Author Topic: TAR Google Earth Project  (Read 98185 times)

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Offline G.B.

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #50 on: May 12, 2013, 10:36:37 PM »
Okay, I found Neobie's map threads for 15, 17 and 19-22, and updated my KMZ's accordingly (Thanks Neo mah man, if you ever read this)

Are there any more?

I uploaded a file on the top of the second page of the pitstops from the foreign editions where I tried to get as exact as possible, but there are quite a few that I have wrong (I marked them with red and included a short reason, if I recall correctly). Not nearly as many points as what you've done, so I'm pretty impressed that someone took the time to do what you did.

It wasn't all done at once, heh. It's been a running project ever since I joined the TAR fandom.

And yeah hotriceguy, I'd suggest getting Google Earth to view these. It's free.
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Offline Neobie

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #51 on: May 22, 2013, 07:00:29 PM »
Wow, I've forgotten about this thread for a while, but great job GB! I'll spend some time looking over to compare it with what I and you have!


Offline G.B.

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #52 on: May 22, 2013, 08:59:34 PM »
Wow, I've forgotten about this thread for a while, but great job GB! I'll spend some time looking over to compare it with what I and you have!

Hay dood!

lol, I don't doubt for a single second that there'll be something that's wrong. A lot of something :P

But if you compare the numbers, there's still a lot right  :-[
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Offline Neobie

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #53 on: May 23, 2013, 04:38:11 PM »
Checked my "hometowns" of Hong Kong, Singapore, Chicago, and Cambridge; looking good!

Two edits to the Hong Kong maps:
1. Herbal Tea in TAR 2 was on 53 Reclamation St (remembering the street number after 10 years; but I think it's correct), on Kowloon between Saigon and Pak Hoi Sts, not Aberdeen.
2. The tram detour in TAR 19 was on the north side of the island, starting at Hennessy Rd and Queen's Rd E and turning around at the tram roundabout/terminus at the junction of Yee Wo St and Leighton Rd.

I think there was an unaired location in the Chicago finale where the Chicago Fire started... Can someone else verify?

I couldn't access the TAR 16 maps (bounced to TAR 15)... Do you mind checking the link?

Offline theschnauzers

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #54 on: May 23, 2013, 06:33:10 PM »
Neobie, I remember the Mrs. O'Leary's barn being a location as well. Wiki gives a sourced address for the barn as 137 DeKoven Street, Google Maps says the address is currently numbered as 558 West DeKoven.
https://www.google.com/search?q=137+DeKoven+Street&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Hope that helps!
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Offline georgiapeach

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #55 on: May 23, 2013, 10:35:36 PM »
I couldn't access the TAR 16 maps (bounced to TAR 15)... Do you mind checking the link?

TAR 16 Maps are here:

http://forum.realityfanforum.com/index.php/topic,21546.0.html
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Offline G.B.

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #56 on: May 24, 2013, 04:12:46 AM »
Oops, yes the TAR 16 link was wrong. I fixed it.
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Offline wcpamotm

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #57 on: June 12, 2013, 01:42:27 PM »
Hi!  I'm a little late to the party, but I hope I still have something to contribute!

We recently began a TAR rewatch, and while proofing some spreadsheet info I thought it would be nice to map out locations visited, and it occurred to me that Google Earth would be an excellent medium in which to do so.  While I was searching for hints as to where Ban Plai Pong Pang might be, I stumbled across this thread.

Having taken so much from others in various forums, I'd like to give back a little.  Here's the work I've completed so far, for races 1-3.  Now speaking personally, I love the idea of attaching annotations directly to the kmz entries, but do not love the boxes that float on the screen when flying to the new location.  So I have companion annotation spreadsheets for each race.  In addition to locations, they contain clue verbage (original and/or reconstructed), confidence ratings (how confident I am that I have located each site correctly), and some justifications (particularly if my choice differs from Neobie's or GB's).

I'd welcome any comments, feedback and corrections as appropriate.  My biggest goal is more information for everybody!

