The GPS reroute my brother swore by sent me into a cornfield in Iowa

My brother visits twice a year and always lectures me about taking the scenic route. Last month he insisted I use this shortcut he found to dodge traffic on I-80 near Cedar Rapids. It said turn left on some gravel road that looked fine on the map. Five miles in, the road narrowed to one lane with corn taller than my truck on both sides. Then the pavement just stopped and turned into a muddy ditch. I had to back up a quarter mile with a line of tractors behind me honking. The GPS kept saying 'recalculating' like it was my fault. I finally made it to the highway 40 minutes later than the original route would have taken. Has anyone else trusted a relative's shortcut and ended up on a farm access road?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor_miller1021d ago

Honestly though, I'm gonna play devil's advocate here because I think your brother might be onto something. The interstate system is a trap, it's just a bunch of trucks and stress, while those back roads actually let you see the real Iowa, the stuff that actually matters. Plus, tractors honking is basically a friendly hello in farm country, you just gotta wave back and they'll figure it out. You backed up a quarter mile? That's a core memory, man, that's way better than another boring drive staring at brake lights. Tbh, getting lost on a gravel road and rolling with it is how you find the best pie shops and weird roadside attractions, your brother was giving you an adventure and you just weren't ready for it.

the_simon21d ago

...and that's exactly why I don't let my dad navigate anymore. He once took us on a "shortcut" to a flea market and we ended up on a logging road with the minivan scraping over rocks for like an hour. The GPS lady was just screaming recalculating over and over and my mom had to get out and push a fence gate open. We finally got to the flea market just as everything was closing and dad swore the shortcut would've been faster if we hadn't hit "traffic" which was literally a cow standing in the road. I feel your cornfield pain man, some relatives think maps are just suggestions and they're secretly trying to give us a free tour of someone's farm.