In the wilderness and wired for convenience

Before the trip, I downloaded a variety of applications for the iPhone from Apple’s iTunes store. I found them by searching the web for “iPhone vacation apps,’’ or variations specific to our destination (“iPhone apps, Yellowstone’’). Some were free; others cost a few dollars.

One of the apps I liked best, dubbed My Vacation, allowed me to document the trip with daily iPhone journal entries and photos. Thanks to the phone’s GPS, the app automatically mapped where each photo was taken. That, coupled with the ability to add captions, meant that by the end of the trip my photos were already labeled and organized. No more mystery shots.

Another plus: My Vacation allowed me to e-mail individual photos to family and friends and post them to my Twitter account (the caption became the Twitter text). After I got home, I realized that I could have posted my daily journal entries and associated photos to Facebook. Next time.

I did, however, take advantage of the app’s connection to Flickr, the photo-sharing website. I created a photo album and slideshow on Flickr that we have thoroughly enjoyed.

Electronic communications are great, but what is a vacation without postcards? SnapShot Postcard promised to convert my iPhone photos to printed postcards — complete with personal message — and even mail them. Ever the skeptic, I used the app, but also bought and mailed a few regular cards. I needn’t have worried. The card I sent “to us from us’’ came out beautifully, and is now on the fridge.

Although my husband and I were excited to drive across the country, that was tempered by the reality of our easily bored sons, 11 and 13. Several apps came to the rescue. For example, the boys were mesmerized by games like Rat on the Run and Stop & Go.

Also, Family Car Games provided instructions for 100 no-equipment-necessary games that even the driver could participate in. The first few games we tried were disappointing. However, we never came close to exploring all 100, so I’ll keep this one for future trips.