Date:         Mon, 23 Jul 2007 08:24:14 -0700
Reply-To:     Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Long Trip Report
Comments: To: Edward Maglott <emaglott@BUNCOMBE.MAIN.NC.US>
In-Reply-To:  <20070723141951.14AAC1E852C@tc5.main.nc.us>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Hi Edward,

Yes, it sounds like you had a lovely time! I feel very fortunate that I
didn't damage anything on Mellow Yellow trying to force it along the 4WD
road that my GPS took me on. I know just what you mean about adrenaline
and anxiety kicking in under such circumstances. I was pretty pleased at
how calm I felt while I was trying to deal with the situation. Once I
gave up, managed a back-up then a turnaround, and was driving back out I
did feel a mixed sense of relief (nothing broken, and no worries that I
will be able to get back out), puzzlement (how did Pete get his van over
that road?), and disappointment that I didn't get to the Blue Lakes.

Several days later was the "D'oh," experience when I saw how the GPS --
a miracle of modern technology -- had mislead me. My bad, of course, the
machine doesn't know a good road from a bad. DeLorme's Topo 6 is
targeted more at trails and topography and is not a dedicated driving
application. Their Street Atlas product is for drivers, being smarter
about dirt roads and such; it knows little about geographic features
(like campgrounds and lakes and such) but provides information about gas
stations and fast foods and the like.

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
KG6RCR



Edward Maglott typed:
> Nice trip report!
>
> I too was led down a path of impassable despair by my GPS
> recently.  I blogged the experience
> at:   http://gismemories.blogspot.com/   There are 2 posts with
> "Twelve Mile Road" in the title about it.