"What is that" app? For train travel, USA

[RachelZ3]

Hi, I am sorry if this was posted before, I am getting pretty lost in general. Here's my issue: We're taking a train trip across the USA, 11 days, mostly on the train. (yes, I am insane, and if I wasn't before, I will be after this trip) One great thing is all the great stuff we'll see out the window.
We have a wifi-only iPad 1 and an iPhone 3G, there's no Internet on the train -OK there will be for the part between Los Angeles and San Francisco, but there wont be on the 53 hour train from San Francisco to Chicago.
I have already on the iPad the route map of all the stops the train makes plus the train schedule, so I will know where I am, but I wont know what it is I am seeing.
I don't need a GPS. I don't need a road map. I need something I can type in "Winslow, AZ" and "Statue" or "bird" or "rock formation", or just general info about a place we are going to be, or special items I could buy, there are occasional stops for 45 minutes at some train stations, I could pop in and buy a souvenir. Which tribe is on which reservation where? We're traveling with my 4 year old and could tell him about the places we're seeing - if I only knew what we were seeing.
Kind of like an encyclopedia?
We're going NYC- Chicago- Grand Canyon - Los Angeles - SFO - Chicago - NYC
Any ideas?
Thanks in Advance!

 

[RachelZ3]

Replying to myself- I downloaded Wikihoods and Wikihoods plus but it's not working on either the iPad or iPhone. I did not turn on location services on the iPad. On the iPad I can find for instance Williams AZ, which I know has the train to the Grand Canyon, and I know it's on Route 66, I get to Williams, click on it and then I get a push pin on the map where Williams is, which of course I already know and would know from the map and schedule I have, and the pictures shows the train, which I know is the one to Grand Canyon, then it says its "sorting data" and then craps out. Both devices. I can't figure out how to get to the in-app packages, which I *think* would give me the offline data. I am just frustrated as all get out...

 

[City]

Most of the train apps I can find helps to find other train times, and ticket costs.
If you are interested in that, I can give you some links.

 

[RachelZ3]

Thanks City but I already have the ticket and the time schedules. I want to know what we're seeing out the windows!

 

[LannyC]

Type Scenic Map into the app store. There are separate apps for west, central, and east USA, $10 each.

Or buy a road atlas...

milliHelen: amount of beauty required to launch one ship.

 

[RachelZ3]

Hmmm Lanny, I looked up the scenic maps and found that I had already downloaded their free app of "You Need A Map". Reviews confused me (more than I already am) because they said I should download the database, but I can't figure out how to do that. Any case, I started to poke around and the free map will do the trick. I can at least look up what I am looking at, know it's name, look it up later. Not much else I could do from the train any way.
I didn't mention that I haven't turned on Location Services, that creeps me out. I also didn't mention that we're traveling as light as possible, so I can't bring my road atlas.
I still have to figure out how this thing works!
But you did end up showing me I already had what I needed, thanks!