Quest 16. What to take and where to stand)
What we took:
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GPS. Buy it, steal it, buy and return it, download it, build it - do whatever you want, but you have to get a GPS somewhere!!)) Otherwise, the trip will turn into torture trying to find your hotel at 3 AM, exiting 8-lane ring roads when you need to shift and turn 10 times, or just finding some city. We tried to trick it for half the trip. I don't know how it is here (in Russia), but over there, it knows everything down to the meter, the rascal. Traffic jams, unfinished roads, toll roads, and most importantly, Garmin - in Russian - tells you how far and where to turn and shift. If we had driven without it, I think we would have lost at least three extra days, since sometimes there are no U-turns for 50 km... $200.
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Atlas. Just in case, plus you can draw routes on it, which isn't convenient on a GPS. Look for an atlas with scenic roads marked. It also helps when the GPS gets lost (for example, when it dies and you're out of gas - personal experience))) $15.
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National Geographic books. We chose where to go based on pictures in the National Geographic books "Scenic Byways and Highways" and "National Parks". Without them, it would have been hard to make sense of all this colorful chaos. On amazon.com $12.
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Tent. Because it's cool. 7-person. On amazon.com. $118.
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Cooler. A box where everything stays cold. Without water from it, we would have been goners in Nevada)) $22.
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Expectation of something extraordinary. Priceless)
The rest we sent by mail to New York to the main post office for general delivery. It cost 20 bucks a bag. It can stay there as long as you want)
The route itself is planned simply and effectively. http://maps.google.ru, the "Get Directions" button, or the MapQuest.com site. Enter your trip points and it gives you the distance and time. Not as the crow flies, but by road. You can set additional conditions (e.g., free roads). Doing more than 1000 km a day is a death sentence. If you want to see something today, no more than 500 km, provided you get up early. Because after 4:30 PM, you usually won't see much, and there are only 2 hours left until sunset...
ROADS. We mostly drove on free roads, but sometimes on toll roads. They cost about 2-3 bucks. When we were too lazy to pay (stopping, inserting a card, blah blah) - we just drove through. Once we even accidentally knocked down a closed barrier. It happens))
HOTELS. We mostly lived in hotels. The girls needed a shower, breakfast, internet, and all that. Of course, living in a car is romantic, but after 2 days you'll forget that word, especially when it's +3-5 degrees outside))) and we didn't want to be dirty Russians that everyone avoids on the bus. Although, maybe we're just weaklings. Anyway, if needed, we book hotels through www.wyndhamworldwide.com - it's almost a monopoly on the US motel/cheap hotel market. Rooms are $30-70 for 4 people. It's $10 cheaper online than upon arrival. That is, on average 400 rubles per night. Here you get two awesome beds, a fridge, a washing machine, of course a bathroom and parking, plus breakfast) there is also Motel6.com. Same thing, just a different company. Just in case)
We book simply - we drive until about 6 PM when we start to have a clear idea of where we will be by the time we want to sleep. We pull up to the nearest hotel, catch their Wi-Fi, and there's your booking)
CAMPING. To sleep in a car, you need a place. A seemingly ridiculous problem, but no. Because you also want not to die of fear/dangers lurking everywhere that night. We spend the night either at gas stations or in campgrounds. Campgrounds can be state-run; State Parks are often unguarded, in National Parks you won't just get in, you'll have to pay even if you arrive at night. And private ones (strangely, sometimes also unguarded). Often all spots are taken (especially near the Grand Canyon). A good private company is koa.com. Cool (showers, etc.), but at the same time wild. There are no showers in state camps. In short, "Oh, tent - you are life!" I first slept in a tent in America)) The sound of a stream, starry sky, campfire, barbecue, muffled conversations, Misty Mountains... mmmm....
