Yes, we are a product of our environment and our toys we choose to play with. Here is a case in point:

Setting the stage:

Last Friday Team Black Cat was already headed down to Delafield, WI for the WGA Annual Picnic when I called to ask when they were going to leave. I was able to talk my wife into letting me go early to and made reservations at the same hotel for that night. My youngest son, Lil’ Van Man, and I took off from Merrill and 3 hours later we met the TBC crew at pool side of the hotel. We had a good time sipping adult beverages and chatting about memorable caching events.

The next morning we all get up and have breakfast at the hotel (excellent too!) and scrapped together a loose plan for the day (Mrs. TBC advised against planning too much – I agreed). We all left for the event around 8:30am to go register and get the needed paperwork for the day. I travel with my laptop in my truck plugged into my inverter so I have it on all the time. I run DeLorme Street Atlas 2006 (with the USB GPSr) with GSAK and a few other helpful programs. I was waiting in my truck for the slow TBC crew so I had DeLorme plan our route from the hotel to the event coordinates that I imported from GSAK to Street Atlas. Finally TBC exits the hotel and I tell them I have the route all set and to follow me. That was the FIRST mistake!

The Events to the Event:
Key to the picture below – Blue arrows show direction of travel. Green is the ground trace of my Delorme Street Atlas.

(Leaving the Hotel) Like most disasters, the short 11 mile trip from the hotel started out just fine. A light rain was coming down, but nothing to ruin our day. We spot the sign to exit for Lapham’s Peak and sure enough, old trusty Street Atlas agrees that this is the exit.
Once exited, we start down the road towards the park. I quickly look at my computer screen and see it wants us to take an immediate left turn – but I already past that road. (See Event #1) So I pull off the road onto the shoulder and make a quick U-turn. TBC looks confused but blindly follows me.
I keep following the DeLorme route, alongside the main highway, to the event and it takes us down a dead end road. (see Event #2) I start to think maybe my outdated DeLorme has failed me. So I pull over and flag down TBC. I explain that I think we are on the wrong road and Mrs. TBS offers her Tom Tom as assistance. I give her the Latitude and Longitude coordinates and they say they have a route to the event – so off we go!
I start following TBC back to the road where I did the U-turn. I thought they were going to take a left (where the Park Entrance is, but I didn’t know that at the time), instead they take a right and then get back on the highway back towards the hotel! I thought it was a little weird that we originally exited the highway at the right exit since it was well marked by the big brown State Park sign, but who am I to argue with a Tom Tom? We take the first exit and take a right. I start to think maybe the Tom Tom knows a back way into the park that will get us to the event quicker – so I was impressed.
When TBC pulled onto a poorly marked road to the right I thought Tom Tom was a genius and was showing us a little know entrance to the park. Some distance down the road TBC pulled over to confirm the coordinates since it was showing them just 300 ft away in the middle of now where. I repeated the coordinates posted on the web site and that matched what they had, so off we went. The time I figured out that Tom Tom was just as wrong as Delorme was when we pulled up to a Juvenile Correct Facility! (See Event #3) I started laughing until I cried when TBC pulled over and rolled down his window. Apparently when Mrs. TBC entered in the coordinates, she forgot a decimal point (or something like that), so now the Tom Tom was showing a different route. Another U-turn and off we went!
We start heading down the road what now I feel is the correct path. I start telling my son we should have just followed the signs to the park. But really, show would doubt their trust Delorme and Tom Tom? As we head back north on the road to the Park I start thinking the Tom Tom has us on the right course. Then we take another right back towards the event – but something is not quite right. Sure enough – ANOTHER DEAD END! (See Event #4) How can this be? Three dead ends for two GPSr’s? I throw my hands up and tell TBC that our computer mapping software sucks and I think I know how to get there.
I turned off my laptop and sped back down the road. I turned back north and continued until my eye’s (not my GPSr) peered upon a sign that pointed to the Park entrance! Ah-ha!

So, to answer the title question, how many GPSr’s does it take to get to a WGA event? NONE! Use your eyes and common sense.

Van’s Clan