I found this story on Fox News' website tonight (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,581303,00.html). I'm sometimes amused at all the gadgets folks carry around these days; I-pods, I-phones, blackberries, GPS, satellite radio receivers, cellphones, etc. There are even small gadgets that serve only to be used as books. These gadgets are convenient but they can bite you sometimes, like the couple in the news article. I was working once out in Carissa Plains, which is about 50 miles from the nearest anything, when a gentleman stopped to ask me where the nearest gas station was. It seems his GPS told him that Highway 58 was the shortest route to San Luis Obispo from wherever he was and somehow led him to believe there would be somewhere to fuel up his Pontiac on the way, which was by then running on fumes. Thankfully for this Texan (interestingly, I had a fellow from Texas riding with me that day), I was able to find a local rancher who had a fuel tank behind his barn and gave this gentleman enough fuel to get to town (thank you Mrs Twisselman!).
You don't need new-fangled gadgets to get you into trouble, however. I once got myself into a predicament with an good old-fashioned Thomas Guide east of Sonora one winter. Time prohibits me from sharing the details, but the "shortcut" I hoped to use ended up gaining me a mile and a half walk uphill in a snow storm and Ma Bell a $400 tow bill.
