Where to Stay on a Budget

Hi Jamie!

My partner and I are currently in Australia planning and saving for our trip of a lifetime, a roadtrip around USA! I have already ordered your book and i'm sure it will prove invaluable but my question relates to accommodation. We want to spend a fair bit of time driving around, hopefully at least a couple of months, and as such we won't be able to plan too much in advance, if we find somewhere we really like we will stay longer. As we will be trying to make our dollars last as long as possible we were hoping to camp as much as possible. Being from another country it's hard to know whats available, are there plenty of options for budget accommodation/camping across the US, and would they be available on short notice? We would be happy staying in maybe a guesthouse now and then to clean up but hope to camp out as much as possible, do you think this is feasible? Sorry it's such a general question, any advice would be greatly appreciated, and if you cover this in the book please just let me know as it should be here hopefully in the next week or so!

Thanks in advance,

Daniel

====>>

Hi Daniel --

Many thanks for your nice note -- hope you got and have been enjoying my book. As far as camping around the US, I think you will be pleased with the range of options. Especially in the less-densely-developed western reaches of the USA, there are all sorts of places to camp, ranging from very basic, primitive campsites in "National Forests" and "Bureau of Land Management" areas, to campgrounds with showers and other facilities in state and national parks, up to nearly luxurious commercial campgrounds, which come close to Europeans standards (swimming pools,m sports facilities etc).

It may take a while to learn the differences between "BLM" and "USFS" and all the other acronyms, but there is a very good range of options, and most are available on short notice (apart from ones in the more popular national parks, but even there you can usually find something, even if you simply turn up). Here's a good intro URL: http://www.recreation.gov/campgroundSearchResult.do?topTabIndex=CampingSpot

Budget accommodation (under a roof) is more rare -- there are some good hostels, operated by the non-profit HI Hosteling International, but these are usually in coastal big cities or a select few other places -- like lighthouses on the California coast. URL: http://www.hihostels.com/dba/cmap-US.en.htm

Hope this helps, and good luck with the trip.

Keep in touch, and Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

===>>>

Hi Jamie, thanks for the nice reply.

We have received your book now, and are loving it! So much information to go through, but its great to have it all at hand, makes it so much easier and less nerve wracking to start planning our trip.

Thanks also for those links, will be sure to check them out and let you know once we are settled on some routes and are closer to heading over.

Thanks Again,

Daniel.

Hello Road Trip USA,

I have recently been on your website to look into the different routes that I could possibly take when visiting the USA next year. I am British and come from Liverpool in the North West of England. My partner and I have always wanted to visit USA and some key landmarks so we are thinking that next summer (2011) as we are both teachers we would like to spend some time travelling from coast to coast.

I think we have about 4 weeks (could stretch to 5 weeks if distance/time was an issue) and would like to possibly start from L.A. ending up with spending about 3 days in NYC to fly back from there. Could you possibly recommend a route/some key places to visit?

The places that we definitely would like to visit include:
* L.A.
* Las Vegas
* San Francisco
* Salt Lake City
* Chicago
* Niagra Falls
* Washington DC
* New York
* Boston (as we have friends here)
* Mount Rushmore
* Yellowstone

to name a few! It's not essential that we visit all of these places, nor is the list exclusive. I would like some advice about what places are best to visit and, in our time restrictions, what could we actually achieve? I would really appreciate advice from an expert such as yourself.

Thank you for your help in advance,

Gillian

=====

Hello Gillian --

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA. I hope I can help you have a great trip next summer, and yes -- I've heard of Liverpool.. Wasn't there a pop band that came out of Liverpool in the 1960s? More seriously, my boys are huge "football" fans, and their walls are plastered with pictures of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. They even have Liverpool FC toothbrushes.

:-)

About your trip --- sounds fantastic! In 4 or 5 weeks you could definitely see all the places you mention, and a lot more besides and in-between. What about Memphis and New Orleans and the whole Deep South? Seattle and Portland and the Pacific Northwest?? You could tour around these places as well -- there is a huge variety of things to see and do, when you start road-tripping around the USA.

Even if you stay with the places you listed, you'll have a pretty full trip. Because the USA is so big -- 3000 miles coast to coast, with New York farther from LA than Liverpool is from Istanbul -- I suggest you think about making this a 2-centre/center trip. Maybe landing at San Francisco, spending some time there unwinding and getting over jet lag (which is best done NOT behind the wheel of a motor car!). Then after a couple of days in SF, you can hire a car and head down the gorgeous coastline, via Monterey and Big Sur and Santa Barbara to LA, then east to Las Vegas, and Death Valley? to Salt Lake City and Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore? Then back toward San Francisco, by way of the gorgeous mountains and rivers of Idaho, and the Wine Country coast of northern California?

That would make a great 2-week tour, then you could hop a plane -- maybe stopping off for a few days in Chicago -- before landing in Boston, staying with your friends, then getting another "hire car" / rental car and touring for a week or so around New York and Niagara Falls, dropping the car before a last few days in the Big Apple. Then home to Liverpool... sound good?

I think you could track a route like the one I outlined above, by following my "Pacific Coast" trip south from SF to LA, then maybe taking some "Interstate" freeways to get to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City (and don't forget there are some gorgeous national parks in Utah).

I cover Yellowstone and Idaho and thereabouts in my "Oregon Trail" route, which also covers Chicago and Boston and Niagara Falls -- so you could do it as one big coast-to-coast drive, as well, if you wanted to make the whole cross-country odyssey.

Lots of possibilities, for sure -- I hope this helps, and that my ideas make your trip seem more manageable, rather than more intimidating.

:-)

Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

Baltimore to LA -- in April

Dear Road Trip USA,

My boyfriend and I are moving from Maryland to LA this coming April. We are very interested in taking one of your routes - possibly the Appalachian Trail or the Atlantic Coast to get the Southern Pacific route. However, there were a few additional stops we wanted to make; namely New Orleans, Charleston, Savannah, and Atlanta, and it looks like that might require some zig-zagging. Do you have any suggestions?
Also, both of us have always wanted to visit the Gulf Coast - are there any routes you would recommend, perhaps on the way to New Orleans, for seeing the coast?
And finally - do you think it will be warm enough in April to camp out? Both of us are novice campers, but would love to give it a shot, perhaps switching back and forth between hotels/motels and campsites....

