Mapquest - My Nemesis

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After returning to the States I journeyed to Colorado for a few days of snowboarding at Breckenridge and the Arapahoe Basin (A Basin); however, before I could enjoy the snow I needed to get my dilapidated vehicle from the Florida Panhandle to Atlanta, Georgia. I stopped in Tallahassee to have lunch with a friend who generously provided me with directions from Mapquest.com. Now Mapquest and I have a longstanding relationship that works something like this:

I ask it for directions to a destination for which I know not and it provides me with a list of turns, street names, and colorful icons that inevitable get me lost.

Which is exactly what happened on this day.

So there I am in some town in the middle of nowhere Georgia literal going in circles because that is what Mapquest told me to do. Somehow it decided the best way to get to I-75 North was to get on the town truck bypass, then get off the bypass, and then return back down the regular highway back to the truck bypass. After about 30 minutes and 1 pit stop later I decided it was too damn hot to continue in this fashion and forged my own route to the interstate…that and that the ink was running from the Mapquest printouts from my sweat.

Did I mention that my car was continually overheating and I had to run the heater the entire time? Oh yeah, good times!

The way that I have decided Mapquest creates their directions is this. They generate a map with which contains two boxes, one says Start the other End. They then give this map and a purple crayon to a 2-year old child and tell him, “Connect the boxes, and remember, try and stay in the lines this time.”

I firmly believe that Mapquest and the Weather Channel are run by the same group of morons.

The good news: I did make it to Atlanta...3 hours later than usual.

The next morning my father and I made it to Denver, where we met my uncle, Reagan. The trip to the mountains took about 2 hours, during which it started snowing. The trip was uneventful, except for the thoughtful sign the state department had posted along the interstate. (See pic).

The following morning we awoke to about five inches of fresh snow. The boarding was great and we had an amazing time.

I spent a few more days in Atlanta with my family and purchased a new vehicle, so I could make it back home. Too say the least I am not looking forward to the 9 hour journey back home.

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Photos

Thanks for the Tip
And to think we almost picked up the guy in the orange jumper weilding the axe.

Yet another helpful sign
Sign Text:
CAUTION - Ice and snow are part of the alpine environment.

Comments

[sue]

DANGER
nice pictures ryan... so did you go at your own risk and snowboard down that slop?

[gnoknayme]

truth be told
We did go down the east wall a couple of times, it was actually not that bad a run, except it was a little icy in spots.