Daily Dose of Sultnpapper 07/25/18> The Lost Art of … Driving Directions.
It never occurred to me until yesterday just how many things that we used to do were no longer doing in this day and age. One of those things is giving driving directions. Giving driving directions back in the days before smart phones and GPS (Global Positioning Systems) was common place if you were going to meet up with someone and they were not familiar with the meet up destination.
I used to take a lot a pride in being able to give good directions even though I can’t remember half of the street names or FM Road numbers, in Texas FM stands for “Farm to Market Road”, because that was the road you took to get to the market. Despite not being able to remember these things people always would tell me that those were, “the best directions I ever got” when I had given them directions.
My day time driving directions were definitely better than my nighttime driving directions because all of my driving directions included landmarks of some form or another. It can be difficult to see a big old oak tree on the side of the road when it is pitch black at night. Also trying to tell just where the barb wire fence ends is difficult to do when your head lights only shine on the road and not across the bar ditches.
One thing I did have going for me on nighttime directions was I had the distances pretty much memorized as to how far one place was in relation to another, most roads I could tell you within a tenth of mile from intersection to intersection because the speedometer on the trucks and cars only measured down to tenths. So at nighttime a typical driving direction I would leave out the not so obvious landmarks and just use distance as the guide.
“Go down this road three miles (pointing south with my hand), you’ll come to a flashing yellow light, go on past the light for three tenths of mile or so and there will be a gravel road on the left, turn there and take it another half a mile, the road will end it a “T” intersection, make a right there and about a half a mile on left is the liquor store.” Those were the directions to the liquor store in Covington from the gas station in Grandview.
It was really an art when you think about, and farther out you lived from the city the better artist you became. It wasn’t uncommon to draw maps either, anything could be used as a map too, I remember one time drawing a map on the right forearm of a young lady who was trying to go see an old friend of mine about some weed. She said, “I’ll never remember how to get there just by telling me, I need a map.” So she whipped out a Sharpie marker and rolled her arm over and said , “draw it right here, this way I won’t lose it.” as she pointed to her forearm. Yes, Mam, one map to Lucas’s place coming right up.
Now a day’s people don’t give “directions” they give “addresses” because that is all you need, well that and a smart phone. Google maps have basically killed the art that was once known as giving directions. The reason I bring this up has to do with having lunch on Tuesday in a small town south of Houston on my way to Victoria. I got to visiting with the owner of the place and he told me that they used to be located down the road a couple miles right where Mustang Creek crosses under the highway. “There is a big red barn there, we were right there.”, he said.
I’ve traveled this highway plenty of times and as he told me that I was trying to picture the place in my mind, I just could not for the life a me remember a big red barn in that stretch of road. It just so happened that I was heading south and that would take me right past Mustang Creek and this old barn so when I got in the truck and headed out I kept an eye on the speedometer and an eye on the side of the road.
A couple miles had passed on the speedometer and I hadn’t seen any big red barn, but I hadn’t crossed the bridge that goes over Mustang Creek yet either. About another ¾ of a mile I'm passing over the creek and I still hadn’t seen any big red barn. Then I got to questioning myself, was it two miles from where I visited with him or maybe did he say two miles past Mustang Creek? So I kept an eye out on the roadside and on the speedometer and I never did see that big red barn.
I really wanted to get a picture of that barn. I will be heading back to Houston today and I am planning on finding that barn and I am also going to stop and get a picture of the sign that says Mustang Creek. If I make it back as far north as his place today and I haven’t seen the barn by then I might just stop in and ask him for the damn address, it will have been pretty obvious at that point he just isn’t any good at giving driving directions.
Keep that name, Mustang Creek, in your mind; you will be hearing it again in a future daily dose.
Until next time,
@sultnpapper
I too used to be good at giving directions and drawing maps. I could read a map and a compass too. I did a lot of travelling when I was younger and those skills came in handy. When we moved to Costa Rica it drove me crazy, the directions you would get because people either walked or took the bus they had no idea about oneway streets. A lot of the roads and streets are curved and hilly, directions would say so many blocks North only the road didn't go north, it went east and west. Then Nicaragua became a real pain because all the directions are given in reference to the main two lakes. Good if you know where they are, hell if you don't.
I always had problems with Victoria Tx. when I first started going there , because one road was used by two highways so on one particular stretch you are north bound on Hwy 59 and south bound on hwy 77 even though as the crow flies you are going east. Took me a couple times to figure that one out.
I hate to say it, but those kind of directions drive me crazy! My brain just can't retain all that info all at once. I invariably end up going left at the big car park instead of right at the big park, or something like that. Or I just tell the well-meaning direction-giver to shut up and give me the address (though I put it more politely) - and that's been the case long before Google appeared!
I've never had satnav - apart from a brief spell of using Google maps voice instructions on my phone. For some reason it always sent me right through the centre of town, and I avoid going into town at all costs, so I stopped using it. Instead, before I travel, I use Google maps to get the route, and then I go onto Google Street View and rehearse all the tricky junctions and turnings. It usually works brilliantly - except when the Street View is a bit out of date. It once showed me a school that I had to drive round - except it turned out that the school had been demolished, so I was really confused. Maybe that's what happened to the big red barn.
