#Maps May 21

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There are some “Life Lessons” that MAPS can teach us is we study them correctly. Looking at MAPS is something I enjoy doing.

If traveling I often stop at a Welcome Center located at a state line. I will often ask for a state transportation MAP. At the conclusion of most trips I discard the MAPS but I still have a small collection.

There are some “Life Lessons” that MAPS can teach us is we study them correctly. I will admit that when you travel today there is not as much reliance on reading them as in previous decades. It is easy today to rely on phone apps like Waze or Google to help you with travel decisions.

When I first started driving back and forth from home to college in the 1970’s (New Jersey-North Carolina) I begin relying on trip planning. As a college basketball coach I would study a MAP before heading out to some first time destination. I can vividly recall using one issued by the NC Department of Transportation to find places named Bunn, Chocowinity, Yadkinville, Lawndale, and Plymouth.

There was an occasion where I didn’t study one correctly. Just about every state road atlas has a legend. It pays to understand what those symbols mean.

My first reading error happened in 1981 on a cold and wet January night. That evening I was leaving Western Carolina University on a recruiting trip. My destination was Brevard NC to watch a HS basketball game . Reviewing my pocket atlas I saw US 276 went from Waynesville NC to Brevard NC. I choose that route not knowing that US 276 climbed a mountain peak close to Wagon Rd Gap and the elevation approached 4,800 feet.

What occurred as rain in Waynesville NC at 2,600 feet quickly turned to snow as I approached where US 276 crossed under the Blue Ridge Parkway. In addition to the snow I was now traveling on a gravel road. It was clearly marked on the MAP but I didn’t know what it meant. Trust me I know what the symbol for an unpaved road looks like today. I arrived at the game a little late due to the slow sledding on a gravel road.

I wrote a post five years ago about North Carolina’s Unpaved Roads. That article pointed out that in over 20 years the state had paved about 13,000 miles of unpaved roads. Prior to that those roads were marked on the MAP as gravel or soil roads. If you look at the legend above you can see how those roads are designated. If you want to find unpaved roads currently in North Carolina there is a website for NC Unpaved Roads

Navigating life, just like travel often goes well if we can understand what the MAP is telling us.