Are Paper Maps Better Than Gps?

Discussion in 'Travel & Vacation' started by Joe Riley, Sep 23, 2021.

  1. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    I sure hope they are! My family is having another reunion. the first one was ten years ago. Same place in Ohio, somewhere. It is supposed to be only about 8 hours from here but we stopped to get an I-pass last time which took three hours! Yes I know we could have gotten one online but I wasn't even sure we wanted one or were going. Welllllll I am NOT going this year which is a good thing because the i-pass device is on the windshield of the car we donated to Rawhide Boys Ranch!!! Ok maybe I am going. No, If daughter isn't going, we are NOT going. She doesn't like the family. I don't blame her. But if she hadn't gone the first time and had a gps when we pulled into the middle of nowhere at 10pm we never would have made it. Husband said he had his reasons for and against going. Wait hubby is going?! Well then I am definitely not going. We go on bus tours so neither of us drives, otherwise we might kill each other. With no referee?
    NO!
    But as old as we are, this may be the last time to see my syblings....
    We have to go through CHICAGO. I hate going through there.
    I will take 41 and just keep my eyes closed, that way we won't even need and i-pass.
    But I have lots of maps.
     
    #46
  2. Thomas Stillhere

    Thomas Stillhere Very Well-Known Member
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    Reminds me of the first Chevy Chase Vacation Movie, they stole his hubcaps while he and the entire family was in the vehicle.
     
    #47
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  3. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I don't know f this helps you make your mind up, but I'm not going.
     
    #48
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  4. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    The dog died last December.:rolleyes:
     
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  5. Joe Riley

    Joe Riley Supreme Member
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    Somewhere In between a paper map and our GPS, was the World globe. Mostly found in classrooms, but there were two special ones made for FDR and PM Churchill.
    [​IMG]

    "The battles now in progress make a most important introduction to the New Year because I am confident that they foreshadow great victories. That you may be better able to follow the course of these battles we wish to install a special globe in your office, the duplicate of which is being delivered to 10 Downing Street."
    – General Marshall, in a letter to President Roosevelt


    "It took over 50 geographers and cartographers to gather all the data and information needed for all 17,000 place names to be included. They passed the job of constructing the globe to renowned U.S. globe manufacturer Weber Costello, and the result were two identical 50″ diameter, 750-pound 3D models of the Earth."

    "They were presented to President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill in December of 1942. President Roosevelt had his globe placed right next to his desk in the Oval Office, sitting in a steel stand on rubber balls that allowed him to turn and examine the globe in any direction. It proved instrumental for helping the President and others plan shipping and other maritime transport, and visualize their overall strategy."

    [​IMG]
    President Roosevelt’s globe is currently on display at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum in Hyde Park, NY

    p.s. - I always wondered if they made a full scale model of the earth....where would they put it?
     
    #50
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2022
  6. Marie Mallery

    Marie Mallery Veteran Member
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    Thanksgiving is like a family reunion for us, 2 or 3 of Hubbys brothers and SIL's come to most of my family Thanksgiving.

    I use a paper map on trips along with GPS ,since GPS turned me into a pasture one day!
     
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  7. Thomas Stillhere

    Thomas Stillhere Very Well-Known Member
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    2 items needed to find your destination to anywhere in the world. A good needle compass that has a fluorescent back light for night navigation. A good map of the area you will be navigating, for nighttime a small pocket flashlight to charge the compass back light and keep your course straight by sitting the compass due north on the map after you find true north with the compass then lay the compass due north on the flattened map and gently turn the compass needle to face the destination. Walk drive or run which ever mode you are using. And remember you can't walk on water or drive in most cases. It is extremely accurate, much like you would be walking down a funnel due to getting nearer and nearer to your destination. If someone told you the compass heading to their front door no matter how far it was you will find that door. Providing your not too tired by that time. The best items to have in your pocket while traveling, even if by car. Lost no problem lay the map on the hood of the car and go thru the fast process again. Only thing GPS does better is go to ground level from above and actually follow a map so it can image it for you on a screen by changing screen resolution or height to ground etc. All maps are laid out due north to top..... even Gomer Pyle and Goober could find Mayberry if needed.
     
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  8. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I could use a good orienteering instructor.
     
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  9. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    Maybe you could give occasional classes to boy scouts or old lost women.:rolleyes:
     
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  10. Thomas Stillhere

    Thomas Stillhere Very Well-Known Member
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    The walking on water was true, at least it was in 1966 when I went thru escape and evasion at Fort Ord. At dusk they drove all of us a few miles from a little camp that was to be our destination. We never saw the camp but then we weren't supposed to know what it looked like. They had a small bon fire lit so the slow instruction followers could still find it providing the fire didn't die. They dropped us at the very bottom of a very tall rocky hill and when the whistle blew at sundown and it was dark and off we went. My best buddy and I kinda laid back not wanting to be in front of everyone else because we knew there was a company of guys on the course that were acting as enemies and they would capture you and take you to a detaining area. We played that just right because as we peaked the top of the hill and looked out over a very flat large area that was easy for anyone to spot anyone coming over the hill. Off in the distance we could hear guys hollering when the bad guys jumped down out of trees on top of them and they were off to the little prison area. It took us about 4 hours to find our way to this compass heading we were given, we dodged being caught several times, even found the road we came out on, surprised by a truck running back and fourth picking up the captured guys. Well we finally found the bon fire and started walking to it some distance away and we almost got close but suddenly found there was a large body of water and too wide to walk around. We waded thru the water and we were finished. We got to rest until daylight and noon the next day there were still people missing. They probably found themselves in Monterey or Salinas ! We were very surprised to find ourselves walking thru an artillery impact area that was clearly signed, but it was night time so we knew it was safe. So waking on water is true when it comes to map reading and using a compass. It was a lot of fun for sure.
     
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  11. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I don't need a GPS to drive around Maine, although I generally use it to remind myself when I'm speeding. However, leaving Maine, I have to drive through the New England mess, and I'd rather not depend on a paper map for that. There's far too much traffic to be looking at a map. On the other hand, I don't always like the options presented to me by the GPS so it's good to have a paper map available when the GPS tells me to do something that doesn't sound right to me. Sometimes the GPS just wants to take you on a tour of the country, regardless of where you want to go.
     
    #56
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2022
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  12. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    We have nav systems in all our vehicles; the motorhome has one similar to a trucker's version that shows a lot more detail (truck routes, low clearances, narrow bridges etc.) I still love to pour over maps and always buy the latest trucker's atlas to lay out a trip in advance. After we know where we're going we plug the info into a NAV system.

    Often these days my husband uses his phone for navigating and I use an app on my iPad, but I always love roadmaps.
     
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  13. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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  14. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    The Ford Edge has a navigation system, as do our phones, of course, but I prefer the Garmin, probably just because I'm used to it.
     
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  15. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    The Ford Edge has a navigation system, as do our phones, of course, but I prefer the Garmin, probably just because I'm used to it.
     
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