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Road trips are a time-honored tradition. There’s something special about loading up the car and hitting the road on a new adventure.
Autio is a story-telling app developed just for road trips. Co-founded by Kevin Costner and his partners, this fun audio experience shares compelling stories behind the most interesting places in the United States.
Told by master storytellers like Kevin Costner, Phil Jackson, and John Lithgow, each story on Autio (formerly called HearHere) brings the landscape, its people and history to life.
As you drive, stories automatically play at the perfect time to share tales of the places you’re seeing, adding a fun dimension to your road trip.
We asked Kevin Costner about some of his own favorite stories in Autio. Here is what he had to say.
New England
New England is an area too rich in culture and steeped in history to truly capture in the span of a single story.
But one of my latest stories to join the Autio library, New England from the Beginning, highlights this region that is so fundamental to the culture of America. It’s where our first seaports were built. It’s where some of the nation’s finest educational institutions brush shoulders with working-class industry.
New England would come to define a culture of self-legislation, from the Mayflower Compact to the first governments, and ultimately, the Constitution of the United States.
Mount Katahdin: Greatest Mountain
Legend has it that standing atop the “Greatest Mountain,” aptly named by the indigenous Penobscot people of Maine, you would be one of the first people in the entire United States to see the sunrise.
This National Natural Landmark plays host to several animal species, including moose, black bear, and deer. It’s a fascinating story.
The Oldest Statehouse in the Country
In a region known for its pioneering work in self-legislation, it would be hard to avoid the oldest statehouse in the US. The building was constructed in Concord, New Hampshire. The General Court of New Hampshire’s first session was in 1819, and it continues in use to this day.
The Town That Refused to Die
One of my favorite stories of American heroism centers around the small town of Sanford, Maine.
In 1745, a sawmill was first built there, but it wasn’t until after the Civil War that it became a center for textiles. The town was prosperous until the 1950s when the mills were purchased and then shut down.
Suddenly, 3,600 people were without work. But instead of giving up, they began traveling the Northeast to convince employers to bring work to their town.
Their triumph can be viewed today, with much of the architecture from the original mills still preserved. Don’t miss the Town That Refused to Die.
Safe travels,
Kevin Costner
How to Download Autio
Autio is available on the iPhone and Android. Once you’ve downloaded the Autio app, you can stream content or download it for offline listening. There are more than 1,800 stories to choose from, with more added each month.
Read More: Get This for Your Next Road Trip: Storytelling App for Road-Trippers Co-Founded by Kevin Costner
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