Going Off the Map

I love maps. I love spreading a map out in front of me and looking at all the little towns with funny names, tracing my finger along the roads. There’s a part of this traveler that wishes to explore every road, every river, every place that is noted as a place of interest. I’m interested.

I still have state maps folded up in my glove box. Gosh, both those things are telling of my age. “Who uses folding maps and who puts gloves in that dashboard compartment?” I love the convenience of “Glinda” that’s my name for the Onstar navigation system I have that gets me somewhere, you know, “Follow the yellow brick road!” Most of us have given up maps for the ease of the Global Positioning System (GPS). Wikipedia describes this almost science fiction-like function as “The Global Positioning System is a space-based satellite navigation system that provides location and time information in all weather conditions, anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. The system provides critical capabilities to military, civil and commercial users around the world. It is maintained by the United States government and is freely accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver.” It’s that last line that reels us in. Once something that seemed like Star Trek™, now we can touch a few buttons and that technology comes to us on our little devices, including our smart phones.

Do students still learn to read maps? Do they look at the spacing and understand the timing of a trip? Do we encourage each other on the idea of getting off the Interstates and follow those little squiggles that will probably have barns, and fields, and small towns with stop signs where you are forced to slow down and look around?

I have a big world map on my wall. It is dotted with colored pins of my family’s travels. Doug is blue, son Caleb is green, and I am red. We love to visit a new place and come home to mark that memory. Many times I hear of a place and instead of the quick Google, I stare at our map until I find it. Many times I just stare at my map for the enjoyment.

The World is a big place, filled with variety. One of my favorite travel quotes sums it up, “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” I’m buying a map.