early travel agent in Detroit. I loved visiting Joan Anderson Travel at a time when travel agents had to know their stuff. I avidly pored over all the literature she had and was fascinated by models that carriers gave to top agents. I have certificates from her that airlines used to give travelers when they crossed the equator and date line.
 
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I thought I was the only one who did that for fun. Just roll out an old map, orient it for north(I just have to have it like that) and look at it for hours.
I have the road atlases as well, one of them is full of notes (I have a system) and missing its cover. It was so much fun wandering around
 
watersprite said:
I have had my old topo of Yosemite encased in plastic and up on the wall. Great memories.
Click to expand...

Omgosh. I use to live in Groveland, near Yosemite. Beautiful area to grow up in. It was a great place to wander around as a child. Our closest town was Modesto and we would take a very windy road called old grave road due to the amount of logging trucks that flew off and down into the canyon. My dad almost lost his life on this exact road. He said the weight of his older buick kept him from going over. A car came barreling down on the wrong side of this very narrow road.

What is it about maps? I love a map of where l live or places l visited. I also like to see the maps of ski resort hills so l can determine where l will spend my day. Miss those days.☹
 
@Aspychata Used to take the back road into Yosemite: the old Priest grade. Saw a guy in a car lose brakes partway down, because he didn’t know to downshift. It ended with his car up against the bumper of the truck in front of him. They braked for both vehicles.
 
watersprite said:
@Aspychata Used to take the back road into Yosemite: the old Priest grade. Saw a guy in a car lose brakes partway down, because he didn’t know to downshift. It ended with his car up against the bumper of the truck in front of him. They braked for both vehicles.
Click to expand...
Not surprising. I enjoy driving the intermontain West and the frequency that I see people riding their brakes down grades is alarming. There is the old saw that Americans know how to steer cars, not drive them.
 
Daydreaming today about travels.
Came across a video channel which is about one of my favorite places.

If you have claustrophobia, you might want to avoid the parts about old mines. :D

 
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