skigal

If western US includes Colorado or Wyoming and it is during tornado season, a map with the counties listed on it! All the tornado warnings on the radio tell you what county the tornados are in and what direction the tornado is going. So knowing what county you are in, is a great help.

Also a container of Ammonia (lemon is better smelling). There is nothing better to get smashed bugs and road grime/grease off the windshield with.

shamrockdragonfly

as far as the ice-chest question, i always go for a large cloth one. the cloth insulate as well as the plastic but are also more squishable and mailable for where ever you want to put it and also won't take up as much space if it's not full.

have a great time!

jojo46

Thanks again, still more great ideas-a grill, blanket, water jug, sprays, bug solutions, copies of documentation, GPS, weather maps to consider. My husband loves the idea of bringing duct tape (especially in case of a split rad hose which did happen to us years ago)

My daughter just brought over an early Mother's Day present, a small cooler with car charger plug-which will be within reach AND we'll have a 2nd larger one in the back (possibly squishable, Shamrock). Happy Travlr thanks for hint of how to keep this plug-in cooler cool overnight in motel room.

A friend told me to freeze ahead small tetra packs of juice, and/or plastic water bottles. They act as freezer packs in your cooler but you can drink them as they thaw.

clarasong

map
cell phone and charger
water
jack and spare tire
sun glasses
duct tape
camera
cork screw and bottle opener
plastic bag
lap robes
compass or similar
everything else you can buy

Sunflowerguy03

Mrs. Sunflower and I have taken many road trips and my big suggestion is always take the free booklets on things to do. We are antique store junkies so we pick them up when we stop we have found more fun little towns and places to visit then I can remember.

Also remember that a road trip is about the journey not the destination, so if you see something stop, you may never have that chance again and good or bad you will have some wonderful memories.

Best of luck and safe driving. Oh and a really good atlas, they are a life saver.

freeman0819

Whenever I go on long road trips in the US, I call Triple-A and ask them to send a Trip-tik. Do you have AAA? The consultants have been able to send road maps, information packets of different attractions/sites that I thought I would be interested in along the way as well as hotel info.

I haven't visited the National Parks (yet), so I don't know if this is just ignorance on my part- take the opening/closing hours of each park you were looking to visit; also the phone numbers if available, so you can call ahead in case of adverse weather conditions.

-note pad/pens (can keep in the glove compartment)
-spare car key (picture yourself stopping, pulling over to admire a lovely view, snapping photos, getting back to the car and the doors are locked!)
-binoculars
-cell phone car charger
-bag of loose change (are you traveling on any toll roads?)

pshoe

Pick up those booklets that have coupons with motel discounts, too. They can save you money with motels on your route. To cut down on lower back pain, put a cheap roll of paper towels in your seat, behind your back. They will gently massage your back as you drive or ride along. Got that tip from a chiropractor friend.

jojo46

Thanks so much everyone! We so appreciate all the very helpful advice! We would have been on the road already but for the very first time (after decades of travel) we had to postpone our vacation due to a family emergency.

Fortunately all is settling down now but we decided to postpone our trip until fall. Our western road trip plans extended as far south as Tucson (to visit friends in their new house) but because of the increasing heat in June and with growing crowds at the parks and canyons, we decided now to wait until after summer. We hope to post a trip report then!

tenthumbs

Lots of people recommended gallon sized Ziplock bags. We used to take these on Girl Scout trips for those who got carsick
I skimmed thru the posts, so I may have missed it, but a small amount of laundry detergent never hurts.

jojo46

Excellent idea! Thanks.

Lady

The delay is probably painful for now but I'll bet you're going to love this trip in the fall! Fewer crowds, cooler weather. We did it in August and I could tell the day most schools started, the difference in the crowds was really significant. And now you have so much more time to plan what to pack

trippinkpj

Even with GPS, I like to have maps of where I'm going. Then the usual water, paper products, snacks and a cooler. Not over packing a car is key also. I like the motel coupon booklets also. Some of them have decent town maps.

SusanSDG

Just as an aside, you do know that toilet seats contain fewer micro=organisms than your computer keyboard?

jojo46

Lady, we're still looking forward to the big road trip that we had to postpone but we did manage a 5 day mini-road trip in the NW to Lake Chelan and Coeur D'Alene. Gave us a little test of essentials to pack. I think I should add a radar detector to the list. My husband's new FX seemed to soar so effortlessly, he got his first speeding ticket in 30 years on a long deserted stretch south of Grand Coulee Dam. That is, ALMOST deserted except for unmarked police car travelling in opposite direction which quickly pulled a U-turn. No contest and we learned one can pay a ticket online.

Bonus on this trip was viewing the surging spillways at Chief Joseph and Coulee Dams, needed to relieve high water levels. Coeur d'Alene had minor flooding, lake level was 4 feet higher than normal.

Lady

Jojo, we flew into Seattle and then drove to Coeur d'Alene about 25 years ago. Beautiful. High water level? Gee, what's that? We've been in drought so long our lakes have all dried up. Sounds like an awesome sight to me.

Glad you had the opportunity to road test. Sorry about the ticket. The last one we got on a trip was in Austria. You get to pay the officer on the spot there!!