Do you ever plug in your driving route on your phone only to be foiled by technology?
Your phone's battery dies or it shuts off from the heat? Or it doesn't properly navigate you because there's no cell tower for miles? Or, even worse, you type in Mexico and it tries to take you to the country, not the city.
What would you think if you could have a tool to help you navigate without your phone, or even the need for any technology? That would be the ideal backup, at least.
The Missouri Department of Transportation makes such a thing for the motoring public: It's called a map.
You can up a copy from your local MoDOT district office or at the Highway Gardens Expo Center at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia.
If you pick up a copy now, you can get the Bicentennial Edition of the Official Missouri Highway Map, which celebrates 200 years of travel in the Show-Me State.
It features a brief history of travel in Missouri, beginning before the state was ratified on Aug. 10, 1821, through frontier days and into the state's modern era with 33,830 miles of state-maintained routes, 4,800 miles of railroad tracks, 1,380 miles of Interstate highways, 125 public-use airports and 15 public ports.
The map is also great for locating public-use airports, hospitals, colleges and universities, national forests, state parks and conservation areas.
There are more than 4,000 highway shields and 1,500 towns shown on the front of the current map. More than 60 separate features are shown in this new map.
MoDOT said more than 1 million people have requested or picked up the maps over the past two years. It prints 1.3 million every two years.
If you can't make it to the fair, you can order a state map by calling 1-888-ASK-MODOT (275-6636) or request a map online at modot.org/official-state-highway-map.
We encourage you to get a copy of MoDOT's Bicentennial Edition of the Missouri map. Then celebrate our state's 200th birthday by taking a road trip to one of our state's great tourist destinations.
News Tribune