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The
Essentials:
* Emergency supplies - gallons of water; a "road kit" (from AAA, etc); blanket; flash light; rope; duct tape; scissors; first aid kit * Cell Phone - I think it is best to keep in communication with one person/family member, let them know where you are/your route each day - not everything is as dense and populated as the East or West Coast - it is a wide open, desolate, lonely place out there, it would be hard to find you... Ideas
for a BUDGET
trip in
a car (not camping or in
an RV)
Planning and Supplies: * Use Microsoft Streets and Tips to map out your whole route Some
days we drove 10-13 hours, some days we drove 2-4 hours. It just
depends, so plan well to make sure you aren't pulling 4 long days in a
row!
* Buy a road atlas - they mark where the interstate rest stops are located!! who knew * If you are lucky enough to have one, use a GPS system... * Take a laptop with wireless card * Make hotel reservations near the National Parks 1-2 months ahead of time, if during high tourist season: - Take the time to use AAA and
Yahoo Travel websites to find the cheapest hotels (I used
a combination
of these two sites)
* Buy your own food (meals, snacks and drinks) from a grocery store before you leave and plan on going "grocery shopping" throughout the trip (ie: don't eat out at fast
food restaurants every day for every meal and snack)
*Keep these food
supplies in a plastic bin
* FOOD
ideas:
Snacks:
-
Canned fruit, apples, grapes, granola bars, breakfast fruit bars, trail
mix (m&ms with peanuts and raisins!), bread, lunch meat, peanut
butter, jelly, pretzels
Drinks:
-
Gallons of water (one stored in the cooler), juice (in plastic
bottles), iced tea, Coke (in the mornings we needed a caffeine fix and
didn't drink coffee)
Dinner items (can
heat up in hotel microwave):
- canned veggies (green beans,
etc), canned soup, anything pre-made and packaged/canned, etc
Other:
-
Disposable GLAD containers, sponge and dish soap (to re-use GLAD
containers, rinse out travel mugs) plastic silverware, can opener,
plastic lunch baggies, twisty ties, chip clips, paper towels, travel
mugs to pour your water/juice, etc into each day
* NOTE:
most hotels, even if the microwave is not in your room, have one in the
"common" area. If they don't, ask at the desk for one - we got one put
in our room when we stayed in Greeley, CO
* Plan on taking a pretty sizable cooler (to keep mostly liquids in like gallon of water, juice, etc) * Ladies: take one big bag/purse to throw all your stuff into * SUNSCREEN - I think the higher altitudes (esp. at Rocky Mt Natl Park) gave me sunburn quicker/easier * A sporty "gymsack" (with the drawstrings), backpack, or any other type of hiking pack * Other supplies: BATTERIES, paper, pen, stamps (if sending correspondence), folder/container for papers, brochures, receipts, etc * Take a video camera - even if this means BUYING ONE (use www.newegg.com). The video I have is priceless
to me, it captured the trip in a way the photos could not.
Things We Wished We Had, But Didn't: * Battery Jump Starter that plugs into cigarette lighter (no our battery didn't die, just wish we had this for "peace of mind") *Small Microwave - for the significant minority of hotels without this convenience. For Hot dogs, microwave dinners, and soup! * "Road Pro" (or other brands) Portable Saucepan for the cigarette lighter During the Trip: * Listen to yourself: When you arrive somewhere (especially at night) and have a funny feeling about the area or specific hotel, just look for something else, even if it is only a block down the road (maybe it is better lighted, better people/cars are in the parking lot, etc) * Plan out your specific day's route with rest stop availability in mind (especially if you are a girl or traveling with a girl - not easy for us to pull over on the side of the road!!!) - make generous use of McD's,
Burger King, Arby's, etc
- Only stop at well populated
highway/interstate rest stops, and I would not suggest the majority of
these at night/in the dark
* Take "regular" highways
as opposed to the interstates when possible (although remember most do
not have "facilities" other than a few fast food places)* USE HAND SANITIZER - even after using soap/water in some of these rest stops!!! (you know, the gel you rub on your hands when there is no soap or you've just not been able to wash your hands with water) * Organize your stuff so that you have one big suitcase/bag and one "overnight" bag. -
Each day/night put the next days clothes from the big bag to the over
night bag, so you don't have to take in the huge suitcase
*Use hotel ice machines to fill up cooler unless there is something that says specifically not to * Make use of gas station window washing fluids - you will get a lot of bugs on that windshield *Take care of your car - rotate tires if traveling more than 7000 miles, get an oil change, etc *Keep tire air pressure a bit higher due to the weight of cargo in the car (2-3 pounds higher) *KEEP ALL RECEIPTS and get a receipt for everything *Be flexible with plans (having a laptop to check out info helps with this) * Understand and accept you cannot see and do everything * Don't sleep!!! Enjoy the scenery - you may never be here again like this! (I only napped in the car for a total of 3 or so hours on 3 separate days... the scenery, where we were, was just too interesting. I wouldn't have slept through it for anything!) *Know your [physical] limits when visiting the National Parks and other adventure areas * Buy postcards from all of your major stops, to keep for yourself (and buy some to send!) - they have better photos on them, taken in ways you can't capture. You will be glad to have that reminder/perspective when you get back * Avoid most gift shop "stuff" (even in the National Parks). In addition to being tacky, most of it wasn't even made locally or near the parks or attractions. Most stuff I checked into (looked at labels or the bottom) was made in China, Taiwan, etc. Uh, no. - Jackson, WY had the best t-shirts of anywhere we stopped |
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