(no subject)

I've mapped out some small segments of the Oregon Trail in "fine" detail. But due to Google Map's limitations, I've gotten a little frustrated with it.

While I like using the Mapquest App for roadtripping over Google Maps, Google Maps is better at path-making. But it has a major failing: It only allows ten redirects/destinations per map. When you're working at a really tight level of path-making, this means the max path Google Maps will make can be only a few miles long. And I'm going to be doing a few thousand miles of this. I run into this problem with my normal roadtripping, but I can at keep the number of redirects and destinations down to specific things I want to see. In this case, I'm redirecting every few hundred feet.

So I decided to see how the National Parks Auto Trail is set up. The website has the list and it is a very "coarse" trail. Lots of freeway usage, doesn't follow the trail very closely at all, and seems more interested in "Get you to the next attraction quickly." While this is fine for family vacationers and getting stuff done in limited time, I want to really follow the trail as closely as possible. This means I'm willing to (gently) drive on dirt county roads as long as (1) it's close to the trail and (2) allows me to drive through without u-turning.

I was kind of resigning myself to having 100 or so Google Map segments I'd need to import into Mapquest (I have a year to work on the routing, I can do it), when I remembered the National Historic Trails had a phone app with the Auto Route on it. I figured it would be good for planning stops, at least. But once I loaded the app routing I found out it was a medium-level route! It's MUCH tighter than the website routing, but still not super tight. It does get "distracted" because other trails cross nearby and it directs you to THEIR attractions as well, but those are easily skipped.

What I'll likely do is use the NHT app as a base, but hew a little closer to the trail when I can. I get the idea the app plays it safe in some spots (maybe no dirt roads), but if the trail goes too far off course, and there's a closer non-private thru-road, I'll use that instead. Looks like this Oregon Trail thing is gonna happen!

(no subject)

"You're brave to drive through some of the places you so as a Mexican Transwoman."

Maybe. Here's the thing...

There's a common sterotype that Texans are gun-toting homophobic hicks that will assault a transwoman at a glance. Well...I'm Texan. This is not me. Nor is it the people I grew up with. Or the people I lived alongside in the Hill Country. With few exceptions, the people I've met are more curious than angry. It may not be in their world-sphere, but when confronted by it, tend to use the right pronouns, treat me as a woman, and have (sometimes very squishy) questions about what I'm doing.

But there's something more they do, in common with the ones that aren't as accepting. They may not like me, agree with what I'm doing, even yell at me. But when an emergency happens, they tend do the right thing. I've seen the most conservative people help the most liberal people in emergencies in Texas. I've seen people go against their "better judgement" to help people. I myself have helped people, for better or worse, who I may disagree with or have no idea what their intentions are after the help is done.

Some will say I'm incredibly lucky. I probably am, honestly. But I like to think that if I assume good faith with someone, they'll do the same for me. This isn't always going to be the case. But it's a chance I'm willing to take when things go bad.

I've been known to say "That Texan you see walking down the street, wearing a ten gallon hat, possibly hiding a pistol under a mud-stained duster that says 'Come And Take It' on the back may have voted Republican in the last election...but if you smile at him, he'll smile back."

That isn't to say I'm completely running through these places arms open saying "HI I'M TRANS." I do tend to dress more conservatively, I always have keys in my hands, and often I don't even turn off the car if I feel oogy about where I am. But I'm going to assume good faith in the people I meet, because I hear the stories about Texans. And I am a Texan. And the stories don't often match.

My dad's a truck driver. His family came from a rural Texas background (some became ranchers, some also truck drivers). And they accept me and my trans friends, (well, with one or two exceptions in my family). I broke down in Fossil, OR. Eastern Oregon isn't known for being the most accepting of areas. The townsfolk there didn't know what to make of me, but they did know one thing: I needed help. And they gave it to me without hesitation.

The downside to all this? If I'm wrong about someone - there's a pretty darned good chance I'll be dead. So there is that. But I'll take the chance that most of them are going to be good people who will help when things go bad.

(no subject)

Comic and Zelda streams will return the week of the 13th.