obtaining USGS maps

“Aaarrrggghhh!!! I just spent an hour trying to order some USGS 7.5 min quads from the USGS website. I knew the names of the maps I wanted and it still took forever to figure out. Needless to say, their site is not very user friendly Finally after all that, I placed the order...and realized that you have to call in your credit card number to pay, because they don't offer online payment. Typical government. But of course I didn't realize that until after my order number was gone. There has to be a better way. Any suggestions?”

“Go to any US Forest Service and have them order them for you.”

“Sorry, that was supposed to say USForest service office. You pay for them when you pick them up.”

“We use USGS maps in our office all the time. Several local maps stores carry them. Sometimes you don't even need to order them. I can give you a phone number for a store here in Michigan, I know they ship them. Maybe try Rand McNally?”

“Topozone is a place to grab some free ones if you feel like printing your own.

Terrain Navigator is one I own. It's a series of CDs covering all the USGS maps of a whole state. It's nice because you can plot a trip and it will tell you mileage and elevation gain/loss.”

“TN looks cool. Oh Saaaaanta...?”