Thanks so much - we are great fans of your site and books!

Phoebe

===

Hello Phoebe --

Thank you for writing in to Road Trip USA, and I hope I can help with your trip. I'm glad you like my work, and as you can probably tell, to me "additional stops" are what road-tripping is all about.

Especially when the stops are such fascinating places as you propose: New Orleans, Savannah, Charleston. Even Atlanta -- which if nothing else, will prepare you for the sprawl and traffic of your final destination, Los Angeles.

:-)

I'll try to answer your questions in order -- here goes. Charleston and Savannah are both in my "Atlantic Coast" chapter, and in April I'd say the coastal route is a better bet than the Appalachian Trail (where there can still be snow, even that late in winter/spring, especially around Asheville NC (which is a very interesting place, worth considering for your itinerary). Or, if Spring comes early next year, you could drive the "App Trail" route down to Atlanta, then easily add a loop east to Charleston and Savannah, perhaps then continuing on via Georgia's Jekyll Island to the Gulf Coast beaches, the best of which are in the FL panhandle. I've been to Seaside FL, which is nice and unusual -- it was seen in the movie "The Truman Show" -- though I don't know a great deal about any of the other Gulf Coast towns, like Panama City Beach.

And so long as stay at around sea level, I think the weather should be warm enough for camping. Elevation will make the biggest difference, but in Florida and Georgia, and possibly all the way down the Outer Banks even, you should be fine. Probably not 80 degrees warm, but you never know. Also, I think I ought to remind you that April is "Spring Break" month for a lot of college kids, so Gulf Coast beach towns can be very busy that time of year.

OK -- now west. New Orleans, definitely a must-see (and must-eat, must-listen-to-music sort of place...)

From there, I would be tempted by "Cajun Country", which stretches along old US-90, and to be honest I'd wait to join the "Southern Pacific" route until you are most of the way across Texas. To my mind Houston / Austin / San Antonio & the Hill Country have more to offer -- remember the Alamo! -- than Dallas, though Fort Worth is pretty interesting, too.

I'd recommend a trek up to the Guadalupe Mountains / Carslbad Caverns area, which is very interesting, though Big Bend is amazing in a wide-open Wild West sort of way. Very Cormac McCarthy / No Country for Old Men. Silver City NM and Bisbee AZ are worth a visit on your way toward Tucson, and April is a great time to be passing through this part of the world -- if you have time, think about making the backroad detour up through Portal AZ to the aptly named Paradise, and nearby Chiricahua National Monument. This is all little-visited but scenically amazing land -- with lots of history (and hiking). I'm jealous -- southern AZ is my favorite place in the world to be, in April.

Hope this helps -- and if you do make the trip, before you hit the road I'd suggest having a look at my "mini-books" on the App Trail and Atlantic Coast -- these are less than a year-old, and the most up-to-date available.

Thanks again for writing -- be safe, and have fun!

Happy Trails,


Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

*** On Sale Now ***

6 Months -- South American Road Trip USA !

Hi Jamie --

I´m planning a trip , with my wife, all around USA. We got a tkt from Buenos Aires , Argentina, to Miami & the return is from LA. We´ve got 6 months to do it.

What places will u recommend not to miss it. We want to go everywhere!

Please please can you help us with the plan? We arrive mid-december to MIAMI, and we come back to Argentina early June from LA.

Where we should spend Christmas?? New Year?? Hotels? Motels?

Muchas preguntas!

Thanks a lot! Great stuff, Road Trip USA.

Best Regards


Pablo

====>>>

Dear Pablo --

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA -- with 6 months to tour the country, you have a great trip ahead of you! I'm glad you like the website, and wanted to say that there is a lot more info and ideas in the Road Trip USA book (which is also more up-to-date).

You ask some big questions, and I'll try to give some helpful answers. I assume you will be mixing flying and driving, countryside and big cities. There is definitely a lot to see, por seguro. For Christmas and New Year, I'm tempted to suggest you fly up to New York City, where there is lots of shopping, and lots of seasonal activities (ice skating in Central Park, brights lights on Christmas trees in Rockefeller Center, all that sort of thing). Plus real Christmas weather -- though coming from Argentina, you may be used to a warm-weather Christmas lik eyou'll get in Miami...

So, after New Year in New York, then maybe come back south to Miami, and make your way west to New Orleans in time for the start of Mardi Gras (Feb 25th to March 8th). The earlier the better, many people say -- as the crowds get bigger toward the end of the party. After Mardi Gras everything quiets down considerably until May and June.

March and April would be a good time to head west, to Arizona and southern California, where the desert wildflowers are blooming and the weather is usually very nice. The California coast is very pretty in the Springtime, and you could also do a tour of the western National Parks -- Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Yosemite, Yellowstone, and many more.

After this, I think Seattle could be a good place for you to explore -- there are more national parks all around the city, and Seattle itself is one of the most lively / appealing cities in the USA. Nearby Portland Oregon is smaller, and also very attractive (both have very good food, too -- an interesting mix of native fish and Asian influences...) And the Oregon coast is gorgeous, too.

Then loop back to LA (maybe via Las Vegas?), drop off your rental car, and fly home.

Obviously there are hundreds of choices to make along the way, but I hope this outline gives you some inspiration.

Buen viaje,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

SF to Michigan - August 2011

Hey Jamie

Two of my friends and I are planning a road trip next year and we are really excited because we have been talking about it for two years.

We all live in San Francisco and we go to school at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I am planning the trip and have taken a hard look at your specific trips and I have been overwhelmed by the amount of thing there is to do.

We are planning on doing a one-way trip out to school at the end of next summer.

What is the best way to get there in your professional opinion?


Thanks a lot!


Louis

====>>>

Hi Louis --

Many thanks for your email -- living in SF and going to school in Michigan, that's quite a commute! You are right to feel a little overwhelmed by all the things you might do on a cross-country road trip, but the key to making it fun is to enjoy what you do, and not worry too much about what you might be missing.