Update:  See reply #108 for combined files for races 1-10.
« Last Edit: April 29, 2015, 11:18:06 PM by wcpamotm »
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Offline georgiapeach

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #58 on: June 12, 2013, 09:20:48 PM »
:bigwelcome WCPAMOTM !!

Thank you so much for sharing!

I am so not a GE expert, I will leave it to the others to comment, but many thanks!
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Offline G.B.

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #59 on: June 13, 2013, 04:26:13 PM »
How wonderful!!

Early season KMZs were made by me before TAR10 even aired, using incredibly old and inferior maps. Deshnoke (TAR1) was a big, fat BLOB... I'd never gotten around to updating them, so this is great! Thanks!
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Offline wcpamotm

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #60 on: June 17, 2013, 12:49:47 PM »
I am having trouble imagining doing something like this with tools that were available when the races originally aired.  Street View is a tremendous help, when it is available.  Panaramio photos can provide great supporting evidence, though they can also be misleading because they are not always precisely placed.

Also, a fresh re-watch means that I can sometime pick up details that I missed or didn't remember from before.  A non-relavent but interesting example: it appears that the during the early morning departure from Kasteel Muiderslot in Race 4 leg 6, the same driver appears to have picked up Millie and Chuck, Monica and Sheree, and Tian and Jaree.

Since the above posting, I've modified one route marker, the Tunisian Desert roadblock.  In considering it, it seems unlikely to me that the racers would have been required to make a seven-mile trek across the desert.  Locating this off off Piste Ksar Ghilane Douz would make the walk/camel ride about a mile and a half, and that makes more sense to me.  Also, I've made a few minor tweaks to the annotations spreadsheets.
« Last Edit: June 28, 2013, 02:07:35 PM by WCPAMOTM »
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Offline wcpamotm

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #61 on: June 22, 2013, 11:54:12 AM »
Race 4 files:

Amazing Race 04 - kmz
Amazing Race 04 - annotations

Race 5 files likely ready in 2-3 weeks.
« Last Edit: June 27, 2013, 01:05:25 PM by WCPAMOTM »
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Offline G.B.

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #62 on: June 22, 2013, 10:26:36 PM »
Oh lord, TAR 4! LOL!

Yeah, finding anything in India or Kota Kinabalu during 2009? Not likely! Hahaha! It was a big blurry mess.

But, in addition to that, I made TAR4 and 5 before I saw their seasons. So yeah, thanks for helping me make it un-horrible!
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Offline theschnauzers

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #63 on: June 22, 2013, 11:07:54 PM »
Since the above posting, I've modified one route marker, the Tunisian Desert roadblock.  In considering it, it seems unlikely to me that the racers would have been required to make a seven-mile trek across the desert.  Locating this off off Piste Ksar Ghilane Douz would make the walk/camel ride about a mile and a half, and that makes more sense to me. 
If memory serves me correctly, the information about the location of that task that was not broadcast or included by CBS in its episode summary (that it posted for the early seasons ) came from the post-season reconstruction of the Race that had the assistance of several of the first season teams at TWoP. (Those threads were purged years ago, unfortunately, at a time when server memory was expensive.) You might want to contact those first season teams that have a presence online and see if they can verify the distance question. One alternate possibility is to check Miss Alli's recap of that episode at TWoP, in those days her recaps were about the only alternate source to the CBS summaries.

One reason why I'm not sure the shorter distance fits is the fact that one team got lost trying to reach the RB clue for that leg; the second reason is the broadcast comments of teams during that task, since the team member riding the camel had to spot the oasis for the team member guiding the camel. Since the endpoint wasn't visible when teams started the trek, it is a question of how far in the distance a team member could see to spot the goal, and I suspect that would have been possible when starting out on that task.
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Offline wcpamotm

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #64 on: June 27, 2013, 01:17:29 PM »
Theschnauzers, I think what you say makes good sense.  It's possible that an intervening dune might have prevented direct sighting from the second roadblock point, but in the absense of any other confirmed information, Occam's Razor compels us to assume a longer distance.

