Use google maps to plan your travel

Now everyone knows how to use google map to locate a place, finding driving or public transit directions and printing the turn by turn directions. Slightly more advanced use knows how to check local business with ratings and reviews, or drag the route to avoid certain roads on the fly, etc. Here are some instructions that you might not know for using google maps to plan your travel (which I learned for my Yosemite trip). I would like to share this on the blog, and hopefully saving some time googleing for my next travel trip.

1. Create a "my map". If you noticed the "my map" link on the right of "get direction" link, you can almost get started without even look at this on-line user guide.
2. Import other people's "my map", your earlier "my map", or duplicate your "my map". For example, I found there is already a bunch of good Yosemite trail maps, such as this one. I don't want to duplicate the work, but put several trail maps into my own "my map".
   2.1) Open the larger map in a regular google map window.
   2.2) Right click "view in google earth" icon, select copy link location.
   2.3) In your own "my map", make sure it's in editing mode, and click "import" on the right of "collaborate", paste the copied link location, done.
3. Print your "my map". I have to admit that the default print is a bad choice (try and you'll see why). So far, I think this converter does the trick.

There is also a way to import the direction map into "my map", but I won't recommend it, because the solutions I found are buggy and clumsy.