Survey the new territory

I was reading Our Daily Bread that was referring to an initial survey in Idaho. I started thinking how we go through life and have fixed points of reference that we look to for guidance.
We live by designating fixed points on which other measurements are determined. Monuments and markers exist as a remembrance of great accomplishments or reference points for us to recall great mercies. The Bible is greatest in value and solid ground.

It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” —Matthew 4:4

Initial Point- Survey the new territory

"If you drive south of our home in Boise, Idaho, you’ll see a volcanic butte that rises out of the sagebrush on the east side of the road. This is the initial point from which the state of Idaho was surveyed.

In 1867, four years after Idaho was organized as a territory, Lafayette Cartee, the Surveyor General of the United States, commissioned Peter Bell to survey the new territory. Bell took a sledge and drove a brass post into a little knob on the summit of that butte, declaring it to be the initial point from which he began his survey.

The survey established the language of land description in Idaho: Townships are designated north and south of the initial point; ranges are designated east and west. With such descriptions, you always know exactly where you are.

We may read many books, but the Word of God is our “initial point,” the fixed reference point. "

survey/Initial-Point 

"After having obtained the necessary information from reliable sources and from your personal observation ... you will establish Initial Point of Surveys therein either on a conspicuous mountain or at a confluence of streams which point will be the intersection of the Principal Meridian with the Base line governing those surveys. — You will commemorate the initial point by a conspicuous and enduring monument, signalizing the spot with appropriate inscription thereon ..."

Another landmark I remember in Texas on Guadalupe Peak .

A 6-foot-tall stainless steel monument was placed just above Guadalupe Peak by American Airlines in 1958. The monument honors the 100th anniversary of the Butterfield Overland Mail, which ran through the area. 

The three-sided pyramid was placed atop the mountain by American Airlines in 1958, before the park was created. It honors the 100th anniversary of the Butterfield Overland Mail, which ran through the area, as well as the airline’s pilots who pioneered airmail service in the United States.

 Guadalupe_Peak Pyramid