“I always print a Google map of the place I am going and use that along with the GPS. The GPS and I always get into disagreements about the route.”
That’s what I do.
Before GPS we drove from Seattle to Las Vegas. We drove a lot of secondary roads (three kids - 6 yrs and two 3 year-olds). The best part of the trip was the 200 miles on a dirt road! It was fun for the kids as we would stop and explore. In hindsight probably not the best idea - but a good car, plenty of food and water, and day time and I knew where we were the entire time. We stopped at some abandoned fort (even had a monument on it) in the middle of a sage-covered flat with cows all around. And two small volcanoes at other spots.
For some reason, after reading your post, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor came to mind.
One of my favorite short stories.