Call if you get lost...

It's probably the most oft quoted phrase I've heard since moving to Durham. Whether it's a lunch appointment, a job interview, a ward function, picking Jess up on campus, visiting friends, it's just what you say at the end of a conversation.

Why?

Well, let's just say that Brother Brigham's square grid doesn't extend all the way to North Carolina. It's said that the roads here are based on old cattle trails. I, for one, actually believe that cattle travel in a more organized pattern than the way these roads are strewn across the land. Picture a bowl of spaghetti noodles. Now take a handful of those noodles and throw them on the ground. Those are the roads I wade through daily. :)

Seriously. There are no Center/Main intersections. There are no numbered blocks. There are no squares. Just lots of winding streets. I mean heaven forbid we cut down a tree in order to keep a street running straight. There are streets with the same name that don't connect (presumably due to a tree making its home right in the way). There are streets that change name en route. And then change back. One of our favorites is a left turn that you actually have to drive past, at which point you're dumped into a forced U-turn so you can double back to your turn. And without any mountains to use as compass points, it gets pretty confusing. Now, I know I'm just a big Utah baby, but even the locals attest to the utter confusion they experience when driving here.

Enter Garmin.

This new friend of ours (we refer to "him" by name, Garmin, although we use the female guide voice) is a lifesaver. My parents took pity on us after their trip to Durham, and gave us a GPS system for Christmas to help us get around. Garmin's like my best friend. He makes navigating a spaghetti bowl of roads just a little easier.

HOWEVER, even Garmin isn't fool proof. Even Garmin doesn't understand these cattle trails. A few times we've "arrived" at our destination, when the destination isn't anywhere in sight. And sometimes Garmin takes the long way (he prefers the freeways, when sometimes the noodle roads are quicker). To Garmin's credit though, more than not, he gets us where we need to go.

And in the end, it all works out. As you can always "call if you get lost." Or reprogram Garmin.