Help me plan the best road trip ever

So, I haven't done one of these solo (yet!), but we did road trips every year growing up (think driving from Canada to Mexico across the entire US kind of trip). So a few random points: 1. Try not to get too hung up on your route. Make a list of must-sees (Grand Canyon, redwoods, and Cali coast is a good place to start!) and print off a map of the US. Take a marker and put a dot everywhere you want to go, and see if something naturally takes shape. Try to avoid routes with nothing for 100s of miles - especially given your plan to drive through the desert. You aren't going to see everything, but once you have a preliminary route through your 'big stuff', you can try to find all those weird road side attractions that you'd drive say an hour out of your way to visit. I like to plot up based on "must eats" food stops. Side note - for the Cali coast, drive from the north to the south - you won't have a lane of traffic blocking your view that way. :) 2. We ALWAYS just rolled into Super 8s or whatever motel was on our route. Don't roll in when you're dead tired - have another hour of driving in you in case the first one is full. If you have somewhere super specific that only has one motel in sight - then yeah, book a place beforehand. If you're desperate, Wal-Mart lets you park and sleep the night there in your car (though those parking lots are lit to high heaven, so bring an eyemask.) 3. No idea about the car, but only take it if it's reliable, and for sure do any preventative maintenance beforehand. Make sure you have AAA, and know how to do a flat-tire swap before you leave. 5. GPS...probably a good idea? I did most of these before smartphones and GPS, so I was daddy's little navigator buddy making sure we stayed on course with a map. I would definitely splurge the extra $30 for a good paper road map that can't run out of batteries and has the entire country 'loaded' in in case of major screw ups. I remember these trips fondly, so definitely go out on this limb and do it! I still remember our trip to Mexico when we went do the Grand Canyon (I'm a geologist now, so it was a little formative), had Real Steak (TM), had the Mexican border patrol freak out at our Super Soakers and wonder what state Ontario was, and had friendly guerrillas wave at us from a pick up while driving in the Mexican jungle, had the best damn tortilla soup of my life at the tender age of 8 from a weird little hotel on a beach at sunset... Yeah, need to do a road trip sometime.

Don't miss the redwoods. They brought tears to my eyes. Take a couple of all-cotton sheets to throw over the slimy polyester ones most motels have. And yes: AAA.

I don't know a ton about Americana roadtrip planning, and I'm a guy, but I drove cross-country in an old Toyota in 2007 (and have taken shorter road trips since then) so I can speak to a few of your questions: 1) Can't really help you here. Going west from MD to AZ in July I started in MD and did 70-68-70-44-40-17-10, which was good for a straight-through drive and kept me out of the deep southier parts of the deep south, but skips a lot of interesting things further north and south, if your goal is tourism. I suggest you make a list of things you want to see and then sort out your plan from there. 2) When I did my cross-country trip, I stopped at J. Random Hotel when I got tired of driving. I wanted to make sure I had wifi access so this meant Super 8s and nicer (in 2007, the situation's probably MUCH better now). I've done car camping too, and that's likely to require more advance planning, assuming you want to stop at "real" campgrounds, rather than roughing it on BLM land -- campgrounds do tend to fill up in the summer. I took a trip through Crater Lake and the Redwoods in 2012, and I remember my options were relatively limited, booking 3-4 weeks in advance, and I had to schedule the trip around days when I could get the camping slots I wanted. If you wanted less-touristy spots, you'd probably have better luck. During that trip, I was able to also stop at random hotels in and around the Oregon and California coasts with no pre-planning -- I never hit a town where there was nothing available. 