[caption id="attachment_4238" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="iphone"]
[/caption]Veronica Sturman - The Natchitoches Area Convention and Visitors Bureau launched a new
I-Phone app that acts as a guide to central Louisiana. The app, called
Explore Louisiana Crossroads, is ad- free, cost-free, and now available
at the I-Tunes App store.
It was released the first week of January. I
downloaded the app on an I-Pad last week after interviewing Brandi
Bradford, age 39, lead park ranger at the Grand Ecore Visitors Center.
This app was Brandi’s idea.
Brandi’s friend, who works for the
Great Smokey Mountain National Park, gave her the idea for this app. The
Smokey Mountain National Park was the first to use this technology.
Brandi went to the Convention and Visitors Bureau in July, 2010, and
began discussions about making this app.
They started working on it in
August, and it was on the market the first week of January. Brandi
said, “It was fun to make, but it was hard work.” She worked a lot of
late hours and had help from her partners at the Association for the
Preservation of Historic Natchitoches, Cane River Creole National
Historical Park, Cane River National Heritage Area, Cane River Waterway
Commission, City of Natchitoches Historic District, Natchitoches Area
Convention and Visitor Bureau, Red River Waterway Commission, and the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. People from the age of 18 to 80 worked on
this project.
Once in the app you can search in categories:
Do, See, Know, and Services. If you pick a place and press the word
“map,” it shows directions. Not only are there maps and trail guides,
but there are also rules, safety tips, and regulations. You can save
your favorite pages for one click access. There are many Creole and
Civil War sites included now, and the plan is to include Kisatchie
National Forest and Louisiana State Parks in the near future.
I’ve enjoyed browsing this app and playing with the map. Brandi
plans to update this app every three or four months and welcomes
suggestions from the public. Downloading the app is free and easy.
