And I did it the old fashioned way

I just made m one of my longer flights at 3 1/2 hours each way. I crossed several mountainous area, and vast tracks of arid terrain. And I did it the old fashioned way. I used a sectional and the VOR. Sure I have a Garmin 530 in the panel, I can make the moving map work. I tuned in Ellensburg as soon as I was over I-90 and when I got to it I started down a chain of VOR's to Nampa. It is a almost straight line at 120 degrees, with the major freeway often in sight. The VOR's seem to have been placed to direct us over the lowest pass for the route, a feature that suits me fine. I do take advantage of the ground speed & track features on the GPS. If I fly the VOR heading with the GPS track it cancels any winds. Of course when flying VFR in a clear sky it is easy to deviate from the direct path of the VOR system for sight seeing or stops, then rejoin the airway. I could do it with the map alone, but I learned to navigate the VOR's when I was twelve, and they are a comfortable reassurance that I am pointed in the correct direction. The GPS is just a another cool map to look at.