I think my flaw is that I was trying to make a false choice between about 7 miles and about a mile and a half.  Re-watching the sequence again, it seems certain that Kevin and Drew thought that a vehicle was essential for reaching the roadblock clue, and in all likelihood other teams thought that also.  That could shorten the distance.

Maybe Brennan with his journal might have a recollection of that approximate distance, and Bill has always been generous with any information he has that he can share.  If I ever get the chance, I will ask either or both.

But for now, I will still rate this location with a low degree of confidence.  In my view, this is an ongoing project, and I remain open to adjusting even high-confidence locations when given compelling evidence that it should be.

Aside from that, I have replaced the Excel spreadsheets containing annotations with versions saved in PDF format. 
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Offline G.B.

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #65 on: July 06, 2013, 06:06:55 AM »
Velyki Perehony added to the big list on Page 2
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Offline wcpamotm

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #66 on: July 11, 2013, 06:13:17 PM »
Added links for Race 5 to the original posting above.  Also, 1 modification for Race 1:  I was never really happy with the location I had picked for Sea, Land and Trek, but with an episode review I chose a better location.

ETA: Race 6 and 7 links also now added.
« Last Edit: August 21, 2013, 11:58:32 AM by WCPAMOTM »
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Offline nickf21

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #67 on: August 30, 2013, 04:21:41 AM »
hello everyone...

my first post so i hope i do this right. im very late to the party but i hope this is of interest.
i love TAR and GE and this has been a labour of love for me...
too many people to credit and apologies in advance for my mistakes but...

heres my contribution to the TAR GE project. all seasons up to 19. 20 is still WIP... struggling with baku!!
ive tried to plot start lines, airports, detours, roadblocks, route markers and pit stops.

i still remember struggling for hours to fing songwe village!! roll on S23 and the first global TAR so i can enter from Ireland...

all comments more than welcome...

Offline theschnauzers

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #68 on: August 30, 2013, 01:37:56 PM »
nickf21, we're always grateful for more complete platting of the exact locations for everything we've seen on TAR.

I hope you took/take advantage of the past work to locate those places, especially those referenced upthread since a lot of contributions were involved to help precisely pinpoint those locations in past years, and when more timely information and input was available. Places change appearance over time, and sometimes makes it harder to locate. (Examples the start line for TAR 3 in the Florida Everglades, and the northern Thailand pitstop in TAR 2). It is important to have your work vetted so that the final results are as accurate as humanly possible.
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Offline georgiapeach

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #69 on: August 30, 2013, 05:10:17 PM »
hello everyone...

my first post so i hope i do this right. im very late to the party but i hope this is of interest.
i love TAR and GE and this has been a labour of love for me...
too many people to credit and apologies in advance for my mistakes but...

heres my contribution to the TAR GE project. all seasons up to 19. 20 is still WIP... struggling with baku!!
ive tried to plot start lines, airports, detours, roadblocks, route markers and pit stops.

i still remember struggling for hours to fing songwe village!! roll on S23 and the first global TAR so i can enter from Ireland...

all comments more than welcome...

HUGE :bigwelcome To RFF!! We love all contributions, this is def a labor of love for everyone!
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Offline nickf21

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #70 on: August 31, 2013, 12:27:17 PM »
thanks! some of the work above is amazing! wish I had found this forum years ago!
I am in awe of all of you.

you have made an old man very happy. (and my missus very unhappy as I prepare for another TAR marathon.)

Offline stekay

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #71 on: August 31, 2013, 12:51:30 PM »
Yay another fan from Ireland! Hi Nick  :hoot:

Offline Andre

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #72 on: September 01, 2013, 07:31:47 AM »
Welcome to RFF, Nick! Enjoy your time!
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Offline wcpamotm

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #73 on: September 05, 2013, 09:58:41 PM »
Welcome, Nick!  Looking forward to "comparing notes"!
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Offline G.B.

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Re: TAR Google Earth Project
« Reply #74 on: September 08, 2013, 11:54:53 PM »
Added HaMerotz LaMillion 3 to the large list on page 2
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