My favorite route for your trip would probably be a combination of my Road Trip USA roads -- from SF, I'd head east along old US-50 (and probably I-80, at least as far as Sacramento), then up to Lake Tahoe, where the fun begins. Tahoe is gorgeous, as you may know from your SF time, but east of there the landscape changes dramatically: the dry, angular mountains and valleys of the Basin and Range country, which stretches for more than 500 miles. If you like to feel like a pioneer, this is a great route: what the tourist boards have dubbed the Loneliest Road, it really can cause some existential angst, with miles between gas stations, or other signs of civilization. But it is very cool -- riding along the same route as Buffalo Bill and the rider of the Pony Express, past petroglyphs and the mountain wilderness of Great Basin National Park (which also has some very cool caves).

In Utah, you can detour north to Salt Lake City (and maybe take in the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone?), or wind across the red-rock deserts of Canyonlands and Arches national parks. Then come more mountains, across Colorado (where if you are in a hurry, I-80 is still a very pretty drive, though US-50 still wins for scenery, especially if you make the detour south along the "Million Dollar Highway", toward Durango.

The Great Plains are not as thrilling, but if you want to visit a classic road trip destination, veer north to Mt Rushmore, which is a bit silly, but surrounded by the verdant mountains of the Black Hills. This would also be a natural stop, if you decide to go to Yellowstone

Finally, your last big decision is whether to approach Ann Arbor via Chicago and the "Rust Belt" cities along I-80, South Bend and Toledo et al, or if you want to see some of un-sung wonders of the Great Lakes, specifically the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which is former mining and logging country where, despite the heavy industry, they have managed to preserve some intense wilderness. This route is covered in my Road Trip USA "Great Northern" chapter, following US-2. This way you could approach Ann Arbor via that quintessential Michigan city, Green Bay, and maybe see some of the Apostle Islands (in Wisconsin) and Pictured Rocks national seashores -- before they freeze over for the long long winter.

OK, you've still got a nice long time to plan this trip, so let me know what you think of these ideas, and maybe I can fine-tune a few things before you go.

Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

Western USA in October 2010

Hi Jamie

We come from Finland, and plan to make a road trip 30.9.2010-23.10.2010.

Just wondering if it is too short a time to travel south from Seattle following coast line and go back to north on the east side of Rocky Mountains? In some web site they say it is 1050 miles from Seattle to San Diego and on the other web site they say it is 1500 miles?

It seems so that there is going to be about 4000 miles to drive and it means average 200 miles per day and it does not sound like holiday.

Waiting for your suggestions.

Best Regards

Hannu from Finland

===>>>

Hello Hannu --

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA, and I hope I can help with your trip planning.

To be honest, 200 miles a days does not seem to be a huge amount of driving -- 3 hours a day -- but if you want to shorten the total and spend more time enjoying places, I might suggest doing the coastal drive followed by a "road trip" back north along a closer mountain range -- instead of the Rockies, follow the gorgeous Sierra Navada Mountains of California, and the Cascades of Oregon and Washington.

You could take the coastal route south, then return north on some wonderful roads -- US-395 from Los Angeles to Carson City is a beautiful drive, and/or you could also cross the mountains to see Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe, which are two of the prettiest places on the planet.

And Death Valley is not far away, either.

Further north, in the state of Oregon, you could visit Crater Lake National Park, see the Columbia Gorge, then return to Seattle via Mount Rainier and Mt St Helens, two more very spectacular sights.

This route would save you about 1/3rd of the driving, compared to the Rockies tour.

And if anything, the scenery is even more memorable.

Hope this helps, and that you have a great trip.

Happy Trails,


Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

Month+ Road Trip, May 2011

Hi Jamie,

I am looking for some help and advice for a road trip my girlfriend and I are planning on doing next year.

We are arriving into Seattle from the UK on the evening of 23/04/11 and will be leaving from Chicago on the 08/06/11. We need to be in Ohio on the 28 May for a wedding (which we can not miss!) and a few days after both in Ohio and Detroit seeing family. But the 34 days before the wedding we are hoping to travel across the country.

We have a rough idea of a plan which is to set off from Seattle and head towards Yellowstone NP and then down towards the Gulf of Mexico and New Orleans, stopping off at places such as Bryce, Zion, Monument Valley, and a few others on our way to New Orleans.

Once in New Orleans we are looking at heading North East towards Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Montreal (if we have time) and back towards Ohio before heading to Detroit and Chicago, then (unfortunately, I'm sure) home to the UK.

The stops I have mentioned above are not definite stops, just ones we'd like to see along with others, but just as a guide as to the different parts of the country we'd like to be in on our trip

While we have a basic plan we are unsure about the timescales/distances and what we would be able to see in the time we have before needing to be at the wedding.

It would be great if you could give us some advice and help with our plan.


Thank you in advance,

M & N

==

Hi there M & N --

Thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA.

It sounds to me like you have a pretty great trip planned, and also that you plenty of time to really enjoy yourself and the places you are passing through. As far as timing/distance, here is my effort at a rough itinerary, based on your outline.

Hope this helps:

April 23rd Arrive Seattle. Spend some time here -- the city is brilliant (English usage; "totally cool" in West Coast-speak). And the surrounding area is truly astounding -- if you can spare a week to explore Mount Rainier / Mt St Helens / Olympic National Park / Port Townsend / San Juan Islands, you won't regret it.

I know you want to go east toward Yellowstone, but May can be awkward -- many roads are still closed by snow. Yellowstone is over 2000m in elevation -- 7500 feet -- and snows can linger, not only here but all across the Cascades and Rockies. If you are a skier, you're in luck -- the Jackson Hole are south of Yellowstone is powder heaven, as well as being gorgeous (the Grand Tetons are spectacular -- like the Alps, without all the French people...)

Depending upon the weather outlook, you might want to consider heading south from Seattle, down the Oregon coast, which is gorgeous. As is northern California... I have a chapter in Road Trip USA on the coastal drive, all the way from Seattle south to San Diego.

But Yellowstone is indeed truly amazing -- make sure you book a room asap, because it is also very popular. Also, many of the lodges don't open until May, so check well in advance and plan accordingly. I give some more info on Yellowstone in the "Oregon Trail" section, which also plots a good route should you opt to head down the coast from Seattle then east via Portland along US-20/26, a fine road.

