In my daily life, I’m a pretty dedicated pedestrian - walking to work, to the store, to parks. People waste way too much of their lives taking short car trips; get out of the car whenever you can and use those feet! It’s so much more fun to be out trudging along, looking at birds and flowers and all kinds of great things. I walk over a bridge on the way to to work, and regularly walk past lines of cars sitting there blowing exhaust all over the place. I’m strolling along looking up at the occasional bald eagle, or at the ducks swimming by, or the trees budding in the spring or with beautiful yellow leaves in the fall - and I feel so sorry for people trapped in their little boxes on the street. Aaahhhh…a happy commute is the best commute.
And also: I love to road trip!
I love to throw things into the car, and head out for adventure. I’m always excited to go outside and try new things, look at cool stuff, and just have a chance to be on the move. This is likely not news here; but if you are a newbie, here is the recap of last summer’s two months of driving the Lincoln Highway!
Probably not coincidently, as summer approaches I’ve had a few people talking with me about their own road trips, and asking for advice. As a librarian, I do of course love to share information and ideas! So, I have a few thoughts.
My overarching piece of advice on any kind of travel is the same: do what makes you happy, and don’t be concerned about doing it “right” or following any kind of plan/advice/strategy. Flexibility is key. All that matters is that YOU are enjoying it (you and any travel companions). The rest is details.
Having said that, here are a few things that make me happy; and maybe they will help your own road trip. You want to think about your vehicle, sleeping, eating, and doing fun things.
The Vehicle and Your Stuff
I try to balance out driving my car with renting a car. For the Lincoln Highway I easily decided the extra cost of a rental was worth the savings in miles and potential trouble in leaving my car at home. If I’m ultimately going to have to pay to fix or replace a car after an accident or other disaster, I’ll be happier if I still have my own car at home that is just fine. And I rented a big vehicle, that would be easy to sleep in when that was a good option. It worked out really well, and was worth the extra rental cost and the higher cost in gas.
But for shorter adventures, I take my own car. And I’m not a car person, but a few basic things will be good. Take your car in to have a checkup. Get the tires filled to optimal level, and make sure you have a tire pressure gauge with you. Be sure you have some sort of insurance. My regular car insurance covers rental cars, and I have extra insurance through one of my credit cards.
Clear out the stuff you don’t need. (I’m definitely a person who keeps a bunch of things in my car all the time; so making space is a priority for me.) When you pack for the trip, use some clear plastic containers so you can easily see what is there. The last thing you want to do is to constantly have to pull out everything and sifting through it all. Maybe have a small bag with things you need for a night or two in a hotel without having to sort through everything - just grab it and walk inside.
Sleeping
When you are out for a few days, figuring out where to sleep that will let you get enough rest and be comfortable and be safe is a challenge. You have a couple of different strategies to make this happen.
First: you can make all of your plans and reservations in advance. Sit down with a map, find some things you want to see each day, then look for a place to sleep. Make a chart, prepay your reservations, and know where you are going each day. Or: just point yourself in a direction, and see where the road takes you. Neither one is wrong, and you can see what works best for your own travel satisfaction.
If you are all hotels, that makes it fairly easy. Use your chain’s app, or use hotels.com, or tell Google Maps you are looking for a hotel in the area around a cool thing you are looking at. Check the hotel’s reviews. You don’t have to always stay in high-class expensive places, though of course that’s fine to do. But if you are on a budget, stay in a place that doesn’t have reviews indicating actual filth and physical danger.
If you are open to camping, it opens up more possibilities. You do have to plan ahead for this, and bring tent, sleeping pad, and some sort of sleeping bag. Feel free to go as budget as you want with this. Yes: spending Some Serious Money will give you things that are lighter weight, stronger, and more comfortable. But if you are just getting started, go to Walmart and stay on a budget. You’ll see what works for you, and if you want to upgrade later you can do that. Get enough stuff to be able to sleep comfortably. Most of us are not going to be happy on the ground, in pain and restless all night; so get a nice foam pad at Walmart and stay warm and comfortable.
I’m going to make a strong pitch for the comfort of a hammock! They are a reasonable cash outlay at first; just off the top of my head I’m guessing about $500 for everything would be reasonable. But if you like to spend time sleeping outside: IT IS SO COMFORTABLE! I have a fancy Sleep Number bed at home, and I promise my hammock is more comfortable. I bought my hammock at Superior Gear, and would like to throw any potential business to a good Minnesota company!
Look for state parks, and buy an annual pass if you are going to be in the state for more than a couple of days - it’s cheaper than the day rate. Or stay at private campground, if you can read reviews that say it’s okay. (Some private campgrounds are amazing and comfortable; and some are absolute nightmares.) Maybe buy a KOA.com membership, if you are in an area with them. Consider some options: try out a cabin or a yurt or some other cool and interesting place to camp. It’s your vacation! Do some things you wouldn’t usually have the chance to try.
Eating
I think this is the area where it’s easy to spend way too much money, and to waste a lot of time. If you are specifically traveling to try out some great restaurants, then that’s awesome. Budget for that. But if you are out to see “stuff” then going to restaurants will take a lot of time that you could be spending doing fun things. And the costs add up really quickly, especially if you are traveling with your family members. Obviously: tip your servers at least 20% , so that needs to be budgeted for beyond just the food costs.
