Looking at Fort Rodd Hill on a computer screen seems to miss the point of having national parks and historic sites. Yet Google鈥檚 new project to create virtual parks through its Street View is a fascinating marriage of technology and the outdoors.
Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse national historic sites and Gulf Islands National Park Reserve are among about 100 sites across sa国际传媒 where Google staffers carried their special 360-degree cameras in cars and boats and on foot. The Gulf Islands park has the distinction of being the first in sa国际传媒 to be photographed from a boat. About 50 of the sites are online now; the others are still being processed by Google.
Using Google maps, anyone can zoom in on a park and walk the trails without leaving home.
Dedicated wilderness trekkers who want to work up a sweat will find it thin gruel, even the best computer screen being unable to transmit the smell and feel of a forest trail.
But for families planning a trip or tourists looking for new sights, it鈥檚 a handy way to do some research. Instead of perusing a brochure or flipping through an online photo gallery, the prospective visitor can get down to ground level to see what the park has to offer.
For seniors and others with limited mobility, it could be the only way to explore some of sa国际传媒鈥檚 most beautiful and historic sites.
It鈥檚 no substitute for the real thing, but it鈥檚 a lot of fun.
Now if Google could develop an app that would carry our backpacks, that would be something.
