My husband, son-age 8, daughter-age 6 and I are packing up our van and moving from Phoenix to Pittsburgh this coming summer. We decided to make it an event and take 8-10 weeks to drive around the country before ending up in our new home. We've plotted out our course: San Diego all the up the coast to Banff,east and dropping down to Yellow Stone, east again to Wisconsin, down the Mississippi to Louisiana, east to Florida and up the east coast angling home to Pittsburgh. We've never done much road traveling. I need help with everything! How to pack, where to go, etc. I know I need to make some reservations now for some spots,(Disney World eq.)How do I figure out when we'll be there when we don't even know yet what all we want to see? Any/all tips will be "greatly" appreciated. TIA

Hi, Sherry,
Can I first suggest, before anything else, that you go to this website, http://www.worth.com/articles/Z9909F02.html and read item No. 1 of “24 Things to Do Before You Die.” I don’t think I’ve read a more beautiful passage about driving across the country than this, written by the Poet Laureate, no less.

I think the great joy of such a trip is in not planning too much, and not planning also gives you the flexibility to duck out of crummy weather or to hunker down in some unexpectedly pleasurable spot for an extra day or two, or when the kids are getting too car-crabby. Booking ahead? Unless there is some hotel or sporting event or festival you’re dead set on getting to, I frankly wouldn’t. We’ve done similar trips and the most I ever planned ahead was using one motel’s reservation service to book another one for the next night or some such, more important in really rural regions or where crowds are a factor. In your case I would make an exception for national parks (both in the US and Canada) which are notoriously under-provided with accommodations.

As for travel resources, there are umpteen on the web and on the bookstore shelves. Do you like offbeat things? Are you photo hobbyists or country music fans? How about minor league baseball? With 8 weeks you can see and do a lot, meet a lot of people, really experience this incredible country. I envy you.

Whew, what an ambitious undertaking! I can offer a few small tips, and also I hope that your kids like road travel. I personally LOVE road trips, but my children used to be less-than-enthusiastic when small.

I would first go to a mapping site on the internet--freetrip.com is my favorite--and get some road and mileage info on the various legs of your planned oddysey. That will give you an idea of where to plan your stops, and then you can make a few reservations. You could still be flexible as you go, but you can have info in hand for locating motels, etc. In certain parts of the country--resort areas, weekends in getaway areas near major cities, etc.--they will just LAUGH at you if you don't have a reservation, and you will feel like crying when you have a choice of sleeping in the car or driving hours further to where accommodations are available.

What to pack? We live in a pretty casual country, and it's hard to think you'd need much beyond shorts, t shirts, bathing suits and a light jacket here and there. Remember that there are such things as laundromats, and it's often easier to stop in one than to keep track of masses of clothes. Remember to pack things to help you make best use of the places you will be going: beach chairs, sand toys, sports equipment, a cooler, etc.

Well, I don't know how helpful any of this will be, but have a great trip!

On where to go, I would suggest not stopping at Banff. Be sure to go up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper, this may be one of the best drives in the world. Also, when you visit Yellowstone, I think you will hit the Badlands when you go east. I make sure to go at least as far south to visit Grand Teton NP. In my mind, no x-country road trip would be complete without a stop in places like Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion. As you start in Pheonix, these may be places you have been to already.

As far as planning, I agree with both prior posters and have a few suggestions. First, if you are willing to camp, you will have a lot more flexibility. You don't have to camp every night, just when you want to or have to. If you have never done this before, post here and I will tell you why you will love it. As far as reservations, and whether or not you will camp (some of the big NPs need reservation to camp), I would suggest making reservations where places fill up well in advance (such as Yellowstone tent, cabin and hotel). Make a few reservations at places with enough time in between to give you flexibility in places reservations are not required. For example, two nights in a cabin or tent in yellowstone spaced 4 days after you plan to leave banff. This leaves extra time to see Banff and Jasper if you want, or extra time to drop down to the Tetons or Jackson before Yellowstone. If you don't make the Tetons before Yellowstone, your next reservation is not for a few days so you can do it after. Florida and the east coast will be hot in the summer and you may want to the camping (if at all) in the northern leg of the trip. Be sure to stop in Washington DC on your way up the east coast. Do a search for a prior post by me (and others) of all the great things to do here.