3) 85k miles is basically nothing for a Toyota. In 2007, I drove a 1990 Camry with about 120k miles from Maryland to Phoenix, AZ in 2.5 days with zero problems. Make sure you check all your fluids (brake fluid, power steering fluid, transmission fluid, engine coolant/antifreeze, wiper fluid). Can't hurt to get your brakes checked, and an oil change. Beyond that, if it's running OK now, it'll probably still be running OK later. I can't speak to the hybrid drivetrain on a Prius specifically, but I hear it's pretty solid. Do make sure you check (and inflate!) your spare tire -- spare doesn't do you any good if it's dry-rotted or flat. 4) Make sure you have a little toolkit, and a first-aid kit. Water bottles. Sunglasses. I had books to read in the hotel at night, but I was mainly focused on getting from Point A to Point B, so you may do better trying to work out outings in advance. 5) I did my cross-country trip before the wide availability of smart phones. In my 2007 cross-country trip, I had voice access more or less everywhere, except possibly in the far-out desert southwest. In my 2012 trip through coastal California, I had voice/data almost everywhere except deep in valleys in national/state parks. I'm not sure it's worth paying for a GPS, since you already have a smart phone. Might not hurt to pick up a road atlas, or paper maps, to keep on hand as a backup, should all else fail. Do get a car charger. Try not to leave anything in your car overnight that's valuable (laptop, etc) -- bring it into your hotel with you! Especially do not leave valuables visible in the car! I know several different people who've had cars burglarized at hotels, though I've never experienced this personally. Of note, the people who were burglarized had valuable-looking things visible (bikes not locked to a bike rack, in one case; a really expensive-looking printer in another case). 6) For me: Luray Caverns, though if you're in VA, that might be something you've already seen. Skyline Drive, also in VA. Oak Creek Canyon, between Flagstaff and Phoenix, in Arizona. The Grand Canyon (well, duh) and Hoover Dam. If you're further south into AZ, there's a fun tour of Biosphere 2 available, and also a bunch of historical sites. Crater Lake, in Oregon, is beautiful. So are the Oregon and northern California Redwoods (and you can check out the redwoods without necessarily going into a park). The PCH north of Los Angeles. I know people have really enjoyed Colorado's parks, too, and Yosemite / Joshua Tree.

I'm a woman who's driven across this great country of ours at least three times all by my onesie, and about four more times with other people, since 1997 when I got my first divorce. What? I'm afraid of flying. Sue me. Anyway, I've also driven up an down each coast solo and with others. I am a road trip queen. I've driven in older cars, newer cars. Just four years ago, I drove from Mississippi to Arizona and back in a 1975 El Dorado motor home with just the cat.. My daughter (now 25) drove from Mississippi to Washington state in a car older than yours not too long ago with just her and a friend. She's also driven up and down the East Coast several times. We are a road tripping family. And I have some tips for you Just go. Don't overthink things. Take the state roads instead of the highways if you're really adventurous because the small towns are really great and they do have a lot to offer travelers. Truck stops are awesome and have a lot of food for a little price (two meals for the price of one if you're like me and don't eat a lot). Stop at tourist traps, they're fun. And definitely take in our National Parks -- many of which have hotels nearby, by the way, or camping if you're into that. I'm not, I like hotels. Most chain hotels (Holiday Inn, Quality Inn, etc...) are safe to sleep in, so don't be timid. Also, state highways don't often have rest areas, but they will have picnic areas, which are awesome in their own right. As for winging it. Most hotels have a night clerk, and they'll rent you a room at any hour of the night. So drive until you're tired and drop on in. Bam! room. Check out is at 10am, so... plan accordingly. I've slept in my car during the day and at night a couple of times. If I had to nap in my car, I usually did it in a busy place like a Walmart parking lot, a busy truck stop, or a rest area in a major town. But it's not the safest option. Neither is falling asleep at the wheel, but... A hotel is the best bet. Stick with the major chains if safety is your concern. I've never couchsurfed because the idea of sleeping in a stranger's house makes me shudder