By the way, if anyone is looking for maps to display, I really like the ones from Raven Maps and Images.

I have a copy of their Maine one hanging on my office wall and a second one under some plexi glass on my work desk. Recently we also bought a laminated North America one that hangs in our family/play room and the One World Map (quite large) one to hang (though it hasn't made it on the wall yet).

Note that they're very big with lots of topographical detail. We frequently say to our kids, "I'll show you on the map," in answer to a question.

When I was a kid my dad had a world globe in his study. He often told us about places and showed them to us on the globe. As we got older we referenced the globe on our own. Maps are fantastic teaching tools for young and old alike.

I have a map of the Southeast on my wall so I can look and see exactly where places are I'm reading about. Mine has all the mountain ranges and sub ranges listed. Then I also have three state topo index maps on the wall as well.

Thanks for the links!

Globes are great. I had one as a kid. We wanted to get our young son one last year, but didn't want to spend a lot of money on something that might be outdated quickly. So, we went this route:

Basically it's a beach ball. We got both a topo and a country inflatable globe.

That's cool!

One thing I really like about the National Trails map is that, unlike most maps from the various federal agencies, it shows all the major federal land units -- National Parks, National Forests, National Wildlife Refuges, and BLM land -- nationwide.

Thank you so much for this. Years ago my grand father mentioned how he wanted to walk across the country. He asked me to do it for him. Maybe I will, but this map at least shows some ways that are not on highways.