The track of our trip to the Smokies. September 9, 2010.
I’ve mentioned our GPS unit several times and have talked about how much we like it. This past Thursday we got a lesson in how much we rely on it.
Our GPS got recalled by Garmin, and we sent it in to be repaired a couple of weeks ago. So when we went to the Smokies on Thursday we didn’t have it. We were going to drive Rich Mountain Road, a road we had never taken before. But we knew it was a primitive, one-way road out of Cades Cove, a place we’ve visited several times. The sign at the entrance to the road said it went to Townsend, a place we’ve been to many times, so off we went. I did have my geotagger with us, but that only showed (after the fact) where we had been, not where we were going.
We had no problems in the park. After leaving the park the road became paved and two-way. When we came to a four-way stop, we knew we were back to civilization.
That’s when the fun began. We came to a ‘T’ intersection with no signs. We figured we were west of Townsend, so we turned right. A little later we came to a ‘Y’. The right branch looked like the main road, so we took it. We drove along enjoying the scenery — and eventually we arrived back at the four-way stop.
Trying to find our way home. September 9, 2010.
We tried again. This time we took the left branch at the ‘Y’. That led to more beautiful scenery — and a dead-end! We turned around and followed the road in the other direction. Eventually it led to the highway that got us on our way back home.
After all of this ‘fun’, we were delighted to get home and find a package on our doorstep. Inside the package was our GPS! We wasted no time getting it put back into our car.
Tags: Smokies, Technology, Tennessee, Travels
Senior Moments 
September 13, 2010 at 3:52 am |
John and I had a similar experience driving the mountains around Biltmore on our honeymoon and I was getting carsick! Glad you received the GPS back!
September 13, 2010 at 7:05 am |
if there were no signs would the GPS help? never used one so don’t really know how they work.
September 13, 2010 at 9:18 am |
I love having this type of ‘adventure’—that’s what I call them. One is NEVER lost!! I have a GPS on my cell phone. I didn’t even know it and was playing around on the phone and it said navigational so I checked it out. Shannon and I were looking for a certain store to meet someone so i tried it out and it worked–pretty neat. So I know I could use it, only problem when I may want to I will be probably out of any service area. haha!! MB
September 13, 2010 at 9:28 am |
We’ve come to rely on our GPS too!
September 13, 2010 at 10:21 am |
Interesting story.At least you got to see some beautiful scenery which you had not anticipated.:)
Blessings,Ruth
September 13, 2010 at 10:30 am |
Sounds like Phil and me this weekend, out of town. round and round we went, late at night, only to wind up back at the same place every time!! But I do believe that life is about the journey, not the destination. You can find some wonderfully unexpected, blogworthy things getting lost. You can actually have the best time of your life!
September 13, 2010 at 1:34 pm |
Amazing! What did we ever do without them? 🙂 I have a new car and a new GPS system — it’s taken me almost three weeks to learn how to engage the GPS! It’s still safer than reading a map while you’re driving!
September 13, 2010 at 4:52 pm |
George: Sometimes modern technology is a God send.
September 13, 2010 at 5:31 pm |
What an adventure you two had. I think it sounded like a fun way to spend the day and the opportunity to see the countryside. My husband must be the only person left in the world who uses a paper map! I think I will buy him a GPS for Christmas though!
September 13, 2010 at 6:21 pm |
We have a Garmin as well as GPS app for my iTouch. I never use them. I’m a dyed in the wool Gazeteer fan.
September 13, 2010 at 9:06 pm |
We are the same way with our GPS, it’s a bit like cellphones, what on earth did we do before?!
Now you guys really need to try geocaching, I bet you literally walk by hundreds the places you go. Take a look at http://www.geocaching.com I know you’d both get a real kick out of it!
September 13, 2010 at 11:23 pm |
I just read on Betsy’s blog you were taking this road. I think it’s someplace I’d love to visit. Sounds like my kind of drive. I should print this George and put it with my Smokies maps. 🙂
September 14, 2010 at 8:15 am |
I resisted the cellphone for awhile. May finally have to get a GPS LOl
September 14, 2010 at 8:51 am |
Jeep and I have had similar experiences in those mountains! I thought we would never get back to civilation! Can’t wait to get back up there and ‘get lost’ in those beautiful mountains.
September 14, 2010 at 4:15 pm |
Great post!!! I threw my TomTom away…it was awful!!! Now I rely on my navigation on my Droid and I love it!!! Nothing can take the place of a good ole “good sense of direction” though!!! Happy you two saw a lot of beautiful scenery!!!
September 14, 2010 at 6:16 pm |
Hello George! I learned of your blog through Betsy. I’ve enjoyed your comments very much and can see that you love the mountains of East Tennessee almost as much as I do. I’ve had several of those confusing trips in the mountains – but you know we always manage to get back home. It reminds me of Davy Crockett’s answer (or was that Dan’l Boone?) when he was asked if he had ever been lost in the mountains as he scouted new territory. “Nope. Never been lost in my life….Now – I have been bewildered for two or three days at a time!”
September 14, 2010 at 10:57 pm |
That is what we call ‘Taking the scenic route’ and we have a number of times.
One time a friend of mine and her husband were going somewhere in their car and wound up on a road where there were only 4-wheel drive trucks and jeeps!
September 15, 2010 at 8:35 am |
Adventures like that can be fun or scary…..awfully good to have a GPS along any more! We get spoiled so easily by our gadgets. I remember wondering why on earth Mike wanted to get one and now I would hate to travel without it!
September 17, 2010 at 12:29 pm |
Ah, getting lost in the mountains is always fun.
You’re lucky you had places to turn around on the dead ends. Sometimes we’re pulling a horse trailer and hit a dead end. That can be a bit of a problem!