just to think about it. You do have tools in your car to fix a flat tire, right? Also,http://www.dmv.org/how-to-guides/emergency-kit.php? Just in case? Pack enough clothes for five days and stop at laundry mats on the way or partake of any hotel laundry facilities. Pack enough toiletries for two days (toothpaste etc...) and buy as needed. Most hotels have these for you. Buy snacks on the road. Seriously, if it's just you going, you'll find that what you thought you'd eat on the road you'll crave something different. Tech stuff? Since I started road tripping in the Nineties, we didn't have that stuff back then, but I do admit to using some of it nowadays. It's handy to find a nearby hotel, or a nearby park, and it's cool to have music and something to read... but I don't depend on it. But seriously... don't overthink it. Pick a beginning spot, an ending spot, things you'd LIKE to see on the way and just... go. Just go. Throw your stuff in the car and go. Those are the best road trips ever. Go. Be free. There's a lot out there to see, and it's waiting for you.>

I've driven cross-country twice and done extended road trips in New England, the Pacific Northwest, California, and the Southwest, and have some ideas on this. 1. Your car will be fine. Take it to your normal mechanic for the appropriate servicing before you go. Consider whether it's time for you to get new tires or not. Get USAA/AAA/other roadside assistance and program this number into your phone before you go. 2. It sounds like you like some of the same stuff I do, and if that's true, you'll get, in my opinion, the highest leverage out of everything west of Colorado and New England. It's probably too much to do both of those in this trip, so I'd just focus on the west. My route is centered around national parks, which are amazing, and provide sort of a framework for organizing a route. For the first part of your trip, take interstates and get across the middle of the country as fast as you can. The most interesting stuff is in the west, honestly. I'd start by seeing your family in NC, then hop I-40 and see Asheville NC, Great Smoky Mountains NP (buy an annual park pass for $80 or whatever), and then put the hammer down and don't stop until you get to New Mexico. There are of course things you'll miss out on by doing this, but you also won't use up time, money, and energy on the parts that are less awesome. Once you get to New Mexico, I'd probably drop down to Carlsbad Caverns and then over to White Sands National Monument, before driving back up I-25, which I'd take to Santa Fe. Keep on I-25 to Colorado. Head west, stopping by Great Sand Dunes NP, and then through Durango to Mesa Verde NP, heading north to stop by Montrose and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, then up to Grand Junction, where you can see the Colorado National Monument before heading west into Utah and its five National Parks. Skip Salt Lake City. Spend a few days in Moab and visit Arches and Canyonlands NPs, pass through Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon, and spend a few days in the St. George area visiting Zion. Do the Angels Landing hike in Zion. See the Grand Canyon from the North Rim which is less crowded. From there, go to Las Vegas if you've never been to Las Vegas. If you have been to Las Vegas, skip Las Vegas. See Death Valley. Get your accommodations sorted out in advance for Death Valley because it's big and it's remote and you want to know where you're staying rather than try and find a room on the go. From Death Valley, you have two choices. If you want Southern California to be part of your trip, go back through Las Vegas and take I-15 across to Barstow and get down to LA. There are a million things to do there and it's fun and awesome and I'd recommend it. See Joshua Tree NP, and visit San Diego, see Venice Beach, Hollywood, and then drive the PCH to the Bay Area. But what I would do in your situation is head through Death Valley to Lone Pine, CA, and then north on 395 through Mammoth Lakes and to Yosemite. Stay in Mammoth Lakes. En route see the Manzanar concentration camp site; also see Mono Lake. Drive to the Bay Area, and spend as much time in San Francisco as you want to. Visit the California wine country, and I'd do the Sonoma Valley instead of Napa, staying in Santa Rosa, then catch the PCH. I've done this drive all the way to Washington and it was