A Monumental Mistake
We have had a very strange problem at the camp for some time now. In fact, it's been going on for over a year.
You see, there has been an error on Google. One that led tourists of all shapes and sizes to the camp instead of to these four big faces that are kinda famous. It has been ridiculous -- we're talking tourists by the dozens turning up in our parking lot, looking for George and his buddies.
As of yesterday, this error was finally corrected, at least on Google. It may persist in other places. (Apple devices seem to be another major culprit.) With that in mind, I'd like to offer some travel tips.
1. If you're going down a gravel road expecting to find a national monument, odds are good you're in the wrong place.
2. If your phone or GPS gives you directions contradictory to the highway signs around you, odds are good it's your phone that's wrong.
3. If you realize that this massive sculpture is probably visible from a distance and for some reason you're not seeing it, odds are good you're in the wrong place.
4. If you manage to pass the big, obvious white sign welcoming you to a United Methodist camp and you're still not convinced ... well, then you probably deserve to be lost.
I kid you not, folks. People drive down our 2-mile gravel road expecting to find a national monument visited by millions each year. This means that they ignore the road signs just outside of town saying that Rushmore is 20-some miles away from Rapid City, the large highway signs that give updates along the way, and the signs pointing them to a church camp instead.
It defies explanation. As polite as I try to be when people turn up, what I'd really like to do is call them ugly names and tell them to turn off their phones and pay attention to the &^%$ing road.
Don't get me wrong -- this is all very funny, and we've had a lot of laughs about it over the last few months. But a little piece of me dies inside every time I have to acknowledge that we as humanity aren't smart enough to figure this one out.
Please. Stop the madness. Trust the signs. Technology is not to be trusted.
And enjoy your stay!
You see, there has been an error on Google. One that led tourists of all shapes and sizes to the camp instead of to these four big faces that are kinda famous. It has been ridiculous -- we're talking tourists by the dozens turning up in our parking lot, looking for George and his buddies.
As of yesterday, this error was finally corrected, at least on Google. It may persist in other places. (Apple devices seem to be another major culprit.) With that in mind, I'd like to offer some travel tips.
1. If you're going down a gravel road expecting to find a national monument, odds are good you're in the wrong place.
2. If your phone or GPS gives you directions contradictory to the highway signs around you, odds are good it's your phone that's wrong.
3. If you realize that this massive sculpture is probably visible from a distance and for some reason you're not seeing it, odds are good you're in the wrong place.
4. If you manage to pass the big, obvious white sign welcoming you to a United Methodist camp and you're still not convinced ... well, then you probably deserve to be lost.
I kid you not, folks. People drive down our 2-mile gravel road expecting to find a national monument visited by millions each year. This means that they ignore the road signs just outside of town saying that Rushmore is 20-some miles away from Rapid City, the large highway signs that give updates along the way, and the signs pointing them to a church camp instead.
It defies explanation. As polite as I try to be when people turn up, what I'd really like to do is call them ugly names and tell them to turn off their phones and pay attention to the &^%$ing road.
Don't get me wrong -- this is all very funny, and we've had a lot of laughs about it over the last few months. But a little piece of me dies inside every time I have to acknowledge that we as humanity aren't smart enough to figure this one out.
Please. Stop the madness. Trust the signs. Technology is not to be trusted.
And enjoy your stay!
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