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Join Tony on a 10-day trove of the Southwest!

Pro-trover Tony Butler is heading-out on November 1 to forage for sun-baked discoveries between LA and Austin. He's got an iPhone, camera, gas card, and rental car that's about to see 3100 miles of road. Keep an eye out for his new posts on Trover, and join him on November 5 for a few beers and some fun chat about hidden gems in Austin.

“When I first decided to do a road trip and use Trover to share what I saw and did along the way, I was driving down the Pacific Coast Highway from Florence, Oregon to Los Angeles with my wife and our little dog. We were moving to L.A. and didn't know when we'd have an opportunity to travel again.

Every morning, I looked on Google Maps at the stretch of road ahead. I found that it helped us avoid missing anything major, but what about the things folks don't think to share—peculiar shops, a little-known attraction by a local artist, a burger that shouldn't be missed, or some killer spot on a boardwalk somewhere that serves up deep-fried Twinkies?

When I used Trover to see what was “nearby,” I found there wasn't much posted along this great stretch of road in America. Then I realized it was because there is hardly any cell coverage along much of the drive. So, when I'd get to a hotel every night, I'd post as much as possible to Trover about what I found along the way. I wished more folks where doing the same.

With time to kill before moving into our new place, we ended up spending a month in the Mojave Desert. When I hopped back on Trover upon arriving in Joshua Tree National Park, I found some cool posts. One in particular by Paul Cloutier about the Ludlow Café along a stretch of old Route 66 prompted an immediate route change so we could check it out. The area didn't look that great on the map but it was incredible in person. My ambition to explore the desert on that trip increased tenfold because of Trover and the things I found.

So here we are now. It's October 31st and I'm getting ready to leave for another trip tomorrow. This time it’s a 10-day roundtrip drive from L.A. to Austin, Texas. I plan on taking a different route each way and finding (and sharing) as much as possible along the way. It's gonna be awesome and I'm gonna take you with me. With Trover, of course! I can't wait to share my discoveries with you and to hear what you think about each of them. So look me up on Trover! It'll be great to have you along – and if you're going to be in Austin on November 5th, be sure to come to the meet-up and say hello.”