Pardon me for being an oddball RVer, but I’m just not the GPS type. Give me a map and compass, or a local to ask for directions any day.
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How do I know all this? I told you, I’m a just maps kinda guy. And I like to save money.
You guys know I love my garmin GPS. But you have to have good navigational, map and compass, skills for the back country. On the road a GPS can take you places you would not have gone otherwise but as in the Oregon case you already mentioned this is not always a good thing.
Just this last trip Garmin decided some BLM roads would be quicker. Of course we were already off the main roads and driving a jeep but the BLM road turned into a NO TRESPASSING dirt road…
All that aside, I love my GPS just don’t forget your maps and do a reality check once in a while.
PS. Jim the new iPhone is out with GPS built in, maybe that would convince you as a Apple Fanboy 😉
However the 3G Voice/Data combo starts at something like $70/month so maybe not 🙁
//A
Oh, by the way Ann, that Trucker’s Guide rocks! Another RVer gave us a copy last year, and it’s invaluable.
Love your blog, by the way. Thanks for writing.
Yeah, I guess you could say we’re oddballs. We really love technology, but aren’t fond of GPS’.
When we were planning our trip, we asked our friend, world traveler, motorcycle legend Ted Simon if he regretted not taking a GPS on his 2-year worldwide expedition.
He said “No way!” Never wanted it, never needed it. He said it would’ve just been one more stupid gadget to worry about breaking or getting lost, and he never wanted to find himself in Patagonia or Outer Mongolia, relying on a relatively fragile electronic gizmo.
That was the deciding factor for us. Too many people are relying on their their Nuvis and Garmins, instead of developing common sense and real navigation skills that would help them survive in bad circumstances.
That family that got lost in the Oregon mountains and snow last year is a perfect example. It’s an awful story and I feel for them, but if it wasn’t for their Garmin telling them that a Forest Service road would get them to the coast quicker, the dad would still be alive.
Jim was a boy scout, and he’s gotten us out of some tricky spots on backpacking trips and such. I’ll rely on the skills in his head over some gadget, any day.
Hey Jim,
I was shocked … I SAY SHOCKED!!!! at your anti-GPSness! … to each his or her own of course 🙂 !
I’m a fellow rvr and confirmed Westerner after several look-see trips around the U.S. of A. – MT my home for 14 1/2 years. And I just found your blog this morning courtesy of Amy – so I have only a slight gist of your “story”, but had to look at the GPS thing further and am glad as RhodesTer has me laughing!
No, I will not preach the virtues of GPS although I wouldn’t be without it as my major navigational tool….but it is just one tool and I supplement trucker road atlas and Mountain West Directory (mountain pass information for rvrs and truckers). I solo in a Winnebago 33 towing a Jeep Wrangler …
Happy Trails!
I think I want to design a GPS interface just for people like you. It’d be a little CGI dude in overalls, wearing a worn-out old ball cap and chewing on a twig. His name would be Earl, and when you need directions he’d appear on the screen holding a gas hose that he just pulled out of a ’56 Chevy pick-up. As you ask your directions (voice recognition), he’d put the hose back on the pump, wipe his hands on a rag, squint up at the sun for a moment and then rub his whiskers as he replies in a slow drawl..
“Well sir, lessee.. you COULD take the old highway down to Coop’s Auto, then turn yerself a right onto Main and see Betty at the front desk of hotel, she’ll set ya up fer the night.. or better yet, mosey on into Granstville and you’ll run right into that big, fancy hotel right there next to the diner.. it’s only a mile or two further, and more apt to please city slickers like you and the missus here, cuz old Betty don’t get around so well no more, and she sometimes forgets to change them sheets, if you know what I mean. Yessir, I reckon you folks would be better off over there in Granstville, just watch out for Sheriff Drecker when you come into town, him and his new-fangled radar doodad is bound to git ya.”