When I give people lifts to hillwalks, they are often impressed at how I seem to know exactly where I'm going - I've rehearsed it on Street View, so I feel as if I've been there before!
And inevitably at least one person turns up late, saying "My satnav took me to the wrong place!"
Everyone's brains are definitely wired differently , I am a visual person and like to see things as well and that is why I pay more attention to landmarks than names. i use google now and when i recognize an area i go with i know and it drives the google nuts, "U-turn at the next left, u-turn in 300 feet, " and I keep going straight.
one of these days I expect it to say, "WTF did ask for directions if you aren't going to follow them?
Haha - I'm sure someone will programme satnav to do that soon.
In this part of the country, driving directions are still given frequently. I've had many folks ask me at gas stations and grocery stores how to get to some other place. Many people here seem to still have flip-phones without maps, and I think there are plenty who would rather not rely on technology so much, even if they had a smartphone in their pocket.
Sometimes, I like a challenge. So, I decided to see if I could find the barn you mentioned with only the simple clues you gave in this post. If you were at Mustang Creek BBQ (north of Louise), then I fear that the old barn is gone. I found where Mustang Creek crosses Highway-59 (south of Louise) and there is no barn there. However, that is, indeed, shown on maps as the former location of the restaurant, although it is 3.8 miles from the current location. The beautiful old barn must have been torn down.
So, did I do a good sleuthing job, following the clues...?
Thank you on the congrats.
Yes, you are a petty darn good sleuth. Cecil is the owner, I guess his miles are tad longer than the 5,280 feet that is in the miles I use. I did stop and get a picture of the sign for the creek. I am glad you looked at it from the air and couldn't find anything either, I didn't stop by the BBQ today, there was road construction taking place on the south bound lanes right in front of his place and traffic was a mess, one lane only.
I will have have to look on Google earth myself because I talked to a customer in Vanderbilt TX about Mustang Creek BBQ and he told me the original place wasn't a big red barn but an old tin barn that would flood every few years when the creek went out of it's banks.
I noticed a locked gate with a no trespassing sign just after the bridge on the south bound side, right directly in line with the U-Turn lanes to head back north. I could barely see some silver back in there that might have been the place, but the trees and vegetation was so thick I couldn't tell from the road and I was making my u turn to head back north.
Nice detective work Tiffany. I should have thought to look myself on Google Earth before I headed back today
To get to the spot on Google maps quickly, click here.
This former site is no longer marked in Google Maps, but it is marked in BING maps:
There is one largish building, which I suspect was the restaurant at one time. The old barn may have been next to the creek, or perhaps it was near that house that's behind the largish building?
Hey, thanks for fixing the link, I tried it earlier and it didn't work but just came back to it and it did, I think you are correct on the larger building being the old restaurant, from street view and looking back behind the building and to the right of it I could see a good size barrel that appeared to be a smoker. Plus with what the other guy told me , about it being a tin building and not a red barn ,it all seems to fit now. Plus there was a bunch of cooking wood ready to be cut uo at the front of the building.
Good job.
It is quite possible,
Great stuff man!
Maybe he is just colorblind and that barn isn't red at all :P :) Thanks for another great diary :)
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read and comment, very much appreciated.
Hi sultnpapper,
Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.
thank you very much, a very nice surprise indeed.
Thanks, yes another totally unexpected one...
Never break the chain, the next one isn't far away either.
This excellent post was included in the latest issue of The Inbox Runneth Over. Stop by when you have a minute and see what else I found along the trail. Your companions here are all interesting in their own way, and your support for this project and especially its occupants would be very much appreciated. Thank you for everything. Have a lovely day!
Re: the curie
A shock like that could kill an old codger like you.
Absolutely could, a person would think that with as such high quality material that I write each and everyday I would be getting 3 or 4 Curies a week and then I wouldn't be shocked and it would be like an old hat, always around.
Or maybe I ought to just shut up and be thankful, yep, I think that is actually the right thing and I am thankful when I do have the honor of receiving these Curies.
Congratulations on the @curie upvote mr Papper!
I'm still a big fan of giving driving directions and drawing maps as the navigators often take one through some dodgy areas! When I'm on my own and don't know the area I will ALWAYS first check out the map to get my bearings before I start the navigator.
Maps and driving directions in my mind still has a place as a backup as navigators can fail during a hectic storm and also is useless on unknown farm roads when it really can lead one up the garden path, but then capturing geographical data for maps used to be my bread and butter! But really, a friend got hopelessly lost one stormy night during a storm, as her gps was also lost!
But one cannot venture onto busy roads in an unknown city without a navigator especially when on your own.
Thank you Lizelle, I don't think you should put total faith in the electronic devices, I read stories where people have drove off into ponds and rivers because the device said "turn now" or "turn here", people have to have some common sense about how they use them, that is for sure.