anyone have any suggestions as to how to get map of the earth that can be edited without going through the hassles of creating it myself?

Do you need the whole planet? The US Geological Survey has maps (Digital Elevation Model, or DEM files) that cover the US. They're about 0.25 mile resolution, so they're not good for minute detail. Check it out at: http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/doc/edchome/ndcdb/ndcdb.html

Clay