What would we do without GPS? For thousands of years, we relied upon maps to get us where we needed to go. In fact, the earliest known maps date back to the 6th Century, BCE, when the world was assumed flat. GPS was first made available to civilians around 20 years ago, back in the days of flip phones.
I am SO with you when it comes to maps. I like to look at the big picture and figure out how to get from here to there. I have a big collection of maps and I'm lucky to have a son who loves to drive. He lives in NYC so doesn't own a car. When he comes to visit me we hop in my car in the morning and just explore all day. No purpose. No destination in mind. Just exploring. He doesn't mind dirt roads, or city streets. We have so much fun. We both have GPS on our phones but he likes to pull out the maps I have in my glove compartment and study the big picture. I guess if we had a specific destination we'd use the GPS. But for just exploring...maps are what we want. It's a great way to spend a day.
That sounds like such a wonderful way to spend both a day and time with your son, Janelle. I have no doubt you are a wonderful navigator and find many unique places to explore the wonders of nature along the way.
Your story reminds me of my dad, who would take us on family drives in North Georgia, always exploring unpaved Forest Service roads, up and over the mountains and through the various gaps. We had a trusty Chattahoochee National Forest map with us at all times. Sometimes we’d get lucky and see a bobcat or other wildlife along the way.
What a wonderful post on maps! I remember those days of huge state maps when as a child traveling with my parents and my mother was the navigator! Burned in my memory is an image of her unfurling the map and finding the exact route, refolding as we traveled. At home we had a world globe to twirl and dream of countries never to visit until we were adults. Love your photo of the derelict house! I see them so often on our back roads.
What wonderful memories, Lynne! And yes, globes are every bit as wonderful as maps. I remember when Instagram first started, I somehow ended up following a globe maker and was fascinated by the way the covers were cut and pieced together. When I was a kid, my aunt had a black globe. I thought it was so cool looking. Thanks for sharing!
We love our DeLorme Atlas of Maine but more than once we have sought out roads that turned to dirt and then to... animal trails? The road names are also interesting! There are many that share the same name, some that reflect families in the area and some that capture events of long ago! I am not a great map reader in urban areas - the maze of highways boggles my mind! It sounds like you are a confident navigator in both domains! A great life skill in my opinion.
Thanks so much for sharing, Kim. I especially love how DeLorme has led you to unmarked animal trails. That's my kind of map! And yes, it's all the names and historic sites that I find so revealing about a culture on a map. It reminds me of Keith Carter's book, "From Uncertain to Blue," in which he and his wife selected 100 small towns with odd names, set out on a journey to visit them, and then selected one photograph to represent each. As for navigating urban streets, they are much bigger and more distracting now, and I am a bit out of practice in them. I may take wrong turns more often (frequently because I opted to use Google Maps, which sent me some on crazy route), but I know I can always pull out the map if I get truly lost.
I am SO with you when it comes to maps. I like to look at the big picture and figure out how to get from here to there. I have a big collection of maps and I'm lucky to have a son who loves to drive. He lives in NYC so doesn't own a car. When he comes to visit me we hop in my car in the morning and just explore all day. No purpose. No destination in mind. Just exploring. He doesn't mind dirt roads, or city streets. We have so much fun. We both have GPS on our phones but he likes to pull out the maps I have in my glove compartment and study the big picture. I guess if we had a specific destination we'd use the GPS. But for just exploring...maps are what we want. It's a great way to spend a day.
That sounds like such a wonderful way to spend both a day and time with your son, Janelle. I have no doubt you are a wonderful navigator and find many unique places to explore the wonders of nature along the way.
Your story reminds me of my dad, who would take us on family drives in North Georgia, always exploring unpaved Forest Service roads, up and over the mountains and through the various gaps. We had a trusty Chattahoochee National Forest map with us at all times. Sometimes we’d get lucky and see a bobcat or other wildlife along the way.
What a wonderful post on maps! I remember those days of huge state maps when as a child traveling with my parents and my mother was the navigator! Burned in my memory is an image of her unfurling the map and finding the exact route, refolding as we traveled. At home we had a world globe to twirl and dream of countries never to visit until we were adults. Love your photo of the derelict house! I see them so often on our back roads.
What wonderful memories, Lynne! And yes, globes are every bit as wonderful as maps. I remember when Instagram first started, I somehow ended up following a globe maker and was fascinated by the way the covers were cut and pieced together. When I was a kid, my aunt had a black globe. I thought it was so cool looking. Thanks for sharing!
We love our DeLorme Atlas of Maine but more than once we have sought out roads that turned to dirt and then to... animal trails? The road names are also interesting! There are many that share the same name, some that reflect families in the area and some that capture events of long ago! I am not a great map reader in urban areas - the maze of highways boggles my mind! It sounds like you are a confident navigator in both domains! A great life skill in my opinion.
Thanks so much for sharing, Kim. I especially love how DeLorme has led you to unmarked animal trails. That's my kind of map! And yes, it's all the names and historic sites that I find so revealing about a culture on a map. It reminds me of Keith Carter's book, "From Uncertain to Blue," in which he and his wife selected 100 small towns with odd names, set out on a journey to visit them, and then selected one photograph to represent each. As for navigating urban streets, they are much bigger and more distracting now, and I am a bit out of practice in them. I may take wrong turns more often (frequently because I opted to use Google Maps, which sent me some on crazy route), but I know I can always pull out the map if I get truly lost.