Road Trip Advice

[sheffy4]

Hey Everyone,
I'm going on a U.S. road trip this June for about 3 weeks with my boyfriend. We are going to be visiting different parts of the western states, basically all the states surrounding Nevada (where we live). We plan on camping for most of the trip, mostly to save money, but we also want to be out doors and hiking a lot. I'm just fishing for any tips you might have about anything pertaining to road trips. But here's a few ideas I would definitely like some input on:

• Tips on reducing stress associated with traveling
• Driving games
• Places to see/ things to do
• How not to kill each other (also related to reducing stress)
• Cheap food/lodging
• Realistic time frames for driving and visiting places

Ideas? Thank you!

[Chado2423]

Originally Posted by sheffy4

Hey Everyone,
I'm going on a U.S. road trip this June for about 3 weeks with my boyfriend. We are going to be visiting different parts of the western states, basically all the states surrounding Nevada (where we live). We plan on camping for most of the trip, mostly to save money, but we also want to be out doors and hiking a lot. I'm just fishing for any tips you might have about anything pertaining to road trips. But here's a few ideas I would definitely like some input on:

• Tips on reducing stress associated with traveling
• Driving games
• Places to see/ things to do
• How not to kill each other (also related to reducing stress)
• Cheap food/lodging
• Realistic time frames for driving and visiting places

Ideas? Thank you!

Make sure you have adequate emergency supplies.... (i.e fix-a-flat, flashlight, spare tire, gas can etc.

[Angela]

That sounds like such a blast! I hope you have a great time. I think much of your success depends on what happens BEFORE your trip. Do you live together, or will this be your first time cooped up together? You'll want to do a lot of talking and agreeing before you leave. Things like: how will you manage time alone, and how much of it do you think you'll need? How will you peacefully negotiate if it turns out one of you needs more? 100% responsibility for your own good time, while also supporting each other when one has a meltdown -- and you can be SURE someone will have a meltdown. How will you interrupt a stressful pattern if one emerges: will you take time-outs, or will you perservere till you get a resolution? Who pays for what? You might think you can just wing that, but talking about it works much better!

I figure some people will say: don't think about possible negatives, because the LoA means that's what you'll get! But I think: the more you talk about it, the more you are a team.

Why not set it up as a game show: set yourself up as the tightest possible team; be prepared, positive and responsible; give yourselves a challenge or two; take a video camera! Or even blog it!

Boy, I remember a 3-week caravan in a cattle truck with 30 other people (all of us young and hot!) up and down the entire coast of California, stopping at all the campgrounds. Phew. That was fun.

Have a great time!

[Angela]

One more thing, very important: designate a third party who always has some idea where you are, with whom you will check in at designated points, and whom either of you can call if for some reason you get separated.

It's good to have an angel looking out for you.

[missing]

My main advice is that if you really want to be hiking/camping most of the time you better narrow down the areas you want to check out. All the western states around Nevada in three weeks is nuts. You will be rushing to get to the next destination. If you really want to "see" things you want to take US highways, not interstates and travel on those roads is much much slower. I'd say do not try and cover both north AND south of Nevada. Pick ONE. If you like arid desert, go exploring Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. Maybe SoCal. If you want more mountains/forest, go north and explore NorCal, Oregon and Washington OR Wyoming and Montana (don't try to cover all five of those states!). This said, don't be afraid of long distances, just designate a day to travel fast and then once you get there take your time exploring. Aside from that;

- research things you want to see in advance. It may sound "romantic" to just go where the road takes you but once you arrive somewhere you will want to know where to go. Read the guide books and find the hiking trails that excite you.

- research stopping areas in advance. Go to the library (or a big chain bookstore; buy and return) and get as many guidebooks as you can for campgrounds. Find the ones that are free or cheap. They usually are slightly off the beaten path and you will never find them if you don't research. This link could be incredibly useful if you will be driving on US 395 in California:

Home Page - FREE Camping along HIGHWAY 395

more good links of "free" car camping:

Page Title
Free Campgrounds for RVs
BLM Information - blm ltva info
FREE overnight camping, state-by-state - free overnight camping, state by state
Finding places to sleep in your car - finding places to sleep in car
CHEAP places to Camp overnight - cheap places to camp overnight
Never Pay for a Place to Sleep! - never pay for a place to sleep

- that said, you should motel it every few days for your sanity. Cheap lodging is not too hard to find.

- make sure you have an extra camera with you in case one breaks.

- I do my trips solo so can't help you with the "how not to kill each other", so this may apply less to you but I'll say it anyway; books on tape are your friend. better yet, burn Steve's podcasts to cd and listen. ;p You WILL get tired of your cd's (or worse they will start skipping all the time) and there is NOTHING on the radio other than conservative Christian talk in many rural areas.

If I was in your situation here's what I'd do; I'd go with the NorCal/Oregon plan. Depending on where you are starting I'd take highway 395 through California, cut over to rte 36 at Susanville, go through Lassen's Natl Park, take the volcanic legacy scenic byway up past Mt Shasta which turns into US 97 till you turn off rte 62 in Oregon which you can take through Crater Lake NP. I'd cut over to I-5 on rte. 138 and do a "speed run" to Portland, detouring east on I-84 to check out the Columbia River Gorge and Mt Hood. Then take US-30 from Portland to the Coast, and take US 101 south through Oregon, where it becomes the Pacific Coast Highway in California. I'd probably go at least as far as San Fran, maybe LA, and then find a good place to cut back to Nevada. There is tons of camping/hiking on this route, and so much to see that you will have to pick and choose. It may not be your preferred route but it's about the length you can expect to comfortably cover in 3 weeks.

For the record, I drove from Albuquerque NM to San Fran in 11 days and that felt way too fast.

[missing]

oh yeah make sure you check out youth hostel's on whatever route you choose. Many require reservation (annoyingly) but it's a good way to get a cheap shower/bed and meet fellow travelers which could be a great way to get out of the bubble of you two alone in the car.

there is tons of info on this website, and a good forum:

Road Trip Planning: Tips, Resources & Advice

[sheffy4]

Wow, thanks you guys! Great advice. Missing, thanks for all the links, those will be really helpful.
And Angela,
30 people in a cattle truck? lol An interesting life you lead.

[Angela]

I tagged along with a YMCA youth group. There was some seriously non-church-authorized stuff going on during that trip!

[openeyes]

My girlfriend and I have started vaguely talking about a roadtrip to Yellowstone, having realized it'd be significantly cheaper than flying. She came up with the idea of recording episodes of NPR's This American Life for the drive. As for cheap food, grocery stores work nicely, and there are plenty of things that don't take much space or require refrigeration/cooking, such as:

dark chocolate
hard cheese
nuts/seeds
bread (something I rarely eat, but ezekial bread with butter and honey isn't so bad)
raw honey
butter
fresh fruits/veggies (these may take a little more space)
canned fish

Supplement this with occasionally eating out and you'd be fine.

[sheffy4]

Originally Posted by openeyes

dark chocolate

Practical and delectable!