OK, next phase. After Yellowstone, or on your way there if you took more time on the West Coast, you can see the glories of the desert Southwest: Bryce, Zion, Monument Valley. Don't forget the Arches and Canyonlands, the Grand Canyon, and the less-known but at least as interesting, ancient remains of Native American cliff palaces -- at Mesa Verde National Park, Canyon de Chelley, all of northern Arizona, really. Moab Utah is a good base, for some of these places, as is Flagstaff Arizona, and Santa Fe New Mexico. (Flagstaff and Santa Fe are more pricey than some spots, but the food (esp in Santa Fe) makes it worth the potential added expense. I cover some of this area in my "Loneliest Road" chapter, and others in Route 66 -- and years ago I wrote a book on the Southwest, which has tons more info but didn't sell well enough for me to keep in print, alas...)

This is about 2 weeks into your trip, and it'll be getting close to the middle of May, so you are on your way to New Orleans. The Great Plains don't offer a lot, compared to what you've been seeing, but the area north of New Orleans is pretty fascinating, and especially pretty in May. Check out Memphis TN (music mecca, even if you don't love Elvis), then head south across the Delta to Oxford, Vicksburg and Natchez Mississippi. Baton Rouge is lively, and the "Plantation Alley" stretch of the Great River Road is memorable, for sure.

New Orleans is sensory overload -- give it a couple of days at least. Maybe more if you love it, which most visitors do.

You say you want to head toward Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Montreal -- but I think you may want to spend more time on the western and southern parts of your trip, if only because the weather is so much more agreeable. Also, NYC / Boston et al aren't really "road trip" country to my mind -- it would be much better to treat them as city breaks, maybe on a later trip. (Also, I don't really have a lot to say about them -- though Philadelphia is an under-appreciated place, and less exorbitantly expensive than NYC or Boston...)

So, I'll give some pointers on New Orleans to Ohio, most of which send you along what I cover as the "Appalachian Trail" (in a new mini-book, and in my big Road Trip USA book, too.) This route follows the Blue Ridge Parkway and other great drives along the mountain crest. Asheville NC is a good destination (to see the Great Smoky Mountains) and the entire drive is spectacular when all the azaleas and rhododendhrons are in full bloom (late May?). You could follow this "Appalachian Trail" route as far north as Wash DC, which is a very very interesting city -- esp. if you like museums and Beaux Arts "classical" monuments, like the presidential memorials.

Other good mid-sized cities you might want to check out on your travels: Louisviille Kentucky? Cincinnati OH?? both are worth a look on your way back towards Ohio for May 28th.

Where in Ohio? It is a big state. Cleveland is kinda like Newcastle -- lots of rust, and huge character. Then not to far away you have Detroit (ditto the Cleveland story, heartbreakingly so), while Chicago is very exciting and lively. Any of these cities is worth a couple of days, for sure, and if you want to see one more area of spectacular natural beuaty, you could head up north to the rugged Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and maybe loop back down via Niagara Falls...?

Then, after a few days in Chicago, you can go home! Phew, I'm exhausted just thinking about your trip, but I bet you have a grand time.

Hope this breathless epistle -- and my books and website, which have a lot more detail -- help you plan a great experience.

Please take some pics or keep a travel journal, as I'll be interested to hear what all you get up to.

For now,

Happy Trails,


Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

*** On Sale Now ***

Scranton to Southern California -- summer 2011

Hi Jamie,

Next summer, five of my friends and I want to take a 2 week road trip from Scranton, PA to San Diego/ Los Angeles. We definitely want to stop in Chicago (where I have family), the four corners, the Grand Canyon, Vegas, and stay for a few days in San Diego (with more family) and ultimately end up in LA where we will fly home. Obviously we want to see as many fun and exciting places between as we can, but we're a group of college students who need some help planning. Do you have any suggestions? Also, we were thinking that maybe we could rent a car or find someone who needs a car driven out to California. Do you have any ideas or know of any places where we could find this out?

Thanks,

Courtney
>>

===>>>>

Hi Courtney --

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA, and sorry it took me so long to get back to you.

I hope you are still planing to take the trip -- sounds like a lot of fun. If you are looking into a "driveaway" car, you will need to be flexible -- though I suspect you will be able to find a car that needs to go from NYC-area to Chicago, without too much difficulty. The thing about "driveaway" cars is that they expect you to drive around 400 miles a day, so it can be hard to "sight-see" and take more relaxed routes -- these cars are all about getting from A to B, asap. But you can't beat the price!

Maybe you could then get a rental car for the drive from Chicago to LA or San Diego -- with all 6 of you in one car, you'd better get air conditioning, though making up the miles won't be a problem with so many drivers. Or look into another driveaway (say from Chicago to Las Vegas), and then maybe get a rental car to cruise around from your destination, at your own pace.

Ideally, someone's parents will lend you a car for the whole trip -- maybe you can sweeten the offer by inviting some car-owning family member to meet you for part of the drive (or add on another road trip, up the California coast perhaps, when you don't have 5 friends along with you...) ??

Lots of possibilities, for sure, and lots of places to see along the way, as you can tell from Road Trip USA.

Hope this helps you plan a great adventure,

Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
--
Road Trip USA

Mom and Me -- from New England to Utah

Hey Jamie!

I've only just begun to browse through your website, but am so thankful I've stumbled upon it this early in the web-search game for road trip ideas. What an overwhelming search! I'm off to hunt down your book tomorrow, but in the mean time (or in addition to), thought you might have a few suggestions for us.

To make a long story short, I'm headed back out west for a more committed/full time move. I'm 28, have lived in Utah twice previously (both times as a kid), and moved away from the mountains the last time to the east coast to finish up University and continue to pursue a career in professional sailing. Nearly 10 years later, the mountains, and my roots, are calling to me yet again, and the gravitational pull of the west has us heading out to Alta, Utah!

My mom, who at about my same age a 'few' years ago, decided sight unseen to head to Utah and start a life of her own (with a few roommates in tow). SO- in a sense, this could be quite a sentimental trip for us both.

We're both quite independent, love national parks, taking photos of anything old, worn, used/loved, and has a story- people, towns, signs included. Love the road, want to venture off of it where possible, wildlife, wildflowers, music, GOOD FOOD, a decent place to rest our heads... but also want to get out to SLC in decent (ish) time.

Wow, sort of sounds like a personal ad, doesn't it!

At any rate- I'll keep cruising around your website, taking it all in, and looking out for anything else you might have to add!

