I'm sure many surveyors like myself have downloaded and played with Google Earth. I have virtual map pins stuck in places where I've lived and worked, and pins placed at Air Force bases where I was stationed in the United States, Europe and North Africa. There are pins in the area around Asheville, North Carolina where I now live and a bunch in and around Wilson where I grew up—like the first house my folks rented in Wilson more than 50 years ago, which is still standing. With streets that have photo bubbles, I can pop in and see what the area looks like today.
Once Google Earth's photo bubbles began appearing in my area, I began using them to research survey proposals. In North Carolina, surveyors are required to tie into a grid monument if there is one within 2,000 feet of the property. Years ago I purchased Maptech's Terrain Navigator Pro software for the state of North Carolina. It provides the most recent quad maps in digital form, and the locations of all of the grid monuments are clearly shown.
