Road Trips

Road trips are traditional ways for many people, including families, to visit relatives and tour different parts of the country.  Some people take road trips just for the fun of it too.  The high cost of gasoline has put a damper on some road trips, but they can still be a comparatively economical way to travel, especially for families.  While traveling in a large RV may consume lots of fuel at ridiculously high prices, leveraging the cost across several family members makes it fairly reasonable.  Say you have an RV that gets 7 mpg and you have a family of four.  That calculates to 28 passenger miles per gallon.  Another advantage of traveling by RV or making camping part of our trip is savings on food and lodging.  Instead of constantly forking out big bucks for over-priced food and hotel/motel rooms, you can stay in campgrounds and cook in camp, usually saving  a lot of money.  For example, a family of four is likely to pay around $30-40 for a meal even in a fast food restaurant and closer to $60-80 or more in a nicer sit-down establishment.  Four people will probably need at least 2 rooms each night at a very conservative estimate of $50/room per night or $100 a night.  A week on the road could easily cost a family of four $700 in lodging and $900 in food.  Compare that to staying in campgrounds at under $40 per night (for all four people) and preparing most meals in camp and probably spending about the same you would for food at home and the cost comes way down.  We found a small private campground on a recent trip where we were able to get tent site for just $7.00 when the cheapest motels in the same area were way more than $50 a night.

But cost savings are not the only reason for taking road trips and camping along the way.  The experience itself is the major factor.  You and your traveling companions will share many sights and activities along the way -- if you plan properly.  If you hit the road with little or no planning you may still have a fun and spontaneous trip, but even that means a certain amount of preparation.  There are many attractions along our major highways, and even more a short distance off the main routes if you take time to look for them.   A lot of the preparation for a spontaneous road trip is mental.  Give yourselves permission and allow time to explore things along the way.  Plan to stop for ice cream or visit a road side fruit stand or just take time to stop and read some of the historical markers along the way.  In today's world our focus is often so much on the destination that we fail to enjoy the journey.

While RVs are often the most convenient way to take a road trip, you can take one in your family car or by motorcycle.   You will have to plan on finding gas stations or rest areas for necessary rest stops but fuel costs will most likely be substantially reduced.  You will want to pack your car so that you have convenient access to drinks and snacks along the way.  You will probably want to keep sweaters and jackets handy too, in case you run into inclement weather.  Sunglasses are essential for bright days.  You'll probably want to have a camera ready to capture special sites and outstanding views along the way.  If you have young children you will want to plan games or other activities to keep them occupied.  The entertainment systems available in many modern vehicles, including DVD players can turn "are we there yet" to "are we there already?"

Not all highways or even sections of the same highway are the same.  Some places are overflowing with areas of historic, scenic, and/or geologic interest.  In these sections you may have trouble allocating enough time on a trip to accommodate all the things you want to do and see.  Yet there may also be long stretches of road with little or nothing to see or do.  I have driven I-5 through the Central Valley of California many times and while there are interesting side trips available if you plan ahead or watch for them, cruising for hundreds of miles along a mostly flat, mostly straight freeway is going to tax the attention span of even the most intense observer.  I once drove across Iowa.  Miles and miles of cornfields and flat as a table as far as the eye could see.  Having grown up in the Rocky Mountains, driving across Iowa reminded of the old song "Too Much of Nothing".  My apologies to fans of Iowa.  The drive from Salt Lake City, Utah to Portland, Oregon follows much of the old Oregon Trail and while there are occasional historic markers along the way, it has been said that modern travelers will find much of it just about as lonely as did the pioneers in the 19th Century and I found that to be true.  I also found gas stations to be few and far between!  When you encounter stretches of road like this it will behoove you to have planned for it.  You may need in-vehicle activities, especially if you're traveling with children and you need to schedule regular rest stops for relief and to stay alert.  The options today far exceed those we had when I was a kid or when we were raising our kids.  We were pretty much limited to reading (which doesn't work for some people as it makes them car sick), playing games (like I Spy, the Alphabet Game, and counting license plates), singing songs, and telling stories.  Card games could be fun for everyone but the driver.  Today you have additional electronic options like books on tape, live Internet access, and portable DVD players.   Something that is usually fun for everyone is watching the information signs and billboards along the highway to find interesting places to stop for meals, snacks, or short visits.  Some billboards can be quite entertaining.  When I was a teenager we took several trips across southern Idaho and the highlight of the trips were the Stinker Service Station signs.  The front side had  picture of a skunk and typically advertised the location of the next Stinker gas station but it was the back side we always focused on.  Each one had a unique and amusing saying on it.  For example, in the middle of nowhere was one that said "Lonely Hearts Club Picnic Grounds"; another said "Just think: If you lived here you'd be home now"; yet another in a lonely stretch of road proclaimed "Its uncanny; there are no restrooms in this area".  They were always fun and apropos.  When traveling these kinds of roads, try to keep your gas tank full whenever you can.  You don't want to already be 100 miles from the last gas stop before you discover you can't reach the next one before running out of gas!