Thanks for all the info, look forward to hearing from you,

~ Tara

=====>>>

Hi Tara --

Many thanks for your intriguing letter -- sorry it took me a while to get back to you, but I hope I can help, even though you may well be "home"in Utah by now.

Since you & your Mom are making a pretty quick trip across the USA, and time seems to be of the essence, I will suggest just one stop which combines national parks and maybe some wildflowers, though September is a bit late: the columbines and other jewels of Rocky Mountain National Park, which I don;t cover in my books but which you can visit pretty efficiently by following US-40 northwest from Denver. US-40, aka the "National Road" & "Victory Highway," is a really great old road, and brings you in the "back way" to Salt Lake City, via the dinosaurs of Vernal Utah and Timpanogos Cave.

Hope these ideas help you find some fun -- if not now, then for your _next _ road trip.

Happy Trails,


Jamie Jensen
--
Road Trip USA

Big Sur -- avoiding Vertigo!

Hi Jamie

We're looking at doing the Pacific Coast Highway stretch from San Francisco to LA in September next year. I'm writing as both my husband & mother in law are pretty scared of heights. How bad is the route across Big Sur? Are there 2 lanes of traffic or just one?

To put my question into some perspective; We have done several road trips, one in New Zealand where we frightened them quite badly climbing up a mountain outside Queenstown where the road was quite narrow. However, as we then did a route where we went down into a canyon where the road (track!) was single lane (permit drivers only) looked something out of Lord of the Rings (probably was!) with sheer drops and no barriers to speak of and quite frankly terrified most people on the bus then would Big Sur seem quite civilised?

Also, thank you for the book, we had been given a Lonely Planet book on Coastal California and I read that with despair as it seemed quite condescending and although agreeing there was spectacular scenery made it feel that it was a complete tourist trap the entire route.

Thanks for the book

Ariane

===>>>>

Hi Ariane --

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA. Thinking of your wild New Zealand experience, I wanted to say I've just been watching the "Lord of the Rings" movies, and I can assure you that the Big Sur drive is nothing like as treacherous as the paths they had to follow in those movies. (And while there are lots of white-bearded hippies in Big Sur, to the best of my knowledge there are no evil sorcerers to worry about, either.)

The Hwy-1 / Pacific Coast Highway road is fully paved, mostly level and a broad two-lane all the way, and hundreds of big wide RVs and bus tours make the drive every year, so it is definitely not a challenge for drivers. There _are_ some serious cliffs and fairly sheer drops, however, so I might suggest you do the drive from south to north, which will keep you on the "land" side all the way, rather than feeling suspended in mid-air out over the Pacific Ocean.

Big Sur is definitely beautiful, and very far from a tourist trap -- there is almost no commercial development between Carmel and Hearst Castle, apart from some very small-scale motels and cafes, many of which are truly historic in their own right. There is a concentration of tourism around Carmel, but it hardly spoils any views and certainly doesn't detract from the experience (apart from what I consider an eyesore of a resort at the golf resorts of Pebble Beach, along the "17 Mile Drive").

So, brave the vertigo and have a great trip -- it truly is a world-class drive, and the rivers and redwoods are well worth getting out of the car to explore, as well.

Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

Year-Long All American Odyssey -- in 2013!

Hi Jamie,

I am looking at taking a year off after I complete my university degree in 2013. In that year I plan on driving all around America. I want to visit remote country towns and explore the heart of America.

Do you have any advise for places like that?

Regards,

Lana

>>

Hi Lana --

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA, and I hope you are still planning to take the trip, which sounds like a major adventure.

The sort of travel you plan to do -- visiting small towns and the "real" America -- is exactly what I explore in Road Trip USA. In the books I have nearly 1000 pages of characterful Americana, hundreds of small towns and fascinating places linked by some 40,000 miles worth of country roads and two-lane highways.

Enough to keep you busy for a year, or more, for sure.

Besides checking out my books, and the website, I'd encourage you to look into establishing some contacts over here, so you have some focal points to your travels. Finding a job gets complicated (because of legal issues and high US unemployment), but maybe your university can link you up with some sort of position (or at least get you a student visa, so you are eligible for a longer stay and perhaps some employment?).

A year is along time to be on the road, and I think that having some structure to your time over here will make it a much more positive experience.

But as you are not hitting the road until 2013, you have plenty of time to sort things out -- and to plan a fantastic trip.

Good luck, and Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

Alabama to Santa Fe

Hi Jamie,

I head out to Santa Fe every year. This year I can stay longer than
usual and am thinking of driving. The main route appears to be along
40W. There's also a southern route. Is the 40W route the most
interesting way to get from Birmingham, AL, to Santa Fe? If so, any
don't miss stops?

Thanks for any advice!

Emily

===>>>


Hello Emily --

Thank you for writing in to Road Trip USA, and sorry it took me a while to write back. Hope there's still time for me to help with your trip!

I-40 is definitely the main route, but one hidden advantage of this freeway is that it runs right on top of another, more interesting older road: Route 66. So whenever you feel the need, you can leave the high-speed world behind and delve into a much-more-interesting world, as most of the Route 66 heritage has been kept on as a I-40 "Business Route", and many of the older Mom&Pop motels / cafes / attractions are still there, waiting for you to stop. One don't miss stop is in Amarillo TX: Cadillac Ranch, right along I-40 / Route 66 , where a family of classic Cadillacs have been planted face down in the Plains.

I cover all of Route 66 in Road Trip USA, and the old road is well signed all the way, so check it out, as much as you can.

And on your way back, if you want another alternative route I'd recommend I-20 / aka old US-80, the "Old Spanish Trail." I cover a variation on this magical old road in my Southern Pacific Road Trip USA route, visiting Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains national parks in New Mexico and west Texas, before racing across thru Dallas & Fort Worth (a great little city, with excellent museums!), Vicksburg and lovely Natchez Mississippi, then back home thru Selma and Montgomery Alabama, which you probably know better than I do.

Hope this helps -- Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
----
Road Trip USA

3 Months on the Road -- LA to NYC to Italy

Hi Jamie

We are a Kiwi couple who are planning a three-month trip across USA starting next year around April-May, in a bid to soak up as much as possible the American culture and nature. We have bought your book "Road Trip USA" on the web, it should be with us in the next few days, we are really looking forward to some enlightening reading. We are well traveled and incline to totally independent travel, but this will be our first trip to the US and we definitely want to make the most of it.

