A family traveling to California found themselves stuck on an unplowed, snow-covered road after following the fastest route on their GPS navigation system. 
 
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 Ron Sanquist and Karen Bonell-Sanquist, their 9-year-old daughter and the family dog were en route from Oregon when they say their GPS system directed them straight through the Page Mountain Sno-Park in the state’s Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. 
 
 The family's car became stuck in the park, an area where many roads are not plowed at this time of year. 
 
 The Sanquists had no shovel or cellphone service, with no help in sight. 
 
 "I am not even sure if I had a shovel what I could have dug out," Ron Sanquist told ABC News. 
 
 The family took shelter inside the car overnight. The next morning, Ron Sanquist hiked 2 miles to find help and call 911. 
 
 Karen Bonell-Sanquist described the situation as "pretty scary." 
 
 "Especially because to the left was a downgrade, quite a steep one," she said. 
 
 Search-and-rescue crews reached the family and helped them get back on the road. The sheriff's office issued a warning for all drivers. 
 
 "Many GPS and map systems can steer folks in the wrong direction during winter travel where conditions are poor," the Josephine County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. 
 
 The Sanquists were able to reach their final destination in California about 17 hours after their original departure. 
 
 A similar situation happened to another couple in 2013 when their GPS directed them to a snowy stretch of highway that was closed because of treacherous conditions. 
 
 The couple, Mark and Kristine Wathke, were driving from Yellowstone National Park to Miles City, Montana, when they became stuck for six days on Beartooth Highway in Cody, Wyoming. 
 
 "We never saw any road closed signs. We never saw any barricades," Kristine Wathke said in an earlier interview about their ordeal. 
 
 The Wathkes said they survived on the food they had in their car, including bread, bottled water, a half-empty jar of jelly and oatmeal packets. 
 
 The couple was rescued by a rancher who took his snowmobile out to look for the Wathkes after the rancher's wife read on Facebook that the couple was missing. 

 Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives. 
 
 Enlarge Image ABC News screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET 
 
 Gadgets only know so much. 
 
 The problem is that they act as if they know it all and humans are all too ready to believe them. I think, you know, humans rather like the thought of living in a gadget-ruled authoritarian world. 
 
 GPS is one of those gadgets to which we've become slaves. Sometimes, though, they send us up a certain creek without a paddle. Or a certain snowy mountain road without a cellphone service. 
 
 As ABC News reports, the Sanquist family from Portland, Oregon -- mom, dad, 9-year-old daughter and dog (age unknown) --were on their way to California. 
 
 Their GPS gave them the shortest route. This involved going up Happy Camp Road, near Page Mountain Sno-Park, Oregon. 
 
 But what the computer may not have considered is that this is December and, quite often, this is a month in which snow falls on mountains. 
 
 Not every road gets plowed. 
 
 So the Sanquists found themselves stuck. They didn't happen to have a shovel. Oh, and there was no cellphone service either. 
 
 It's as if technology was ganging up on them. 
 
 "I'm not even sure if I had a shovel, I could have dug out," Ron Sanquist told ABC. So they bedded down in their car -- and thankfully had enough food -- in the hope that first light would bring hope. 
 
 It was left to dad to trudge two miles in order to call 911 and get rescue experts to help them out. They arrived at their destination more than 17 hours late. 
 
 This is neither the first nor last time that GPS has led people astray. It has led to death, just as it has led to cars and people submerged in 100-foot lakes. 
 
 Gadgets aren't perfect. They're made by humans, who most certainly aren't perfect. 
 
 Please beware. It's OK to go the long way around. In life, as in cars.
– The GPS gave them excellent directions—if it were August. But the problem for the Sanquist family is that they were driving from Oregon to California in December, and their GPS told them to head straight through the mountains of Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, reports ABC News. As they soon discovered, heavy snow falls there this time of year, and the roads aren't plowed. Ron, wife Karen, their 9-year-old daughter, and the family dog eventually found themselves stuck and without cell reception, and they spent a frigid night in the family car. Ron hiked out the next day and was able to call 911 after two miles. "I am not even sure if I had a shovel what I could have dug out," he tells ABC. Rescue crews got them back on the road again, and the Josephine County Sheriff's Office issued a statement reminding drivers to keep in mind that GPS systems often don't take into account winter conditions. "Gadgets aren't perfect," writes Chris Matyszczyk at CNET. "They're made by humans, who most certainly aren't perfect." His big takeaway: "It's OK to go the long way around. In life, as in cars."