grand. Way better than I-5. Once you see Redwood NP and reach Oregon, decide whether you want to head inland (I'd do this) or keep on the coastal route. If you head inland, visit Ashland OR (don't stay there, it will be likely too expensive), hop over to Crater Lake NP, then drive through Central Oregon to Bend. From Bend, drive to Portland via Hood River and the Columbia River Gorge, which is spectacular. From Portland decide whether you want to see Washington or not. You should see Washington because Washington is awesome, but it might make sense to head directly to Yellowstone from Portland. Yellowstone is endlessly fascinating and amazing. Leave Yellowstone/Grand Tetons and stop by Devil's Tower en route to the Black Hills of South Dakota, which is the last truly stunning place you'll see on this trip. See Mount Rushmore, Wind Cave, the Badlands, etc., and then drive east. If you've run out of time, money, and energy, just take the straightest and fastest route home. If you are still up for adventure, the upper Midwest and Plains have tons of cool stuff. I'd consider ditching the interstates here and driving US/state routes, because I-90 from the Black Hills and east is kind of teh suck. I'd be tempted to head north at Minneapolis to hit Duluth, then ride along the lake to catch a ferry to see Isle Royale NP, and another ferry to get to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and make my way home from there. 3. I'd plan sleeping arrangements before I left, which totally seems like an anti-spontaneous anti-road trip thing to do, but it makes life WAY easier. You can leave a little slack in your schedule in some places and also prioritize booking places where you can cancel reservations a day in advance or so and you will be glad you did this. Do not underestimate the value of knowing where you are going to sleep that night and knowing that it's all arranged. Don't camp if you can afford not to camp. Camping is awesome and makes lots of sense to get a deeper experience out of some of the places you are going but it's labor intensive and requires a bunch of crap that you don't want to have to haul around with you. It's also a pain in the ass to have to get to the campsite at a particular time in order to get checked in, etc. It just takes way longer. If you don't have to camp, don't camp. Air BNB can similarly be a pain in the ass if you have to make arrangements with your host. I'd stick to budget motels like Super 8 and use Hotwire or Priceline to drive down prices and get the best deals sometimes, too (although you may not be able to cancel these bookings, so you sort of have to weigh the cost savings vs flexibility). If I were doing this I might make my bookings about 10 days out at a time rather than trying to book the entire trip which would be overwhelming. So, if you want to be in, say, Denver, ten days from now, book everything up to that night in Denver. Sometime before you arrive in Denver book some more days, etc. 4. What to take: buy a paper atlas. It helps with planning and you can use it if you have weird tech issues. Consider Lonely Planet books for the various regions, which are awesome when it comes to getting an overview of the different towns you'll be driving into. Buy a satellite GPS instead of relying just on your cell phone. Bring spare adapters and cords. Lots of flash cards for photos. Empty water bottles that you should fill up and keep in your car, in addition to whatever you hike with. A daypack. Put a warm blanket in your car. A headlamp flashlight and spare batteries. Bring your rewards numbers for the chains you stay at the most. Bring a kindle with novels on it so you're not stuck watching TV in crappy motel rooms. Bring some warm clothes, like hooded sweatshirts or a jacket, which you'll need when you go into caves, if the AC is crazy somewhere you're staying, or if you get stuck somewhere at night (you won't get stuck somewhere at night). Sunblock. Bring all the sunblock. Bring podcasts or audiobooks for those horrible stretches of interstate driving. 5. Must sees: The Grand Canyon. Do not die without seeing the Grand Canyon. It is amazing. Also, Yellowstone. Everything else, it's hard to say. Places I would go back to or recommend include: Big Bend NP, White Sands Nat'l Monument, Death Valley NP, San Francisco, the Sonoma Valley wine country, the Oregon Coast, Columbia River Gorge, Mount Rainier.