ENJOY!!!

You are going to have the trip of a lifetime. How wonderful! I have to say though, with the route you mapped out I think you will need every last day of those 10 weeks. If I were you I would allow 3 weeks just for the San Diego to Banff portion.

I drove up the California coast last summer and posted a trip report under "Trip report -- Just back from California coast" -- you can find it if you do a search of this forum using the words "California coast" and it contains some recommendations I think are worthwhile regarding sightseeing, places to stay and where to eat. It was absolutely incredible and I think you're going to love that part of the trip.

I have also been to Banff/Lake Louise Jasper and you are in for a treat there -- the scenery is unbelievable and you can get tons of great advice on the Canada forum for that part of your trip -- do a search there under "Canadian Rockies" or "Banff."

For Yellowstone and any other national parks you are going to, the National Parks Service has lots of great info on its website at www.nps.gov -- you can click on the name of the park. Also, if you go to the Fodor's Home Page (not the forum home page but the main one at www.fodors.com) at the bottom you can click on parks and they have a lot there as well that should help you with Yellowstone and any other parks you visit.

From personal experience, let me tell you that the Yellowstone to Wisconsin portion of your trip is a very long drive. This is one portion that in my opinion has not nearly as much to see so if I were you I would just drive drive drive and get that part over with. Mt. Rushmore is neat but lordy there's a lot of driving involved. I am also not as big on the Wisconsin to Louisiana segment but New Orleans is a don't miss. Is there a specific reason why you're going to Wisconsin first instead of just driving from Yellowstone to Louisiana?

Regardless, after New Orleans, the Louisiana to Florida drive isn't bad at all and doesn't take that long. If you have time after Disney World you should check out Key West for 2-3 days -- it's absolutely unique!

Driving up the east coast, I highly recommend a 2-night stop in Charleston, SC. It's a pretty easy drive from Florida. Take a horse-drawn carriage tour of the historic district -- your kids will love it. From there it's a day's drive up to Washington DC where you should spend at least 2-3 nights. You didn't mention if you want to hit anything northeast of Pittsburgh but I would highly recommend it (Maine is another don't miss!) -- New York is about a 4-5 hour drive from DC if you want to do the big city thing for 2-3 nights, then you could hit Boston for 2-3 days, and from there it's a short drive to Maine where you could easily spend several days. Acadia National Park is spectacular and would be a fitting end to the trip before heading back to Pittsburgh.

As you can see, the way I would plan this trip is to make a list of a dozen or so destinations around which you want to arrange the trip -- it helps you prioritize and figure out how much time you want to spend in each place, driving times involved, etc.

Have a great time!!!

You have some good answers.
In my years of roaming over the US of A, I have enjoyed many places. But Yellowstone ranks near the top.
Something about watching a geyser erupt under the light of a full moon is magical. Next I guess would be Bryce Canyon, and all of its spires of delicate limestone. And, for non natural attractions, the big kid in me loves Disney parks -- either one.

This will be the trip of your life!!! I just drove from Atlanta to LA to Portland ,OR to Niagra Falls to Boston....it was the greatest thing I have ever done. Let me tell you, from everything I've seen...you must see Oregon (the cascades, Columbia River Gorge, and Coast)...plan on spending AT LEAST two FULL days in Yellowstone. I could have stayed there a week. Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands can be done in one day...easy. Most importantly, before you leave, check with the parks ahead of time as far as open areas and road closings...I went to Yellowstone late May to find two MAJOR roads closed. Have fun...you will love it!

