Have you ever been driving and gotten lost? I have, and I’m here to tell you it is not a very fun experience. If you have to stop and ask for directions, you look like you don’t know what you are doing. Especially if you walk up to somebody while holding a map upside down, like I did. That’s what got me thinking, there’s got to be a better method of finding your way while driving around.
The first thing I tried to do was to take a wilderness survival course. I figured if I learned basic compass reading skills, I could find my way easy enough if I had a map and a compass. But it’s a lot more difficult that it looks. Especially if you are out in the desert, and there aren’t any landmarks you can use to figure out exactly where you are. So I was sad when I decided that this particular method wasn’t for me. I had to try something else.
My second choice was to buy one of those fancy branches that can find water underground. I thought maybe you could use it to tell North from South. I tried it a for a couple weeks, and it was no use. I even bought a book that told you how to use it. No luck. I couldn’t even find water with that thing.
Finally I realized they have these things called GPS navigation systems. These are little machines that somehow communicate with satellites up in outer space or something. They can tell you exactly where you are at all times. They come pre-programmed with maps and all kinds of shops and everything. So you can get a lot of information.
And you know what? This thing worked like a charm. I was driving through Arizona, and I had no idea where I was. As an experiment, I typed in “cheeseburger,” on my GPS unit. And it started talking to me, and told me exactly where to go. I was driving over all these dirt roads, and suddenly, right before my eyes, was a huge cheeseburger stand in the middle of the desert. It was quite amazing.
If you have never thought about getting one of these devices, you should seriously consider it. I could be a life saver someday.