I’m usually traveling alone, and if you don’t already know that solo women get the worst tables and service in a restaurant - let me tell you that it is a thing. I don’t mind eating alone, but I rarely find it’s worth the time and hassle.
Instead, I bring all the dried food or packaged food that I can. Fling a bunch of tuna packets and rice and peanut butter packets into one of your clear plastic bins. Bring either cheap plastic dishes you are willing to wash (or rinse - don’t get hyperclean on a road trip), or a stack of disposable plates and bowls that you can throw away after each meal. I bought a set of Fozzils Snapfold dishes, and they seem improbable but worked great! They fold up and snap together for you to eat, then unsnap to rinse and store flat pieces of plastic. I doubted them, but they were really good.
I bought an electric car cooler, that I keep plugged into the car during the day and a portable charger - and it was FANTASTIC. I could pull out my dehydrated meals, and supplement them with fresh veggies from Walmart or a gas station. I could have yogurt with breakfast. When it was staggeringly hot outside, I had cold bottles refilled and ready.
And obviously, I always recommend people bring a JetBoil! I now bring this with me everywhere, including to hotels on weekend trips. I boil water to make tea, dump some into my instant oatmeal, dump it into my dehydrated meals. I buy Mountain House meals - they are tasty. And I bring things like ramen and clear plastic freezer bags; smash your dry noodles or rice, throw them into the freezer bag, pour some boiling water on top, maybe toss in some dehydrated or fresh veggies - and just sit for a few minutes until it’s time to eat. You can get fancy and get the assorted pots and pans that go with a JetBoil, but I rarely bother. I don’t really enjoy cooking at home, and I’m not going to bother when I’m traveling. There is plenty of food that takes very minimal work - and I’m all about it.
Eat at gas stations and grocery stores. I grab cheese sticks, because the packages will keep them fine to eat even if you left it in your backpack overnight. I go ahead and just eat them anyway and have never had a problem, but you should decide that for yourself. Buy salads, because you WILL miss fresh food very quickly. Get food that you can keep in your cooler, or that won’t melt or give you food poisoning if you leave it in the car for a few days. You won’t be eating like you would at home, but try to make good choices within those restrictions. Just binging on junk food will not help you to have a happy trip, if you are sick and feeling bleh.
I have a hard shell five gallon container of water in my backseat, and I think this is really a must for travel. Constantly buying containers of water is expensive, and really wasteful. Start your trip with three or four filled bottles, then just refill from your water stash. Fill it up at campgrounds for free! Sometimes there will be hoses available at gas stations, but I haven’t tried this. Also: take your bottles inside everywhere you go, and fill them at water fountains and in sinks. Obviously, be cool about this, and don’t draw too much attention. Take them back to your car before you do any shopping or visitor center things. Don’t make a mess or be overly demanding - that’s always the wrong move.
And we aren’t going to dwell on this topic today (maybe later!), but: WASH YOUR HANDS every chance you get. I’m not normally a fan of using too much hand sanitizer in your daily life - but this is not your daily life. Keep it in the car, and use it all the time. Getting giardia is not going to make for a fun trip. And gross things can happen. I once ate bad grapes (I’m guessing?) on a road trip - and very fortunately was in a hotel that night, because I spent most of it in the bathroom. No graphic details, but doing what you can to avoid that fate will be a big positive in your trip.
Do Touristy Things
The whole point is to go see things you wouldn’t see at home, so go see stuff! I’d usually avoid The Big Tourist Thing, because I really hate being in crowds. But this is your trip, so do what makes you happy.
My strategies are simple. I have a National Park Service book, and I’ll go see anything that is a park site. (Obvious disclaimer for the current moment: The Orange Clown in the White House is working to destroy these, so be understanding when they aren’t as good right now. We’ll be rid of him soon enough with the next election, and the NPS can rebuild!)
I would also go to almost any state park, because I always love to trudge on trails. I will also stop at literally any small town museum, especially if it has a weird focus. If I’m on the highway, I’ll pull over at any brown sign - brown signs mean cultural and historic things, and you find a pretty impressive array of things. And I’ve been talking here about using Atlas Obscura and Roadside America to find all kinds of things that might be off the beaten path for tourists. Look at your GPS or Google Maps, and hit whatever button lets you look at attractions in your area. Go to anything that catches your eye.
And don’t be afraid to just…hang out. I’ve had some great vacations in my tent or in snow-covered cabins, where I spent a few days just reading the stacks of library books I inevitably bring. Just rest, eat nice things from a local deli or gas station, and enjoy watching a campfire or staring at a lake or looking into the woods. It’s fine to just relax and have fun in a quiet way. Maybe get up and walk around once or twice a day; then when you go back to your relaxing, you’ve earned it.
Okay, that’s about all for my best road trip ideas! You can always find more information about cars, and camping, and travel, and the history of an area when you visit the library! I guess that’s my other overarching tip: Visit the public library, wherever you are! They are always worth it. Clean bathrooms, a place to refill bottles, maybe some programs to attend, or maybe just the fun of talking with nice people and looking at books.
Get out there, try something new, and have an adventure! There are so many wonderful things to see, don’t waste time and miss them all.