I disovered a new feature on my Garmin and that it tracks my route and displays it on the sofware with my computer. Yes, I know it's expensive but it's incredible how powerful this device really is and it tracked everywhere I went during my weekend trip. The batteries I use are rechargable so this is a non-issue.

As one person said, short cuts are often not on any maps because the motorist canot go through parks for instance and has to take the long route. I know of an abondoned rail road that people use to commute on but it's not on any map because it's a rails to trails.