Geography Science Gone Haywire 

How might you make the study of Geography more useful for your travels?

“Geography is the art of the mappable.” Peter Haggett)

If you have ever studied Basic Geography as a student in school or in college, you’ve probably encountered plenty of practice with map reading skills. Most likely as well, you’ve needed to rely on such spatial information you’ve  learned in more practical ways to navigate between places locally and on vacation. Thankfully, your “GPS” device can usually manage such map reading tasks normally while driving with minimal effort on your part. 

Yet when such devices respond incorrectly in mapping your route, you might end up in the wrong place, face adverse driving conditions or simply miscalculate the required distance and time to and from destinations. Thus, any obsessive dependence on such electronic tracking might not necessarily be the right choice for you. Alternatively, you should realize that a trusted map can be your geography friend if you study it precisely as you once did to pass that subject’s class requirements..          

So take out  those dusty old “AAA”  road maps and figure out where you might drive in recognition of the kinds of landform barriers like mountains and water bodies you might encounter along the way. Tune into “The Weather Channel” and examine any storm projections with greater attention.  Dig out your compass from your glove compartment. Then turn it  around to face  the direction your city map tells you should be currently going. Getting creative, might even playfully spin an earth globe around a few times and see where your poked fingers randomly lands to gain a geographic” feel” for new destinations in your future travels. 

As an added challenge in this entry, give your map reading skills a powerful boost as you examine some puzzling travel situations I’ve previously faced, each with photo accompaniments below.

Ex. 1 – I’m traveling cross country America by car from South Florida. What’s my safest route to combat adverse weather conditions?

Ex. 2 – I need to follow the Mississippi River road corridor going north when winter transitions to spring. But emergency flood warnings are happening along this overflowing watershed and I need to find the safest area to stay for the night. What towns should I avoid because of these rising waters? 

Ex. 3 – I’m stuck in the Northern tundra interior of Canada with no road signs to direct me to the nearest town or city. In what directions should I head to find gas and shelter? 

Ex. 4 – I’m going to Rhode Island today from Massachusetts on my New England road trip tour. At what point of entry to the state would be the most direct way to travel? 

Ex.  5 – I’m moving by car northward in Michigan to the Canadian border. What lake (s) do I cross by to make sure I get there? 

Ex. 6 – Wait a second! I thought I knew where familiar towns and cities on this American road journey were located. Show me why I should have known otherwise. 

Ex. 7 – That stranger at the gas station told me told me that some illogical state name adjustment involving direction must be made to reach West Virginia. What did he mean? 

Ex. 8 –  How can it be possible that I’m told to drive north and then west from my Los Angeles home to vacation at a Reno, Nevada casino? Wouldn’t that route put me in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? 

Ex.9 – My Panama Canal cruise route from Florida seems to be going the wrong way. Why are we heading east to the Pacific Ocean?

Ex. 10 – Relax! I’ve flown long distances across the United States many times. How much harder can doing the same in Africa cross country be?