Mad Maps, a Maps.com company, produces the Scenic Road Trip Adventures maps, which are designed to give the traveler some fun ideas and routes in particular regions of the country.

They are made of a plastic-like material that doesn’t feel much thicker than paper, but holds up many times better. They are easily folded to show the area you need.

The maps are waterproof—well, resistant anyway—and we didn’t encounter any major rain. They did withstand me spilling water on one over a lunch stop. The water dripped right off, and the map was unaffected.

I particularly liked the color identification and numbering of the routes, making it very easy to check on the features of that particular ride and follow it along the way.

The maps were put to the test on a road trip along U.S. Route 66 with my father. We had planned this trip for years, and when I got the Mad Maps delivered it was a wonderful opportunity to try them out.

As a motorcyclist, I have stuck to the old-school way of highway exploration, having a map in my tank bag or simply riding until I’m tired, hungry or thirsty and stopping to look at where I am on a map and deciding which way to turn at that next intersection.

Since we were on Route 66, I brought the maps provided to me for the Texas Panhandle and New Mexico. I had never done this trip before and envisioned Route 66 as one big scenic adventure with constant stops and entertainment.

While the trip was great, Texas and New Mexico were not the highlights, at least not along Route 66. Thank goodness we brought the Mad Maps.

This stretch of Route 66 has almost completely been replaced by I-40 through these states. You are looking at a couple of days of interstate travel on this portion of the trip if you strictly stay on Route 66.

While that greatly improves travel time, it’s not the most entertaining way to go. We took a look our maps and diverted four times to routes identified on the maps. We didn’t complete the entire loops, because we were working our way east to west across the country, but we found some fun, entertaining roads and stops that we would have had no way of knowing existed had we not had the maps.

The beauty of Mad Maps is they tell you the things you’ll see along the route, which helps you make an educated decision on where to spend your precious time and gas money. I will be buying more when I take my next trip.

If you’re a bit old school and still like adventure, Mad Maps can make it fun. They would be awesome for putting together a scavenger hunt route, poker run or just a fun family ride day.

Todd Pfitzer is an AMA Charter Life Member from Omaha, Neb.