John and Starry Rhoads were headed back home to Reno, Nevada on Christmas Day after visiting family in Oregon. Following GPS instructions, the couple turned down a service road that was not plowed after the winter storm.
Their car got stuck and they did not have a cell signal, leaving the Rhoads stranded for three days in freezing temperatures. One of their cell calls finally made it out and help eventually came.
Luckily, the Rhoades were prepared.
"We had a snow shovel. We had snow clothes, lots of clothes, because we were actually gone until the 19th," John Rhoads recalled. "We had to force each other to eat a bite or two. We had lunch meat and cheeses."
GPS directions had sent them 35 miles out of the way. The couple turned the car heater on every four hours for about 15 minutes to stay warm.
AAA says other than a GPS, people should also have a paper map, a survival kit and a back-up cell phone for any long travel to make sure you stay safe.
