For my entire professional career I have been a journalist, telling the story with a camera and the written word.

Regardless of what my position has been in the news business, first as a photojournalist and columnist and finally as Editor of a publication in one of the largest chains of local newspapers in the nation, the outdoors has always been  my first love.

I hope you find my experiences in the outdoors, both past and present of help to you in enjoying the true world as it was meant to be.

Lawrence DiVizio

Topographic maps

Finding maps of the area you plan to explore can at times be a bit difficult, and you don't always want to spend the time and money it takes to get quads from the U.S. Geological Survey. Here in Michigan there is a ready source of topos on the Web through the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Web site.

The maps are offered in PDF form and you can download them for free. What takes time is finding the map you want, they are accessible thru a large scale map of the state, andyou have to more or less look and move from quad to quad to find the exact area.

Not bad for free, and depending upon the quality of your printer, you can get a pretty acceptable map you can use on the trail. Just be aware of the fact that as with most of the topos offered, they have not been updated for a while and if printed on an ink jetprinter, they will run if they get wet. What I do is cover them with the self-stick laminating sheets you can purchase in office supply stores. I even do this when I print them on my laser printer so the paper will hold up in humid conditions.

So check out the site and get a head start on looking over the next place you want to explore.