We would start in LA and most likely end our trip in NY, where we would catch a flight to Italy (our birthplace). What is going to happen in between is still a mystery to us, but we definitely want to see as many states as possible. We thought we may stop from time to time for a week or two in farms across the country, where we can get accommodation and meals in exchange for some help, but the highlight of our trip will be the road,and we are looking for advice on how to make the most of a road trip on a budget. Would you recommend to buy or rent a car? Do car-relocation deals really work or there are catches? Would you recommend a motorhome to solve our transport-accommodation dilemma? What is most convenient and enjoyable in your opinion between renting a motorhome and staying in motels/hotels? Is crossing the border to Canada and back enough to extend our visas in case we need some more time to complete our trip?
Sorry for this flurry of questions, we are now brainstorming and trying to gather as many ideas as possible, and any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time

P & V

===>>>

Hello P & V --

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip --- and for buying my book, which I hope you are enjoying.

Three months on the road is a nice long time, and I hope you have a great trip. Traveling for such an extended period is more complicated than the standard 2-week trip, and renting a car for your whole trip could well prove very expensive. So buying a car could be a good idea; then again, the legalities of insurance and drivers' licenses are very complicated (and they vary from US state to US state -- California issues drivers licenses to its residents, as do all the US states, but the US government doesn't offer an all-US license...)

Then again, I think you can drive on a NZ license, so it probably won't matter. See if you can get your "home" insurance to cover driving over here -- otherwise, get a car that has been registered and is legal for your whole visit -- and try to arrange to sell it a couple of weeks before you have to leave.

And if you don't manage to buy something, the car-relocation "Auto Driveaway" deals can be very helpful, but they don't give you much flexibility -- you have to go where the car's owners want it delivered, with not much freedom to choose your route. But when it works out, it is a great deal.

I myself prefer the motel-and-car (and camping) mode of travel, since you have more contact with the places you pass through (and parking is so much easier!); but if you start in California, you may be able to buy an inexpensive VW-style camper-van, which would set you up pretty well. A good place to start looking would be Craigslist.org , an online advertising site that is very popular.

(Try URL: http://losangeles.craigslist.org/search/cta?query=camper&srchType=T&minAsk=&maxAsk= )

Finally, at the risk of seeming negative, I am not sure how much work you will be able to find on US farms -- agriculture is hugely industrialized + monocultural all across the US, though I suspect you will be able to find some organic hippy -type farmers who would let you work in exchange for a place to park for a few days. (Where I live in Northern California there are a lot of small farms, but I have no idea how you might get work on them. That said, I did exactly that myself, 100+ years ago when I was hitch-hiking around the USA, so I should really say "go for it" and good luck...)

There's another option: couch surfing , where you are invited into people's homes to stay the night, as a sort of ad-hoc cultural exchange. Sounds crazy, and very cool: http://www.couchsurfing.org/

:-)

OH -- one final thing -- don't try to fake out the US border authorities by nipping across to Canada. If your visa has expired, they will not let you back in. Even if you have a flight to catch. I had a friend you got caught like that, and to get over the border he pretended to be an American; the border police busted him, and confiscated the car he was traveling in )which belonged to his Canadian cousin -- ouch!)

And one more thing: do not even hint that you might want to "find some work" when you are visiting the US -- uttering those words will get you denied entry, and sent back to NZ straightaway. Not the welcome you want, I'm sure! Once you're here, Americans are very friendly, but our border officials are generally not. (I can't imagine what they make of Italian-born New Zealanders wanting to explore the USA...)

Now it's my turn to apologize, for this flurry of inconsequential non-answers to your questions. But despite all my angst & foreboding -- it sounds like you have a fantastic trip ahead of you. I'm sure you'll have a blast -- so: get to LA, buy a van you can sleep in (and maybe a tent so you can camp out in the many gorgeous natural areas of the USA; get to know some farmers at farmers markets and offer your services, or play guitars on street corners and become overnight sensations. The American Dream, comes true!

Hope this helps, and hope you have a great trip.

Happy Trails,


Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

Giant Concrete Cowboys - in ABQ?

Hey Road Man --

Been reading teh website and thought you might be able to help: What are some fun stops on or around the Albuquerque area?

Have you heard of a big Red Concrete Cowboy?

Any odd places to check out?

Thanks,
Christine

===>>>

Hi Christine --

Thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA. I hope there's still time for me to help with your trip, because Albuquerque has some great roadside oddities -- the city is really one of the highlights of a RT66 cruise. The whole drive along Central Avenue, from one end of Albuquerque to the other, is a feast of neon sign and eye-catching architecture -- especially at sunset, when the whole scene glows.

A couple of places worth searching out along Central Avenue are the Old Town neighborhood west of downtown, home of the Rattlesnake Museum and some truly historic buildings. On the east side of downtown, on Central Ave near the Univ of NM campus, there are also some great places to eat & drink around "Nob Hill", which keep alive something of the spirit of Route 66: Kelly's Brew Pub is a great place to hang out on a long, late summer evening. URL: http://www.kellysbrewpub.com/

And one of my very favorite Route 66 attractions, Tinkertown, is just east of Albuquerque, on the road up to gorgeous Sandia Crest (Hwy-14 and Hwy-536 -- the summit is near where the Sandia Tram lands.) URL: http://www.tinkertown.com/

Finally, you asked about the Red Concrete Cowboy. Despite me being something of an aficionado of giant figures (Muffler Man, Tex-the-Giant Cowboy in Canyon TX, etc), I'd never heard of him. But I did look him up: URL: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/4207

Hope this helps -- Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

Cross-Country, with a UHaul and a Dog?

Jamie,

After twelve years in NY, my wife and I have decided to pack it up and head back to California (mid-Sept). The only difference this time is instead of two suitcases, we have a 5 bedroom house and dog to bring with us. As most of America, we're on a budget so have opted to drive a u-haul and our car from NYC to Sacramento by way of The Oregon Trail.

First off, your site is great and was a huge help in forming our driving route; however where to stay (with a dog) and restaurant recommendations are a bit of a challenge to secure. To this point, I was wondering if you could elaborate or share any of your thoughts and insights.

We appreciate any/all of your thoughts!

