Free GPS Guidance
Archive for August, 2011
Hurricane Irene – Automotive GPS to the Rescue!
Well, as the end of summer is upon us we just experienced a rare occurrence in the northeast, a category 1 hurricane which, fortunately for us, then reduced to a strong tropical storm. As the folks who live on the southern and southeastern fringes of the US are well aware there was some significant damage along the roads and bridges. To say there are or have been some detours is an understatement. Some bridges were washed away, and there were quite a few trees blocking roadways not to mention the roads which were flooded or just plain washed away. This was a great time to experience automotive GPS systems at their best! Detours can be so confusing, especially for all the folks who were in the area vacationing or enjoying their summer homes and aren’t necessarily familiar with all the back roads or alternate routes in order to get to where they need to be. At this time especially, I wish everyone safety and health throughout the recovery period. Happy traveling!
Living out in the country as we do we have lots of open spaces and great views all around us. With all those open spaces come the most magnificent hot air balloons soaring over and around our property. It is so much fun to help get one ready to fly then watch it float away on the breeze. Beautiful! Another part of ballooning is the chase. We love to hop in the car and try to figure out which back road will lead us to where we think that beauty is going to land so we can meet the friendly people and help to fold that balloon back into it’s bag at the end of the ride. Also, you never know when the balloonist might open a bottle of champagne to share afterwards.
With one of the largest balloon festivals in the country happening practically in my back yard I have often wondered how so many chase vans who are unfamiliar with the area are going to get to the right back road to catch up with their own balloon and have seen more than one balloon have to stay inflated enough to pop up in sight for that chase van to find them. Now I have been wondering how many of those same balloonists might be changing over to a handheld GPS device or even automotive GPS so they can give their chase van the coordinates or road intersections they need in order to find them? That would be geocaching taken to a whole new level! I’m going to have to ask about that next time we go out chasing one of those beauties and find out how that might work for them. If anyone has tried this let me know! Sounds pretty intriguing to me.