historical marker travel app

Taking a Road Trip? This App Will Tell You the History of the Places You're Passing

By jake rossen | aug 28, 2020.

Road trips have become a form of escape for people in recent months owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Providing travelers observe social distancing measures during stops and plan carefully, they can be a safe way of visiting new places and getting in a change of scenery.

Now, a new iPhone app backed by Kevin Costner can help provide some context. It’s called HearHere , and it offers details on the history and attractions found along your route. As you drive, you’ll hear audio vignettes roughly two to three minutes in length that relate to the surrounding landscape. See that nearby mountain? HearHere might tell you how it got its name. Spot a historical marker along the highway? You’ll get the story.

The app was created by entrepreneur Woody Sears and former North Face president Bill Werlin. Costner, a co-founder of the company, provides some of the narration. The app currently offers roughly 1500 stories covering California, Oregon, and Washington, with plans to expand to more than 10,000 stories covering the entire United States for both iOS and Android by next summer. Listeners can tell HearHere to offer stories based on interests, from history to sports .

HearHere offers five stories for free, with a $49.99 annual subscription being offered for a promotional price of $24.99 through August 31. It’s available in the App Store.

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Teaching old dogs new tricks with technology.

Apps for Travelers: Field Trip and Historical Markers

April 6, 2018.

(2021 update: Field Trip is no longer available , check out Explore Here or Clio )

We spent some time in the Portland area a while back and one day we took a delightful walk on the Washington side of the Columbia river.  The city of Vancouver maintains a wonderful paved path for a couple of miles along the river’s edge and we were out for some exercise.  Along the way, we were intrigued by a statue of beautiful woman.  We assumed this statue represented Sacagawea, but, as we admired it, the smartphone in my pocket rang a special alert letting me know that the Field Trip App had some information for me.  Aha!  It was an informational card on this statue.

We were wrong, this wasn’t Sacagawea at all.  The card that popped up on my screen informed us that this was the Ilchee Moon Girl, daughter of Chinook Chief Concomley and, later, wife of  Chief Casinos leader in Vancouver area.  According to the card, the Ilchee Moon Girl had the power of a Shaman and she paddled her own canoe, the sign of a chief.  Cool!

Read Historical Markers while you Drive

Both Jim and I love history and we would love to stop every time we see a road sign that says, “Historical Marker Ahead,” but we find that is near impossible when you’re traveling in a motorhome towing a car.  I have the Historical Marker Database app on our smartphones, but I’ve learned that all of that information is now incorporated in the Field Trip app.  Now, whenever I see the sign “Historical Marker Ahead,” I will also hear that special ring on my phone.  I pick up my phone and look at the notifications to see the Field Trip icon.  With one tap of my finger, I am able to read the complete text of the roadside marker and Jim doesn’t even have to take the rig out of cruise control.  If you are traveling solo, you can set the app to read it to you.  If your rig has a radio with Bluetooth capability, you can hear it thru your radio’s speakers.

Field Trip is a Free App by Google for Android and iPhone

iPhone: On an iPhone, open the App Store and use the search (magnifying glass icon) feature.  Type in Field Trip and tap Search or Enter.  You should see the binoculars icon and a Free button.  Tap the free button and it will convert to ‘Install.’ Tap install.  You will need to know your AppleID password to continue.

iPad: This app is designed for the iPhone.  It will run on the iPad, but you won’t see it listed with iPad apps, you need to select the option to show iPhone apps.  Then you can search for it and install.  If you can’t find it, then use your browser to go to the FieldTripper.com website.  There you will see a button for “Available on the App Store,”  tap that and you will be directed to the install option.

Options: Once you have it installed, take a minute to peruse the different options.  You have your choice of viewing Field Trip by a Map, Nearby points of interest, Recent points of interest, or Favorite points of interest.  Each point is represented by a card.  Tapping on the card icon in the menu bar shows you all the different sources of the various cards and you can choose to see less or more from each source.  The explorer’s hat icon lets you select how often you want notifications of nearby cards, and the gear icon lets you select options like when to read the cards to you and how to notify you of nearby cards.  You can turn off notifications altogether if you don’t want it to be sounding alerts when you’re not on vacation.  However, I left it on and even learned some things about my own hometown!  If battery life is an issue for you, you may want to leave this off more often than not.

Using the Map view , you can browse a destination other than your current location.  Just zoom in on a location until you see the little colored card markers telling you that there is something of interest there.  Tap the marker and read the card.  It’s a virtual tour guide in your pocket.

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2 replies on “apps for travelers: field trip and historical markers”.

Thanks for the info; I just downloaded Field Trip and look forward to using it. I first met you two at one of your classes at Peace River; in 2002/2003?, perhaps your first season as full-timers. I’ve been following you ever since because you give such good advice/tips.

Just downloaded Field Trip. Up pop a ton of info about our home town, Los Gatos! Can’t wait to take our walk this morning. It will be wonderful when we travel. Another great tip from “The Geeks”!! Thanks.

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Kevin Costner's new travel app will narrate your next American road trip

Aug 18, 2020 • 2 min read

Kevin Costner has co-founded an audio entertainment app for road-trippers across the US © HearHere

Oscar-winning actor, Kevin Costner, has co-founded an audio entertainment app for road-trippers across the US . HearHere is an iPhone app that tells travelers the stories of the people, places and histories of the land they're traveling through, presented in a travel podcast format.

