Wheels: Before GPS took us off map

I used to have a collection of road maps. They held a place of prominence in my home office and our family Vanagon had a plastic bin full of them under the seat, along with some crayons and paper — for the kids, really. I’d collect local maps whenever they were available, never knowing when they might come in handy for finding an alternate route to a traffic-clogged highway or just a more scenic way to get to a destination.

When I was a kid, road maps were free at gas stations and rest stops and nearly every car had one in its glove compartment. They were handy for getting unlost, mapping out a route ahead of time, spreading over your lap while eating lunch, and jotting down notes with a spare pencil, when those were also common deep in the glove compartment. A road map could be wedged in the crack of a squeaky dashboard, stuffed next to the visor to block the sun, or used in a pinch to wipe the dipstick clean when checking the oil was a thing.