Be a good road trip passenger Not good,” Pat said as we added our brake lights to the standstill on Interstate 40 west of Albuquerque. Semis surrounded us, idling. “Is there a way around this mess, Navigatrix?” he asked. I was already tapping my phone to check Google Maps while simultaneously flipping through the New Mexico atlas on my lap for the corresponding page. On our road trips, it’s partly my job as “Navigatrix” to find the most efficient, scenic, or interesting route. When we’d checked the app earlier, we’d seen the red section, meaning traffic delays, but figured we’d give it a try anyway, as there really wasn’t another good way to head toward our next destination. While it took us nearly two hours of driving down alternate side roads (even passing one called Alaska Loop) and then backtracking because everyone else had the same idea, I discovered one…