Regards,

Scott, Leyla & Tank


PS- If anyone else reading this blog has ideas, don't be shy! We'll report back when we get to the other end for others in our position.

=====

Hi Scott & Friends --

Thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA. I'm glad you've enjoyed the website, and I hope you'll check out my book, which is (oddly, counter-intuitively enough...) more accurate and up to date than the web material).

I used to live in Sacramento, and have done the US20 "Oregon Trail" drive many times -- I usually cut down south across Idaho, then follow the US50 "Loneliest Road", via Great Basin and Lake Tahoe, to ensure an awesome arrival back to California. Though pulling a U-Haul, you may prefer to opt for I-80.

On the road, finding a place to you (and Tank) to sleep shouldn't be a problem: most motels accept "well-behaved" pets, sometimes for free, sometimes charging a nominal "cleaning fee". (Motel 6 usually charges an extra $10 a night, I think, and if you are truly on a tight budget Motel 6 may be the way to go. It's hard to beat $40 a night. Plus $2.99 for Wi-Fi... )

I've tried to recommend good restaurants all across my Road Trip USA routes -- but I agree it can be a challenge finding good food between NYC and SF (though Sacramento has come up in the world on that score, at least -- I still love Dos Coyotes)

OK, hope these thoughts help you get back to CA safely and sane.

Happy Trails,


Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

*** On Sale Now ***

RV or Car?

Hi Jamie,

We live in San Francisco and are planning to move back to Europe next year around the May time frame. Instead of just taking a flight from SFO, we want to travel by car to the east-coast and take the flight there (possibly from New York). The idea is to see as much of the US before we leave as possible. Neither of us have seen much (if anything) of the south and we are traveling with our son who will be close to 1 years old at that time.

We haven't made up our mind as to whether or not we should rent a mobile home or just go for motels or hotels along the way. Can you give us a recommendation for which route to take and any tips for a trip like this? We are thinking of using 3 to 4 weeks for this, but if need be we could look into making it a little longer.

Thanks!

Red

===

Hi Red --

Thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA, and I hope I can help with your trip. Traveling with a young son, I think you will appreciate the comfort and convenience of an RV (I have twins boys, so I do know what I am talking about!). RVs can seem expensive, but once you factor in savings on lodgings, they work out as a good deal.

From SF, depending on how much of the USA you have seen, I would strongly recommend a drive east to Yosemite National Park, and maybe the other Sierra Nevada wilderness areas. Truly stunning places! Depending on snows, you can drive over the mountains to Death Valley, and then on to another wild wonderland -- the red sandstone sculpture park of the desert Southwest, inc the Grand Canyon, Zion, Capitol Reef and Canyonlands, plus countless other smaller parks. Again, stunning -- and unlike anything you could find in Europe, for sure.

Then you could follow Route 66 thru Santa Fe New Mexico, where there are many reminders of the Native American and Spanish Colonial aspects of America -- and lots of good food, too. Then I'd head back north along the Rocky Mountains, up to Yellowstone National Park, and All-American, must-see sight.

The possibilities are truly unlimited, and this "Wild West" region is one place where having an RV is really a great advantage, since hotels and motels are very limited.

In the rest of the USA, especially in the many fascinating cities -- Chicago, Memphis, New Orleans, and more! -- an RV is less useful, and hotels may be a better way to go.

Perhaps you can drive the RV from SF to, perhaps, Denver -- then switch to a more traditional car, and head on to do some hotel-based city-hopping for the rest of your trip ?

Just a thought -- like I said, there are truly unlimited possibilities. I cover all sorts of great stops, in cities and parks in great drives all over the country in Road Trip USA, so check it out and let me know what you think. Hope this helps gets you started,

Happy Trails,


Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

Nov / Dec Road Trip?

Hi Jamie,

I have a few questions for you. I am planning a month long road trip beginning November 21st through December 22nd. I am departing from Boston, MA and driving to San Francisco, CA with stops in Denver PA, Hardy VA, Asheville NC, Nashville TN on my way to Memphis TN, Witchita KS, Denver and Boulder CO, Moab UT, Grand Canyon AZ, Death Valley CA, and Big Sur, CA. These stops are mostly planned for state parks and national forests as well as other attractions and where friends live. I have planned to stay in some places up to four days to really explore. Once I reach San Fran I will be taking the California Zephyr to Chicago where I will rent a car and drive to Dayton OH, Cleveland OH and on to Niagara Falls before taking a train back to Boston. Do you have any advice as to routes I could take to get off the beaten path, or attractions I should see? I'm specifically looking for a place between Witchita and Denver to pitch my tent - is Dodge City a good place to stay over night? I am a young female traveler and will be on my own. Let me know what you think!

And thanks so much.

Bea


====>>>>


Hi Bea --

Many thanks for your message, and I hope I can help you plan a great trip. You seem to know where you want to go, and if the weather cooperates I am sure you will have a memorable adventure. Though the days are short and the nights are getting cold, early winter can be an exhilarating time to travel -- and there's generally no one around to block the views.

:-)

For the first part of your trip, I definitely recommend you have a look at my "Appalachian Trail" route, where there are some very interesting offbeat stops -- especially west of DC, where scenic and historic Harpers Ferry, and funky Dinosaur Land, both await your inspection. Asheville NC is a very cool small city, and the surrounding Blue Ridge countryside is lovely. For the rest of your trip, in Road Trip USA I cover drives around Memphis (in the Great River Road); Moab (in my "Loneliest Road" chapters); the Grand Canyon (in Route 66); Niagara Falls (in my US20 "Oregon Trail" route); and of course Big Sur (along the Pacific Coast Highway), so in all of these I think you find enough off-the-beaten path places to keep you occupied.

However, to answer your specific question, between Wichita and Denver, I can't really recommend Dodge City -- it is not scenic, and is actually a semi-industrial city best known for its slaughterhouses (a lot of hamburgers come out of its meat-packing factories.) There is a small "Wild West" town attraction, and the Santa Fe Trail history etc is intriguing, but it's not a great place to pitch a tent, imho.

