Another Attempt At A Poll, Do you use GPS when you travel? Options

[pianotuna]

Hi All,

I rather goofed on the last attempt at a poll like this--so I've decided to use the KISS principle this time (Kiss = keep it simple, (I'm) stupid).

[BBear]

When I purchased my vehicle it came with OnStar and a years' free service. I didn't renew. I only used it a handful of times and just for the navigational service of which the few times I used it the directions were wrong. I do better with just a plain old map, LOL.

However, I am considering purchasing a hand-held GPS unit specifically for hiking...I hate compasses, LOL. And, may also start doing some geocaching. I went on a few geocaching adventures with some friends and had a blast.

[Lindsay Richards]

We don't use GPS, but have been considering it. We rarely know where we are going to spedn the night and frequently make changes on the fly. My wife is our GPS.

[John Blue]

Lindsay,

Nice part about wife's over GPS, they are never wrong and have no batteries to change out, also come with life time warranty in most cases. Pointed out what you should have done at last turn you missed, then hand you the map. They do cook better than we do. I would take wife over GPS any day.

[pianotuna]

Hi John,

I do 95% of the cooking--my wife can cook--but doesn't enjoy it--and doesn't do it particularly well (except for her apple pie)

Lindsay,

Nice part about wife's over GPS, they are never wrong and have no batteries to change out, also come with life time warranty in most cases. Pointed out what you should have done at last turn you missed, then hand you the map. They do cook better than we do. I would take wife over GPS any day.

[HappiestCamper]

Lindsay,

Nice part about wife's over GPS, they are never wrong and have no batteries to change out, also come with life time warranty in most cases. Pointed out what you should have done at last turn you missed, then hand you the map. They do cook better than we do. I would take wife over GPS any day.

At least my GPS has a mute button

I don't travel many places I haven't already been. I mainly use mine just to find addresses around town (when I was a kid my town was only about 3,500, now it's over 60,000 - plenty of streets I've never heard of). I will take it when I'm camping to get the coordinates for my photos to put in Google Earth.

[DXSMac]

I'm surprised someone hasn't complained. Last time I tried a poll, someone complained about "stupid polls." I like polls!

JJ

[BJS]

We use ours all of the time even when traveling to places we have already been - most places. It comes in handy to find rest areas and other places to stop.

It is nice to see exactly where we are on our route, how far to the next turn or destination, and there is always a mountain or river name of interest to be found.

[campingandtravels.blogspot.com]

Nope ~ we do not sue the GPS - just gool 'ole fashioned paper maps!

Happy Travels!
Suzanne & Brad
http://campingandtravels.blogspot.com

[Lee and Fran]

Bought ours christmas of 2007 and glad I did. Best thing I have ever carried for traveling.

[danamrak]

We use our GPS as well as our atlas, and regular state maps. The GSPs is great but not always accurate. So cannot depend on it completely

[Jerry S.]

I think GPS is another one of those recent hi-tech devices that has made life (or at least getting somewhere) a lot easier for most of its' users, but, like us, is not perfect. The faults have been mentioned here and in other threads. In addition to it being wrong sometimes, it can make some folks a little too dependent on it. It reminds me a bit of hand-held calculators 20+ years ago. Once they were allowed in schools, we suddenly had a substantial number of kids coming out of school without the ability to do simple math. There is a lot to be said for being able to read maps, plot your route, and having this information in your head as you travel. As most of us who are getting up there in age have probably heard, we need to keep our brains active to try to stave off all sorts of old age maladies. While it is nice to have a little machine tells us what to do, I prefer to use my own abilities (as long as I have them) to get me from here to there.

All that crap said, I may have marked the wrong answer to the poll. I checked the last choice but could have checked "Never". I guess I got hung up on the fact that I don't have a GPS. I am having second thoughts about the correctness of my selection because the reason I don't have a GPS is that it is not something I "need" and therefore the cost of a GPS system is not worth the cost to me. On my 6700 mile trip this past summer, for example, I made one wrong turn (going right instead of left) going to the Walmart in Casper, WY. It cost me all of 2 miles and 5 minutes. This wonderful brain of mine couldn't remember my night before research as to whether the Walmart was east or west of the road I got onto as I exited I-25. Preventing that kind of error is not worth hundreds of dollars to me.

For those of you who use GPS, I just hope you don't run into any of those glitches that have been previously mentioned.

[HappiestCamper]

Nope ~ we do not sue the GPS - just gool 'ole fashioned paper maps!

I'm so glad you don't sue the GPS - this country is too litigious already

Now if we could just get you to keep the paper maps out of the courtroom

[DXSMac]

I'm so glad you don't sue the GPS - this country is too litigious already

Now if we could just get you to keep the paper maps out of the courtroom

Happiest, I'm glad you replied to this. I was debating whether or not to say something, but your "catch" of it had more "wit" than mine would have......

Now I'm debating whether to reply to the post that called it a "GSP" as opposed to a "GPS." Let's see.... GSP.... Global System Position....... Wow.

JJ

[Texasrvers]

Now, now, we all gat our fingurs on the rong keyz form tyme to tyme.

TZ (aka TX)