At this time of year, I'd stick to the northern half of the country. I wilt pretty easily so the heat makes things much less fun for me. It's hot there, too, of course, but there's some more national forest-y type places that give a break from the heat. http://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm is one of my must-see-again places. So beautiful. And yes to the Redwoods. I finally saw them a couple of years ago. I still have to look at the pictures of our dually pickup with giant camper next to a redwood to believe just how gigantic they really are. I looked through my travel bookmarks to see what I'd stumbled across. I don't know if you like to bake but I'd totally go to the http://www.kitchenaid.com/experience-retail-center/ in Greenville, Ohio. There's a factory and museum. I don't have any idea of the legitmacy of the history but the http://www.safarimuseum.com/ in Chanute, Kansas looks interesting to me. It's probably a little colonial and Hollywood romanticized but I love the whole Out of Africa atmosphere and clothing and decor so I'd stop in there if I were passing through. It may be touristy and more geared towards kids but I'd like to go to http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/index.html in York, Nebraska. I love all the old farming equipment and homestead stuff so it's looks like fun. YMMV. If I were going though Philadelphia, I'd make an appointment to get pin-up photos done by http://celestegiuliano.com/. She does beautiful portraits of women of http://celestegiuliano.com/galleries/pinup/ (that aren't all over the top pouty fish lips). You may not be into that at all but it seems like it might be a cool way to commemorate a solo woman's summer road trip. http://www.gingerblossom.com/ in Richmond, Illinois has long been on my list of places to check out, too. "...ethnic and traditional crafts, rugs, furniture, sweaters, antiques and more from all over the world, and practice fair trade...." Here's a map of http://search.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/googleMapFull.aspx across the US. It's from Fox News so take it for what it's worth but a list of http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2012/09/05/10-coolest-small-towns-in-america-2012/ in the US. http://www.deadwood.org/ was a little touristy but fun. You could check out http://www.historicsilvercityidaho.com/, Idaho. Except for the blight that is Mount Rushmore, the http://www.blackhillsbadlands.com/ are beautiful. As is http://www.visitcuster.com/nationalparksmonuments/custerstatepark/?utm_source=GooglePPC&utm_medium=PPC&utm_campaign=BHDS. We stayed in a great little cabin there when we went to Sturgis several years a back. Seeing herds of buffalo and wild https://www.google.com/search?q=wild+donkeys+custer+state+park&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=LOKWVd3LOoWyoQSg2LeAAw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1385&bih=747 was fun. If you do go to popular national parks, be very aware that many people are very stupid about not respecting wildlife. We saw some mind-bogglingly foolish behavior like a whole crowd of people standing in circle around a bear cub! (I still can't believe the mom didn't come over and tear their fool heads off.) Buy a book of postcard stamps. Send yourself a postcard from everywhere you stop. Family members, too, of course, if you so desire. Then you can https://www.google.com/search?q=postcard+display&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=z96WVZibDtfeoASPnKGQCA&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg&biw=1385&bih=747#imgrc=h5qrs_GYGbbFBM%3A at home as a reminder. For safety issues: -yes, yes, yes to AAA. We were hit by a car on a motorcycle trip a few years back and they were lifesavers. Excellent service. The towing company they dispatched were great. Worth every penny. -give someone your itinerary and let him/her know if it changes. Have someone you can check in with periodically to make sure you are okay and send help if needed. Leave copies of your important info - insurance, drivers license, credit card numbers, etc., with that person. -put a paper phone list in your wallet and glove box - for EMS: emergency contact info in case you are injured/incapacitated; for you: bank/credit card/friends in case you lose your wallet/phone -get your car tuned up beforehand. Let the mechanic know you are taking a long road trip. Make sure you can change a tire. Have a basic tool kit so you can tighten bolts/screws, change a windshield wiper, change the battery, jumper cables (can you jump start a Prius?) -plan on freak weather occurrences and pack a range of clothing. We saw hail the size of golf balls in August at Sturgis. -with bedbugs being an issue, personally, I'd stay away from cheaper motels. But I'm pretty risk-averse. I think I'd at least suss out a some options ahead of time - if for no other reason than to not spend an hour each day looking for a place to spend the night. Maybe make a plan for every third night? At least know areas of cities you should avoid. If winging it becomes too difficult, you can always spend a couple of hours one day making reservations for the rest of your trip. -I apologize if this is patronizing. That is not my intention. But trust your instinct. If someone seems weird or a situation just doesn't feel right, trust that feeling. You are not being critical or mean-spirited or whatever. You are keeping yourself safe to continue your fabulous trip. I'm not sure I helped you narrow things down. Have a safe and delightful trip!