Instead, I suggest you look for somewhere to stay around the very interesting small Kansas town of Lucas, which is home to the fascinating + macabre "Garden of Eden" (which I cover in my book, and online at > http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/loneliestroad/kansas/lon_gardenofeden.html

Having looked at your blog, I see you are an artist, so I think you will really enjoy another Lucas Kansas attraction: the Grassroots Arts Center on Main Street, which is a meeting place for all sorts of midwestern "outsider" artists who live and work out here in the great American "Middle of Nowhere". They have a website to whet your appetite:
http://www.grassrootsart.net/Art/GrassrootsArtCenter01.html

Hope this helps!

Happy Trails,


Jamie Jensen

RV rental ?

Hi Jamie

Would firstly like to say Ive been reading your website & have found it really useful. So ill definitely be buying the book.

A few mates & I are travelling over from England to the East Coast of America to travel down the coast in an RV. However as we are from England we are not sure about who are the best rv rental firms, therefore I would like to ask which rental firms would you recommend?


Many Thanks


Charlie


====

Dear Charlie --

Many thanks for your message, and I hope you manage to make the trip. One of the main RV rental firms is "CruiseAmerica", which you can find via Google et al. They are not the cheapest, but have a good reputation for reliability, and a large network. It's worth looking around for deals --- firms often have better prices if you take one of their vehicles from where it no longer "in season" (like New England in winter, perhaps) to another place where it is (like Florida).

Hope you like my book, and please let me know how you get on with your road trip planning.

Happy Tails,


Jamie Jensen
-----
Road Trip USA

Family RV Trip - Summer 2011

Hey Road Trip --

Jamie, I enjoy reading your blog. I am in the early stages of planning a 14 trip from Cleveland, Oh next summer. My family, 4 of us, two between 15 and 20 years old, are going to rent an class A RV and spend two weeks together on the road. I’ve been studying the various road trip websites and now am confused because there are so many things I want my family to see in our great country. Down to basics. I was thinking about heading on a southern course, making our way up the coast of California from San Diego and then heading north through the Rockies on our way back home. In between we’d like to see Route 66, Mt. Rushmore, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Yellowstone, a desert, and as much of the icons of America in between as possible. Any suggestions on how to proceed? Would really appreciate it.

Thanks, Ray

===

Hey Ray --

Thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA, and I hope I can help you work your way thru all the possibilities a cross-country road trip offers. I'll try not to add to your confusion -- but there are indeed just _ too many things _ you might do. The trick is, to enjoy the things you do, rather than worry about what you might be missing. Easier said than done, I know...

The first thing I might suggest suggest is that you try a shorter trip sooner, to "get the hang" of RV-ing. Maybe a long weekend RV camping -- in one of the state parks near that Cuyahoga Valley industrial heritage area just south of Cleveland ??-- in September or October, so you know exactly what you want to bring on your bigger trip next summer. (Not so much BBQ grills and first aid kits -- both crucial!. But I'm thinking of the more spiritually important things -- like inner-tubes for floating down rivers, bicycles for touring along canal tow-paths and around middle-of-nowhere towns, footballs or Frisbees. All sorts of road trip essentials!)

OK, your trip: Cleveland to California and back again, on a sort of clockwise loop. I think you meant to say "14-day" trip, so I'll go with that. Coming from the Great Lakes, Route 66 is a natural road west, though if you want to avoid dealing with Chicago in an RV, you might want to think about starting off across the more rural reaches of Ohio and Indiana -- I really like the "mound cities" around Chillicothe and the Ohio River, which with their 1000-year-old history give an eye-opening sense of American history and culture. I cover this area in my "Loneliest Road" chapter, along the US50 highway.

Then, from St Louis?, head west on Route 66, which is pretty well documented and developed -- in my books, and a few hundred others. The thing about Route 66 is that it is a state of mind more than a series of specific sights to see -- but it gives a good introduction to the art of road tripping, since you have to look beyond the surface to see what makes these places so compelling. And the good thing about RT66 is that "heritage tourism" has kept alive a lot of attractions that might otherwise have gone under, financially. Like Meramec Caverns west of St Louis, and countless 1950s-style diners the whole way west to Los Angeles.

RT66 also takes you right past the Grand Canyon, and allows some well worth-while detours thru the Native American lands of the Four Corners region -- I highly recommend Mesa Verde National Park, where you can clamber thru ancient, gorgeous stone "cliff places" carved out of desert plateaus. There is endless scope for adventure around here, and an RV is really the best way to experience the region, allowing you to camp out miles from motels and cafes and experience the wild beauty -- seeing the stars at night, and enjoying amazing sunrises and sunsets. Fantastic -- it'll be a highlight of you trip, for sure. Well worth 3 or 4 days to see Canyon de Chelley, Lake Powell, Monument Valley, and all the other great sights.

Heading onwards, if you really want to make it to San Diego -- for the zoo? or for family connections? -- I'd suggest you turn south from Rt 66 before you hit LA, heading down via the Colorado River (after seeing London Bridge at Lake Havasu!). But unless you have your heart set on Southern California, I'm tempted to recommend you save this for another trip -- you don't have a HUGE amount of time, and you're not really getting maximum value out of your RV here. Instead, how about seeing more RV-friendly, absolutely amazing places in California. Like Death Valley -- by way of Las Vegas, after the Grand Canyon? And definitely Yosemite National Park, which is an absolutely unforgettable place (even though I don't really cover it in Road Trip USA...)

As far as the California coast, the best stretch is between Santa Barbara and Monterey -- palm-tree backed surfing beaches like Refugio State Beach are quintessential California scenes, and there's a lot less traffic than you'll have in the sprawling LA-to-SD conurbation.

San Francisco is definitely fun -- though if you go I would suggest parking the RV rig out at a suburban train station and riding BART into the lovely "City by the Bay." You definitely don't want to try to find (and pay for!) a parking place in SF (though you can park out by the beach in the western edge of the city, and there are good RV-friendly campgrounds around Mount Tamalpais just north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Well, I've enjoyed thinking of your trip west -- let me know what you think of my ideas, and I'll have some thoughts about your route to Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore, and home again.

Happy Trails,


Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

*** On Sale Now ***



=========>>>

Hey Jamie,

I was really surprised that you took the time to answer my email. I figured my email would just fall into the abyss of digitalness. Anyway, thank you very much for taking the time to point out some important information for our family to consider. We are keeping your email with us for reference and also planning on getting a copy of Road Trip USA.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration. We really appreciate it. You're a true American! God Bless

Ray