With international travel curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, road trips are becoming an increasingly popular option. HearHere describes itself as a network of stories, told by master storytellers like Costner and Hall of Fame basketball coach Phil Jackson, with the power to bring a location's landscape, people and history alive as you pass through it. At present, it is offering more than 1500 stories covering the west coast of California , Oregon and Washington on the iPhone app, and by next summer, it plans to offer more than 10,000 stories covering the entire US on both Android and iOS.

Co-founded by Woody Sears, Bill Werlin and Kevin Costner, the audio vignettes combine to paint a picture you’re unlikely to get from a history book or visitor's guide. The app's subjects include history, sports, culture, music and geology, and listeners can stream five stories for free. Following the free trial, the app's annual $49.99 (€42.15) subscription is being offered at the promotional price of $24.99 (€21.08) until 31 August 2020. The subscription includes offline listening for future or home listening.

“I love stories,” Costner writes. “I am the guy that stops at the historical markers along the highway—usually bringing moans from everyone in the car. But it was this continuing curiosity that I began to think HearHere could satisfy without anyone having to leave the car. Why couldn’t we replicate every marker along the highway—even expanding from the usual paragraph in bronze that always left me wanting more.”

Further information on the HearHere app is available here .

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Kevin costner’s new road trip app tells history stories tailored exactly to the places you are driving through.

Many of us remember a time, before the internet, when the primary source of historical tidbits we garnered as kids came from stories told by our parents or school teachers. Now an iPhone app co-founded by Hollywood star Kevin Costner seeks to tailor that experience to road-tripping families.

Understanding that the family road trip is one of the quintessentially American vacations, HearHere delivers short, interesting audio tidbits as you and your family drive across America’s vast expanses.

The narration team includes Costner, Hall of Fame Basketball Coach Phil Jackson, and others, who tell stories about points of interest, a region, native tribes, the local history of war, art, culinary tradition, and more. (See two examples in the video below.)

“I am in love with history. I am in love with Country. I am in love with all the edges, all the disappointments, all the progress—all worth knowing,” writes Costner, who explains that HearHere is the perfect compromise between himself, a lover of history, and his kids, who regularly moan in protest because Costner inevitably stops at every roadside brown historical marker during their annual road trips.

“We’re launching HearHere with stories for California, Oregon, and Washington. Soon, we’ll canvas the US with more than 10,000 stories for you to enjoy.”

They are working on an app for Android phones, too.

Oral tradition in the age of technology

For hundreds of thousands of years, the only method which humans had for passing down information through the generations was by oral storytelling, a cultural and evolutionary trait that gave rise to societies where everything was codified in myth and legend.

RELATED : Google Maps Now Features COVID-19 Travel Alerts With Social Distancing Mandates And Crowd Levels

In today’s world, more and more parents, like HearHere co-founder Woody Sears, will be strapping-in their kids for a road trip with iPads in their hands. As technology makes it easier and easier for kids to keep their short attention spans focused, they perhaps lose the opportunity to have those seminole, enlightening, formational moments that we as adults look back on and recognize as important.

“Kevin loves to stop at all the historical markers and share that history with his kids but the kids aren’t nearly as excited about this,” explains Sears on the HearHere website . “With HearHere, they can get that history while they are in their car, told at the perfect time in their drive without even requiring a stop.”

Available with a free-trial, the app has a yearly subscription of $49.99 and is running at half off until the end of August. Though the stories only feature events, people, and places from Washington, Oregon, and California, the company is quickly expanding to cover the rest of the country.

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“Legacy is important to me—and the idea that HearHere could preserve our collective experiences in an unflinching way was – for me – the greatest opportunity of all,” writes Costner. Check out his stories on the app’s promotional video below…

STEER This Cool Story to Your Traveling Mates on Social Media…

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The Texas Historical Commission's Texas History Navigator is your ultimate companion for uncovering rich historic gems scattered across the great state of Texas. Whether you're a history enthusiast, a curious traveler, or simply looking for a unique adventure, this app is your gateway to exploring fascinating historical places all across the Lone Star State. Features: Discover Historical Places: Embark on a captivating journey through time as you explore a curated collection of significant historical sites, landmarks, historic markers, county courthouses and more. Easy Navigation: Texas History Navigator integrates with your device's GPS to provide turn-by-turn navigation to any of our catalogued sites. Enjoy a hassle-free experience as the app guides you to the historical places with precision and efficiency. Audio Readings: Immerse yourself in the captivating stories and detailed information about each historical place. Texas Explorer offers an innovative audio reading feature that provides narration for the location you're visiting. Sit back, relax, and let the app bring history to life. Uncover forgotten stories, explore hidden treasures, and immerse yourself in the vibrant tapestry of the Lone Star State's past. Get ready for an unforgettable historical adventure like no other! Download Texas Explorer now and unlock the secrets of Texas's captivating history. Uncover forgotten stories, explore hidden treasures, and immerse yourself in the vibrant tapestry of the Lone Star State's past. Get ready for an unforgettable historical adventure like no other! Download Texas Explorer now and unlock the secrets of Texas's captivating history.

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