A friend and I drove the (very) northern route x-country in 2010. There were lots of places without cell service, and though things have probably changed since then I'd still bring both a GPS and paper maps. We brought AAA tour books and each morning decided where we were likely to sleep that night, picked a motel or hotel in that area from the AAA book, called and booked a room for that night. This worked pretty well everywhere except heading west across Route 2 in Montana (not what I would have predicted) where one night we had to drive all the way to Kalispell, where we arrived well past midnight and got what may have been the last available hotel room in the city. Yes to: AAA (we didn't use it, but good for peace of mind), Badlands, and Glacier National Park. Eastern Montana (we went to Fort Peck) was pretty glorious too. But these places are pretty far from the areas you seem to be considering.

Many years ago (like, almost 13 years) my now-husband and I went on a 5 week roadtrip across Canada, zig-zagged around the US, and returned home to Canada. It was THE BEST. It is literally one of the very best experiences I've ever had and, all things willing, we'll do it again when the kids have all left home! I can't help you with route planning - we had a primary destination in mind and kind of winged (wung?) it every morning when we hit the road. I have heard that CAA (and AAA) do trip planning for free in some cases, so it might be worth getting in touch with them. But my advice is to do some research about what you want to see and.. go for it! Plus, don't be afraid to follow random signs while you're driving - if a roadside attraction sounds good, head down that direction. Sleeping arrangements - hotels, motels, camping, couch surfing. They're all good. There's a fine line between "cheap motel" and "holy crap we're going to die here" motel and you will discover that line yourself at some point. We're not fancy people, so sleeping in a motel that didn't have all of the fancy amenities was fine for us - we were only there to sleep, for the most part. Get your car checked out ahead of time - thoroughly inspected. Make sure YOU know how to check and add oil and washer fluid. We had CAA with us (which also works in the US) and didn't need it - but it was a nice bit of peace of mind to have, still. Make sure you also know how many miles you can get on a tank of gas - and track it - so you know when to fill it and when you can let it go 'til the next town rolls up. In terms of what to take with you, it depends in part on the sort of person you are. We're jeans-n-t-shirts sorts of people, so we packed those with some shorts. Good shoes plus flipflops or sandals. A hoodie or two. Swimsuit. Lots of clean socks and underpants. We did laundry along the way at various places, but we wore jeans/shirts more than once, definitely. Think about what can be purchased easily along the way and what things you're really fussy about being 'right'. For example, if you need your favourite pillow in order to sleep well, bring it! Bring extra plastic grocery bags. A cooler that you can fill with ice from gas stations is lovely for holding drinks and snacks when you're driving for a while and don't want to stop. Paper and pens. Spare sunglasses. A good flashlight. At the same time, remember that you can easily swing by a Walmart in pretty much any town and pick up something you've forgotten - just pack things that you might need immediately. Tech stuff - we used our phones, brought a laptop, and didn't use a GPS. (This was a while ago). If we were going again today, I'd bring the same - and use my phone's GPS along with a paper map. Bring car chargers for everything. Bring an extension cord/power bar - nothing is worse than having to choose which devices to charge because the motel doesn't have enough outlets! Take loads and loads of digital photos. Be aware of roaming charges on your phone ahead of time. We had a blog that we updated most evenings - it was a good way to keep track of where we were, what we were doing, post photos, and share with friends. We had a particular budget for our trip and we used it - but there was also a credit card with a significant limit that we didn't touch. It was for emergency purposes only (if the car broke down, for example) which was a nice bit of comfort that we, thankfully, didn't need to use. BEST fun EVER. I'm super jealous you're doing this!!

Hi fellow 2005 Prius driver! Mine has 130K and is going strong. I'd recommend a thorough review of the car with special attention paid to things that are known to fail around 90-100K. If I remember correctly, I replaced my water pump at 100K because that's when they often die. I prefer to do that stuff before I'm stuck somewhere on the side of the road. Otherwise, our car is a little tank and lasts forever. Have a great trip!