'Giddy Up for Wishes' saddles up with Garmin

So often we update our blog readers on GPS-guided travels by foot, in the car, on a boat or in a plane. Recently however, Garmin has been along for a different kind of ride - as we've been apart of one woman's 'Giddy Up for Wishes' journey across Canada on horseback. On March 30, Martha Birkett left Ottawa on horseback for a 2200-mile journey along the Trans-Canada Highway to Calgary, Alberta with a goal of raising money and awareness for The Children's Wish Foundation. Along with her for the ride are a few of Garmin's most popular devices. Martha checked in with us yesterday, and says the nüvi 350 allows her to pinpoint things so easily. "I'm able to realistically plan for stops and day rides. Not all overnight stops are on the highway, so by putting in addresses and/or intersections, we aren't having any trouble locating them," she said.

With five weeks of riding behind her and eight more to go, Martha and her team have also been communicating with a pair of Garmin Rino 530HCx devices. "The driver is able to warn me of any traffic that I should be made aware of that is coming up from be hind me as well as contacting me if I have any media calls that need to be taken immediately. The front driver will also radio back to the back driver if there is any concern ahead, i.e. wildlife on the road, as I often don't see this because my horses are traveling directly behind the trailers."

He's Living the Dream

There's an old saying that you should do what you love and love what you do. Here at Garmin, we make that a reality by hiring people to focus on their areas of interest. David Downey is a classic example, and his story is being shared in this month's "Dream Jobs" issue of the engineering magazine IEEE Spectrum.

Being a software engineering team leader and father of a large family, David laughs when asked about spare time. Fortunately, his hobbies and his work are one and the same. David works on our fitness products - and tests them during his lunch hour. On any warm day, you'll see David logging miles on foot or by bike, and he'll always have an assortment of Edges and Forerunners tracking his data. These outings give the devices some real-world testing while getting David ready for his next race. Click here to read more about David, and check out our behind-the-scenes look at how we turned Garmin's hallways into a cycling time trial and marathon water station for an awesome action photo.

Stories from the Gulf

It's been awhile since we've posted a testimonial, but trust us -- it's not because we don't get dozens every day.  This particular rave is from Tom S., who recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq:

When my National Guard Unit was deployed to Iraq in 2004 I upgraded from a GPS 12 to a RINO 120. When we convoyed from Kuwait into Iraq I was driving the lead guntruck of my convoy serial. Several people in my unit had RINOs and our Lieutenant had downloaded the route into our RINOs for us. I was very glad to have my Garmin and relied on it for every inch of the way. While I was in-country I never left base without it! Now that I’m back home I’ve gotten into geocaching and I still rely on my RINO…but now it’s for fun! Thank you for your great products and service! For me Garmin is THE brand for GPS!

I’m attaching a picture of myself while in a small village in Northern Iraq…note the RINO on my chest…like I said, I didn’t leave base without it!