What a great trip! If you go to Florida this trip, there are plenty of accommodations in Orlando, check out Deb Wills WDW info site at www.wdwig.com. You may decide to skip Florida this trip, since you will be living on East Coast, & you will find plenty of shuttle flights to & from Fla. If you do drive down there, I recommend going or coming up Highway A1A on the East coast of florida, stop & tour St. Augustine, work your way up the coast. Washington Oaks state park is halfway between Daytona & St Augustine, doesn't have camping but you can pay very small fee & park at beach on the Atlantic, also tour gardens. Work your way up the coast, stop at South of the Border! which is a fun, tacky tourist stop in S. Carolina just below the N.Carolina line on I-95. Drive around Williamsburg & Jamestown Island, camp at Jamestown Campground, go on up to DC & see Monuments & Smithsonian (FREE!) Have FUN!

You may want to consider the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive in Virginia on your trip north. You can then hop on 66 east to Washington DC.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Glacier Nat. Park. It would be easy to spend a day or two there between Banff and Yellowstone.
I too would suggest the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Enjoy your trip!

Sherry,
WOW! I'm jealous. I actually plan a similar trip about every three years, but we've never been able to come up with the time or the money. We have taken may road trips, however, including some great month long trips back when we had 2 kids, ages 1 & 3, and when we had 4, ranging from 3 to 13, so I can offer a couple of tips.

I try to break up the driving during the day so that the kids (and parents) don't go crazy. The AAA guidebooks are great for finding quirkly little places where you can stop for a few minutes or a couple of hours. I think if you're trying to "see the USA" then you need to see as many little places as you do big places. For instance, we found a cute little children's museum in a little town in Oregon (Jacksonville, i think) that we all loved.

I also found it really helpful to break the trip up at least once a week with a stop where we did nothing but maybe lay around the pool and/or campsite or maybe sit in the hotel and watch TV or go to a movie. It keeps the tourist thing from getting old.

We like to take the tent and sleeping bags and alternate a few nights camping with a few nights in a hotel. It softens the budget a little. The nights in the hotel make us appreciate the camping, and the camping makes us appreciate the hotel (especially the bathrooms).

Probably the best thing to do is be over-prepared. That's probably hard to do with a trip like this. I love the planning almost as much as the trip, so maybe that explains it, but I like to have lists and tons of info, so that as we're driving along and the kids say "are we there yet?" I can look at my list and say "Well, there's a ghost town about 45 minutes from here, shall we try that?"

The other thing we've used is to give our trip a theme. One time it was to ride as many trains as we could, another to see how many different states we could set foot in, being sure that we took a family picture in front of each "now entering ..." sign. Once the theme involved buying a post card at every stop. (Each child could only pick one post card. This involved a lot of thought and became the ONLY focus in the gift shop, thereby saving us tons of money on souvenirs!) One trip the accidental theme was to record the names and home states of all the people who helped us jumpstart the van!

As far as what to see I will offer only one tip -- we loved Yellowstone and even with all my planning I didn't plan enough time there. Don't miss it, and don't rush through it.

As you move up the east coast toward D.C., stop in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia if you like historical sites, 2 or 3 days if you can, there's so much to do there.

Colonial Williamsburg is not a stuffy museum environment, but a restoration of the 18th century city. All the century shops are working shops (blacksmith, wig maker), there's the governor's mansion, the capitol building, soldiers, muskets, cannons, taverns, gardens -- I never tire of it.

hi- my wife and i made a similar trip cross north america when we had both lost our jobs. what i remember most fondly of the trip is that we took our time and didn't try to do too much. you can't see everything and risk missing much of what you do see if you go to fast. for us it meant trying to stay off the interstates, limiting day-long drives and carefully choosing what places to spend our time. Our trip excluded some major highlights, like the Tetons and Yellowstone, but the places we did go will really stay with us.

I agree with many other posters that the stretch from Glacier to Banff to Jasper is about the greatest. Our other high point was the Olympic penninsula and Vancouver Island.

We did well with a mix of camping and hotels. We figured one hotel night to 5 nights camping and that was pretty good. One warning about the Canadian Rockies - don't expect to stumble into something from Banff to Jasper (inclusive). Options are limited and can be fully booked. I speak from experience!

Sounds like a wonderful trip, have a great time!