To Really Get Away From it all Go Where Others Don’t

Discover America — Best by Car — Part 1

I’m laughing because the story I’m about to tell you isn’t so much about “Hot Spots” but the lack thereof. Sometimes we need to get off the grid and away from… people.

There are plenty of places like that which make you feel you’re the only person around. Just don’t read the billboards! Because I am going to take you through a maze of red states.

Having heard the horror stories of feeling like you were at Disneyland at parks like Zion and Arches in Utah and the Grand Canyon in Arizona, I decided to take the road less traveled. That is, a trip over the Great Plains, from the panhandle of Oklahoma to within a few miles of Canada, then back home through Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and of course, New Mexico. These are BIG states! But I traveled through nine in 14 days and didn’t feel rushed.

Albuquerque is not a huge city, but it’s big enough to get annoyed by. And given the current megadrought and the summer heat, I was just done. I wanted to go where the deer and the antelope play. I wanted to see the big, broad countryside with no people.

Well, I got what I wanted. And I loved it! Come along, and I’ll tell you what I found. In this Part 1, I’ll cover the basics of how I travel and car camping with a tent. In Part 2, I’ll share details of the route I chose to take. I took copious notes while driving (!), and I hope you’ll find something that appeals to you. Or maybe you’ll come up with ideas in your part of the country.

First things first: trip requirements/ways to economize

Your vehicle

While my Hyundai Sonata doesn’t have that many miles on it (70,000 for a ten-year-old car), I wanted to ensure that it was in tip-top shape. So I did everything and made every check it needed for a vehicle of that mileage. Sure, I spent a pretty penny, but I would have needed to do it at some point anyway. And having car troubles on the road is no fun.

Fuel

Gas is expensive. And can you believe how much the price of a hotel room has increased? With fewer services? I love to camp, and I have all the equipment I need to be quite comfortable, so I chose to camp for two nights and stay in a hotel every third night. I do like to maintain my hygiene and my vanity! And sleeping in a real bed still beats my memory foam sleeping pad. When I was traveling, gas in most states was $4.49. Colorado was the most expensive fillup at $4.89. When I got back to Albuquerque, it was down to $4.09. (Yesterday, it was $3.89!) What a bargain!

Camping

Don’t forget, a campsite costs money, too. I did not see any that charged more than $15/night, and most offer senior discounts. Note that the National Park Service and the National Forest Service are in the middle of transitioning to a cashless system. Therefore, making reservations and paying online before your stay is best. The federal website is www.recreation.gov. Each state seems to have its own method of paying for its state parks. See their travel and tourism website to check rates and rules.

And remember that to even get into some of the most popular national parks, you may have to make reservation months in advance. So please don’t attempt to visit a national park until you’ve checked out their website.

Lodging

Having worked in the airline industry and being a road warrior before that, I became a hotel snob. Nothing below a Hilton or Marriott-branded property would do. I’ve also enjoyed the many benefits of their loyalty programs. Now that I am retired (it sounds so weird to say that!), I need to be a bit more budget conscious. At the same time, I’ve always been a “points whore” with the loyalty programs. I’ve simply had to lower my standards a bit.

So now I mainly stick with Choice Hotels or Wyndham Hotels. Each has several brands below them, but some are better than others. When I search for hotels, I first go to Trivago.com to see what is available in a given city. The site will also tell you about some of the rates available. I usually pick two or three and investigate each on the parent company’s websites (i.e., choicehotels.com, wyndhamhotels.com).

Why do I do that? Because you will not get loyalty points if you do not book on the hotel brand’s website. Many third-party booking sites (i.e., Trivago, booking.com) have their own loyalty programs. But I’m a purist. I prefer to book on the hotel’s websites. For instance, I earned a $50 VISA gift card for staying at two Choice hotels and booking on their website. Rates aren’t great anymore, but promotions abound.

Where to splurge on a higher-end brand is in a smaller town. For instance, I stayed at a Hampton Inn in Garden City, Kansas, and paid half with Hilton points and half with cash, which cost me about $75. The cheapest hotel I stayed at was a Quality Inn (Choice Hotels) in North Platte, Nebraska, for $89/night, where I will never stay again if I am ever in North Platte! On the other hand, the Quality Inn in Bismarck, North Dakota, was quite lovely. Read other travelers’ reviews if you have the time.

Fees

I’m a National Park buff, so earlier this year, I purchased a “Senior Lifetime America the Beautiful” pass for about $80. It could pay for itself in visits to three parks. The more prominent and more popular national parks may charge up to $30 per vehicle.

In addition to entry fees, there may be fees associated with tours. Unfortunately, you’ll usually have to pay full fare unless you are a senior. Again, it would be best if you made these months in advance. Some parks are so crowded you have to make a reservation to get into the park months in advance. For those not holding a reservation, there’s usually a lottery system, or it may be first come, first served.

At Wind Cave National Park, I panicked because I made my reservation for my tour on a wrong day. While they were able to accommodate me (and pay the higher space available rate), I’ll have to go back to recreation.gov to obtain a refund for the original reservation.

I visited the following with no fees: Chimney Rock National Historic Site, Scottsbluff National Monument, and Jewel Cave National Monument. Wind Cave National Park, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and Capulin National Monument all charged fees. Of course, I paid nothing for having the pass. The passes definitely pay for themselves in short order and are one more way for their system to go cashless.

With food, it just depends. It was easy to stock my cooler and such with food needed for one. A family is a different story altogether. It depends on how much space you have in your vehicle. Packing the right foods was relatively easy if you’re on a two-week trip like I was. The hardest part was keeping ice in the “refrigerator.” It melts fast in the cooler, although my Coleman says it will maintain a cool temperature from the ice for five days. That must be in the winter, and not opening it! I got two days at the max.

I tried my best not to eat at any restaurant (including fast food varieties), and I did it! (Well, with two exceptions: Runza in Nebraska and a Taco John’s in Kansas. You can’t get this stuff outside of the Midwest!) Where I would get trapped was the gasoline stations. I spent way too much money on snacks. Based on my observations, I’d make the kids stay in the car!

Another observation: they eat a shitload of sunflower seeds in the Dakotas!

Second verse/pre-planning

Go ahead. Call me old school. I like planning domestic car travel with paper maps.

That’s right. You can’t get them free at gas stations like back in the “old days” (another saying that dates me!) I like seeing the big picture; you can only obtain that with printed maps. I also believe that if technology breaks down, you’ve got a friend.

I’m the same way with calendars. I only use big paper calendars.

I better stop right there with that kind of talk! I don’t want to come across as an old person!

The place to get excellent maps of each state without paying for them is through each state’s travel and tourism bureau. You just select the items you want (including a map!), input your mailing information, and you’ll have what you ordered, usually in 7–10 days.

Sure, I use Google Maps to calculate distances and such, and if I need a super close-up of a particular area. However, state maps are very detailed, and they include city maps as well.

And, well, I just like maps!

Let’s go!

So load up that car and get ready to press the pedal to the metal because our first stop in Part 2 will be…Ooooo-klahoma!

Here are a couple of my other stories you may enjoy:

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