You Must Be Trippin'

Lost and Found: GPS on the Road

January 15 2009 by Mark Deyer

As much as I love road trips, at some point during the trip I end up in a gas station in the middle of Anywhere, USA asking for directions. I've tried hand plotting my routes on a map, but that inevitably creates more confusion and extra hours of travel time. I've used MapQuest® and Google Maps, but let's be honest, once you miss an exit you're already past the point of no return. My newest travel gadget has changed the way I travel--the portable GPS.

I recently acquired a Garmin nuvi® 260 Portable GPS Navigator this holiday season from my wonderful fiance. We figured there was no better way to test it out than on a road trip to the heart of the American Southwest: Las Vegas. The setup process couldn't have been easier. Stick the GPS against the windshield with a nifty suction cup, plug it into the 12-volt cigarette lighter (or use its 5 hour lithium battery), power up, and go.

Our trip couldn't have gone any smoother. My nuvi 260, like most GPS units on the market, was easy to program and follow. Just type in any address, cross streets, or a landmark and the GPS software will immediate locate your position, the destination, and plot a course in seconds. Our travel instructions were delivered through turn-by-turn voice commands and if we were too busy cranking the tunes, we followed along via text instructions on the GPS screen. Miss an exit? No problem. The Garmin GPS will reconfigure your route and instantaneously plot you back on course. My particular model could even recommend restaurants, gas stations, and hotels along the way.

The freedom that a portable GPS gives you extends beyond point A to point B. We found that it was most useful when we were ventured off the highway and into towns to grab lunch on the way. Instead of worrying how to get back to the highway, we were free to roam miles away from the highway, enjoying the luxury of having the GPS point us back on route when we were ready to hit the road.

Now with all great innovations, there is a downside--a somewhat unexpected downside, no less. I actually missed getting lost. The convenience of travel via GPS is certainly unrivaled, but it was on this trip to Vegas that we realized the romance and allure of the Great American road trip are the unexpected bumps along the way. The best memories we had of past trips were the moments were the unexpected quirks of getting lost and ending up in a strange new place. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not ready to pull the plug on my GPS and ship it back to the store, but perhaps every now and then, on the right road trip, I'll leave the GPS at home and let the road take over.

What other travel gadgets do you take on the road? Let us know.

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