Airmapper
First Fill-Up (of many)
- Location
- Bowling Green, KY
Watching the Expedition Overland stuff, gets you to thinking about taking trips and such. Heading off to Alaska just isn't practical for most of us, but here recently I've had some nice trips a little closer, and I'm wondering if anybody else uses the approach I do. I've been keeping the overlanding concept in mind, and adapting it to suit my needs on a smaller, more realistic scale.
I have some family/friends in Indiana. I've always hated Indiana for various reasons, but the last few years I've been going up there maybe once or twice a year. With the overlanding ideas, I finally figured out a way to make Indiana fun.
I don't use an auto-routing GPS, I still do the old school method of looking at maps, only I do use Google maps and land nav GPS if you had a vision of me with my head in a Rand McNally atlas. While it's not quite overlanding, on a few of these trips I managed to hit some pretty sketchy paved roads, and even some gravel one lane roads, so I'm making it as interesting as possible. If I could make more of it on unpaved roads, I would, they are just getting hard to find.
I basically look for the shortest route, and I avoid interstates. I use Google maps to carefully pick a route, and I don't care how small the road if it shaves off miles. A lot of times I have to reference the satellite images to make sure it's still a open road. (I also use a GPS with detailed mapping, it just doesn't navigate roads unless I program in point to point routes manually.)
So, back to Indiana. I've now been over a lot of rural roads in the southern half. Making loops from Indy to Terre Haute and back to Kentucky, and just to Indy and back, I've been able to mix up the routes enough I see something new about every trip. But there are some really cool little towns, windy fun to drive roads, awesome scenery, all in a land I remember from the interstate as flat and boring.
Some of my friends think I'm crazy, tell me to just take the interstate, it's so much faster and easier they say. What do they know. I recently used the interstate to get to Indy, and it was a mess. Poorly maintained lanes make for a rough ride at 70, idiots crowding around me, no places to just pull over if you want to grab something from the back. So, I'll take my way, it's more interesting, more fun, and more relaxing.
So, anyone else make a deliberate point to not follow the route Google or your GPS suggests is the best way to go, and take the road less traveled? I'm beginning to think road navigation is becoming a lost art in a realm of devices that people willingly let tell them where to go.
I have some family/friends in Indiana. I've always hated Indiana for various reasons, but the last few years I've been going up there maybe once or twice a year. With the overlanding ideas, I finally figured out a way to make Indiana fun.
I don't use an auto-routing GPS, I still do the old school method of looking at maps, only I do use Google maps and land nav GPS if you had a vision of me with my head in a Rand McNally atlas. While it's not quite overlanding, on a few of these trips I managed to hit some pretty sketchy paved roads, and even some gravel one lane roads, so I'm making it as interesting as possible. If I could make more of it on unpaved roads, I would, they are just getting hard to find.
I basically look for the shortest route, and I avoid interstates. I use Google maps to carefully pick a route, and I don't care how small the road if it shaves off miles. A lot of times I have to reference the satellite images to make sure it's still a open road. (I also use a GPS with detailed mapping, it just doesn't navigate roads unless I program in point to point routes manually.)
So, back to Indiana. I've now been over a lot of rural roads in the southern half. Making loops from Indy to Terre Haute and back to Kentucky, and just to Indy and back, I've been able to mix up the routes enough I see something new about every trip. But there are some really cool little towns, windy fun to drive roads, awesome scenery, all in a land I remember from the interstate as flat and boring.
Some of my friends think I'm crazy, tell me to just take the interstate, it's so much faster and easier they say. What do they know. I recently used the interstate to get to Indy, and it was a mess. Poorly maintained lanes make for a rough ride at 70, idiots crowding around me, no places to just pull over if you want to grab something from the back. So, I'll take my way, it's more interesting, more fun, and more relaxing.
So, anyone else make a deliberate point to not follow the route Google or your GPS suggests is the best way to go, and take the road less traveled? I'm beginning to think road navigation is becoming a lost art in a realm of devices that people willingly let tell them where to go.
