“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” — Lao Tzu
If I had turned right, as planned, I would have missed Chama, New Mexico, and a quick visit to this quaint art gallery. -- Photo by Pat Bean
Travels With Maggie
I drove my son-in-law to work in my daughter’s new SUV, which came equipped with a fancy GPS system. It was a 45-minute commute across Dallas in rush hour. To make sure I wouldn’t get lost on the return trip, my daughter programmed her GPS for me.
All well and good – until I foolishly fiddled with it halfway back home. The map screen went blank and I had no idea how to reset it – and definitely no idea where I was. Needless to say the trip home took a lot longer than 45 minutes.
That was my first and only experience with a GPS. Instead, I continue to use my Microsoft Streets and Trip program – but I do it my way.
Maggie: Have you got us lost again?
While the computer mapping program likes major highways, I prefer backroads. So I manipulate the route planner to take smaller highways instead of interstates, or to take me through Santa Fe instead of Denver when I’m driving between Texas and Utah.
I carefully plot out each leg of a trip before beginning a journey, going so far as to distinguish between left and right turns on a cheat sheet for the dashboard. One would think I would never get lost.
But I do. And I’m thankful for it.
Of course, if I am going to get lost, I’d rather it be on a scenic backroad in New Mexico instead of rush hour on a Dallas freeway.
Pat Bean's blog 
I used a GPS once. It was available and got me there and back safely and in good time. But the woman giving orders was bossy, and I prefer my own company to hers. I’ve gotten lost a lot but so far have always ended up where I want to be. And there’s a certain amount of thrill that goes with each wrong turn. Perverse, I know, but true.
Hi Pat,
I like going back to places I have been, as a childe or years before. Getting lost following half remembered sights and roads that are no longer open, Always brings back memories and it is as you say more fun than missing a turn on the motorway.
Anyway, a GPS only has an opinion as to the right direction. I turn the sound of and ignore mine to see if it can keep up.
Jim