Access to services is another consideration along lonely sections of highway.  Know how far you can go on a tank of gas and plan to stop for gas  to make sure you don't run out in the middle of nowhere.  If your vehicle has a trip meter you can reset it at each gas stop so you know at a glance how far you've gone to help you gauge when to get more fuel.  Lacking a trip meter you'll need to jot down the odometer reading and do a little math to keep track of when you'll need gas next.  Gas stations usually come up fairly frequently along Interstate highways, but you can go for 50 or 100 miles or more between gas stations on some of the older highways.  In today's economy and with a lot of travelers sticking to the freeway system, many remote stations have gone out of business so even if you've been able to buy gas at roadside stops or small towns before, they might not still be there.  And, of course, expect to pay extra for fuel in remote locations.  Certainly supply and demand pay an important part of setting the price, but consider the transportation costs and other overhead are probably higher, forcing a higher price.  Food services may also be thinly scattered along lonely roads, so plan your meals and bring along plenty of snacks to tide you over.  And don't forget to bring PLENTY of drinking water.  Some folks like to limit fluid intake to minimize restroom stops, but that isn't really a very good idea.  Dehydration can cause some rather unpleasant consequences, including fatigue and grogginess, not good things when you're driving.  You may also want to toss in a gallon or so of extra water (or antifreeze) in case you spring a leak in your vehicle cooling system in the middle of nowhere.  Speaking of cooling system repairs, it is a good idea to carry some radiator hose repair tape.  It is in no way a permanent solution but it may help slow leaks long enough for you to reach civilization where you can get real repairs.  Pay attention to the signs that let you know how are it is to the next rest area so you don't end up trying to "hold it" too long, which has painful and sometimes very unpleasant and embarrassing results.  You might be tempted to pull over along a rural stretch of road and take advantage of some convenient trees or bushes in an emergency, but in most places it is illegal and is always unsanitary.  Much better to plan your stops to take advantage of the many very well equipped rest stops you'll find along most highways.  Also, make use of restrooms whenever you stop for gas or food.  Adapting one of the "old men's rules" from the movie "As Good As It Gets", never pass up a chance to use the restroom!  Remember the days when you reminded the kids to go to the bathroom before getting in the car?  Might be a good time to re-implement that rule -- for kids of ALL ages.

Most of us are accustomed to purchasing fuel with credit or debit cards but you may very well find remote locations that only accept cash, so be sure you carry a little with you for emergencies.  The same thing may apply to buying food.

Napping in the car is sometimes a fairly good way to help the time go more quickly in boring sections of the trip.  Some people enjoy napping in the car; others can't get comfortable.  Of course it is NOT an option for the current driver so trade off every couple of  hours or so!  If you begin to feel tired or sleepy, pull over at the next safe opportunity; get some fresh air and stretch your legs.  An occasional stop like this will take a lot less time than recovering from an accident!  Passengers will want to reserve nap times for uninteresting sections of the highway.  On most long trips there are plenty of them, so staying awake when there is something beautiful or interesting to see makes a lot of sense.  Most rest areas or road sides where you can pull off are relatively safe but if you notice any unsavory activity keep going until you find a place you feel more comfortable.

Hotels, motels, and campgrounds along the way can provide a welcome respite from driving.  In a pinch you can pull into a freeway rest area and snooze for a bit in your vehicle if you get really tired, but having an actual bed, even if its a sleeping bag in a tent, will be more restful and overnight stops give you something to look forward to.  Sometimes you can choose places with several amenities to enhance your stay (pool, wi-fi, hot tub, sauna, restaurant, even golf).  Even if there is not a restaurant in the hotel there will usually be a number of eating establishments nearby offering you a choice.  We like to seek out small, local cafes where the "home cooked" meals are often superb and reasonably priced.  "Country" breakfasts seem to be especially good values and are sometimes offered all day long.

Road trips can also be educational in ways that are a lot more fun and personal than reading it in school or watching it on the History Channel.  One time we chose to take Highway 49 instead of I-5 up through central California.  Highway 49 follows the route of the "49ers", early California gold prospectors, and there are dozens of historic sites along they way where you can get hands on exposure to how the miners worked and lived.  There are many such routes in different parts of the country that highlight local history or geology.  It will take you a little longer than zipping up the freeways, but we've found such variations to be well worth the extra time.  Not only are they interesting and educational, we found the trip to be less stressful and a lot more fun.

Trip out!