About 16 months ago I had the pleasure of reviewing the Maptech program for this immediate area. The topo maps were superb and I have used them in planning for disasters while serving as a volunteer for our local American Red Cross chapter.

I admired the ability to visualize the contour lines and determine potential flooding based on this program and it has been most helpful.

Maptech has now released "The Complete National Park Collection" and I have the fun of reviewing it and using it as a service to the members of Alamo PC (and that is a GOOD deal, believe you me).

For those that missed the last article, a quick review of what a topological (topo) map is may be in order. This series of maps is prepared by the US government in order to show various geographical features using a scale of about 1 to 25,000. This translates into one inch on the map is equal to about 2,000 feet on the ground.

A contour line shows where a certain elevation above sea level runs so that you can see where the ground is steep (lines are close together) or where it is relatively flat. That makes planning a hike, for example, much easier.

A topo map, in and of itself, is a most useful tool for camping and hiking as well as looking for places to take magnificent photographs. Knowing a cliff is in front of you means that the view should be great.

Well, Maptech recognized those uses and came up with a bunch more that makes this program very special. For example, it includes all 54 national parks ranging from Alaska, Hawaii, Samoa, to California and Florida and all points in between.

The collection includes 12 CD-ROM's plus an installation disk, a program of enhanced digital elevation data and (are you ready for this) a cardboard 3-D viewer just like we used to get in the movies. Yup, one red and one blue lens so that the 3-D effect really stands out. More about this a bit later.

The program has a tour mode that allows you to try all the icons and to try and remember what they all do. A small manual comes with the program to help you get started on it. The opening screen showing a part of the Grand Canyon.

Please note the large number of icons across the top. These are the keys to using the program and getting the most out of it. It will take time but it is well worth it and small manual is a big help in determining which icon does what. You can also pause the mouse arrow on the icon and get an idea of its' use.

Compare the 3-D view with the "normal" view and you can see just how easy it is to determine the type of terrain you are going to see. The contrast is startling and can really help plan activities and improve safety.

Want more? Well, how about clicking on the heading "Park" where you get info on lodging, camping, activities, etc. ALONG with the approximate cost of the lodging and driving directions, activity costs and a whole lot more.

You can sit at home, call the furnished number and make reservations as you work on the vacation. You can build a travel budget that will be fairly accurate. The pictures are great and will help the entire family plan on what they want to do.

It would take the average computer user about six hours to get fairly comfortable with the Maptech program since there are so many different things to find in each park.

Among the ones that are available for the serious camper/hiker is the ability to use GPS navigation and the CD at the same time much like a navigation system in a car. The program will accept input from 10 different GPS makers including a generic system. I did not test this function.

Other neat things that you can do are using line-of-sight to determine how much up/down slope you may face and the ability to draw, name, and save your own trails.

In short, this program is great for planning vacations, for exploring our National Parks, for planning day trips from a site, for dreaming and a whole lot more.

Maptech is offering a real bargain for this massive program. Go to MapTech and they will be glad to sell this to you for $49.95 which is half price. That is about $4 per CD and that is as good as it is going to get.

Go for it. You will be amazed at just how easy it will be to use this complex program and explore places you might never get to see. I doubt that I will be able to get to Samoa but I can see the beaches from my computer with the aid of this program.

One word of caution since each CD requires separate installation so you can tie up a significant amount of space on the hard drive. Each disk also requires you enter your registration form the first time you use it, so guard it well.