A New Direction

On Sunday, Karen and I went to an event put on by a local Meetup group ... to learn how to use our GPS units!  I've turned it on and had it track me, and have entered waypoints from where I'm standing and stuff, but couldn't put it all together.  This course was awesome!  Wally lives out on like 13 acres in New Plymouth, and had everything all set up when we got there - coffee, hot cider, warm cinnamon rolls, etc.  And I ate like a pig!  I haven't eaten that much junk food in one day in five months, and it was fun!

We started out in his basement where he showed us the basics - navigating the various screens of our GPS, how to make a waypoint from where you're standing, entering given waypoints, and more importantly, how to get to them.  He was so patient and worked with everyone thru each step and kept us all on the same page.  (Sorry, my camera was out of battery, so I used my phone.)

Here's Wally all the way on the left, helping someone out.

Going out to the yard to try it out.

Then he gave us some exercises to do.  He gave us a waypoint, we had to enter it and find it.  Here we are meeting up at the marked "post" that he gave us to find at the end of his very long driveway. 

From there, he gave us a new starting coordinate.  Once we go to that coordinate, there was a container with pieces of paper it in with coordinates to a new point, etc.  So the race was on!  There were five points to find, and Karen and I cruised through all of it, wandering around his gorgeous property.  This was a blast!

Then back at the fire ... we continued hammering him with questions, and he answered every one of them.

People ate like kings.  Wally had all the proper cooking utensils for sticking hot dogs and brats on the fire, and other people brought sides - potato chips, granola balls, strawberries and some yummy stuff to dip them into, etc. 

.... And beer! 

It's great knowing that we can now go out and ride wherever the hell we want to and have no fear of getting lost.  We have a habit of blazing new trails and it's so easy to get turned around deep in the Owyhees when everything looks the same.  

Such a fun day!  It was a drag that the weather was so shitty and we didn't want to ride in it so we went and played Bingo instead.  What a kick!  We didn't win anything, but there was plenty of people watching going on, and lots of laughs to be had.

Oh!  I also joined the Idaho Mounted Orienteering group.   I have decided I need to learn how to properly read maps and use a compass and this group teaches you exactly that.  They also go ride at really nice places and, from what I understand, are a very organized group.  I am really looking forward to it ... and spring!