Indianapolis to San Francisco-older woman driving alone, will you help me plan? I want to be safe and have a wonderful fun trip. What is the best route, how many hours driving a day is wise, any "must see" spots, nice overnight stops to plan for and fine dining? Is there a better map service than AAA? Any thoughts are appreciated. Oh, flying to Indy soon and begin drive in a couple weeks. Thanks!

It's about 2,300 miles. The best way is to take I-74 out of Indy, and then join I-80 in the Quad Cities area. Since you won't see any traffic anywhere on this route, except a little at Salt Lake City, I think you can safely do this in 4 days. 600miles, or about 9 hours of driving, each day. It's possible, but tough to do it in 3.

First night Des Moines, IA, under 500 miles. Second night, Cheyenne, 630 miles. Third night, Elko, NV. 660 miles. It's 500 miles to San Francisco.

I suggest more miles the 2nd and 3rd day as traffic is lighter and speed limit higher than the 1st and 4th.

Staying on the interstates, you hardly need any maps other than a basic roadmap.

Thank You! That is excellent! I am looking forward to driving the WY area, relief from our California grid lock! We enjoyed the Cheyenne Hitching Post last visit to WY so I'm delighted to plan a stay there. Your post has increased my confidence, Thank you for your help and support! Would it be wise to think of three hours, break, three hours, break three more then dinner and sleep over? I don't want to flare my osteoathritis from too long sitting in the same position. Hubby said I may take as long as I want, what if I broke it up to seven days? Are there nice stops for seven nights? I'm begining to look forward to this adventure in place of the fear I was feeling driving so far alone. Thank you again!

Hi bodi, may I suggest that you try two hours driving at a time and if you feel yourself getting achy try to pull of somewhere safe and if nothing else walk around for ten minutes.

Bodi, if you do stop in Elko do go to one of the Basque restaurants. Just make sure you have a good appetite!

Wishing you a safe and beautiful trip!
Let us know when you arrive and get settle in, I am sure you will have an interesting trip report. And take good care.

bodi -

I've done quite a bit of long distance driving myself, and to answer your questions...

1. I don't do "mandatory" breaks. The best thing to do is just listen to your body. If you feel fresh, why stop at an arbitrary 2- or 3-hour mark? Sometimes I only stop when my tank runs out (about 4 hours), sometimes I do it sooner.

2. I am sort of a routine that I find very effective for long solo drives. [I have done like 800+ miles/day trip and feel totally fresh.]

a. Start early. For me that means about 5am. That takes away the pressure of feeling I'm running behind and need to hurry. And with a 9-10 driving day, I can easily find accomodations for that night by 5-6pm, before night falls.

b. I eat only two meals. First, eating waste time. I eat a brunch at around 10am and then dinner. But most importantly avoid a big lunch that makes you sleepy in the afternoon.

For your trip, I believe you won't need to book acommodations ahead. I don't like to book ahead either. This way, if I feel fresh, I can drive longer; if I don't then stop sooner. Don't force yourself to get to somewhere.

In fact, most of the time, I can drive longer than I plan. One time I planned a 3,000mi RI to Seattle solo trip in the middle of winter for 5 days; and I ended up finishing it in under 4.

The best advice is to get an early start every day. Since you're heading west, you will have the sun behind you, so no glare to drive into.

Have a goal, but be flexible in figuring out where to stop for the night.

If you have a GPS navigation system, use it to help you plan for restaurants, fuel stops, etc. on the fly.

Take your cell phone with you and an in-car charger.

If you have AAA service, get your triptiks and guide books early, to help you plan.

Fill your fuel tank when it gets to half empty, since the fuel stops can be a bit scarce in the plains and mountains.

Don't pick up hitchhikers!

Have a great time, the west is quite beautiful!

First order of the day, make sure your vehicle is worthy of the trip. Have someone that knows what they are doing check the vehicle over and have it serviced.

Since you want to have a fun trip the first order of the day is not to be in any hurry. Take your time. Stop often for a "pit stop" and walk around. Believe it or not a road side Wal Mart is a good place for a stop. Most have gas, and safe parking areas. If you decide on this you can get a Rand McNally Road Atlas from them that has a directory of their stores. It will also be cool inside so you can streach your legs.... Get the AAA maps, trip tiks and Tour Books of all the states you will pass thru. Do your homework before you start out and pick out some road side attractions that are along your way. Stop early, long before dark so you can find a motel and have dinner before dark. Pack a small cooler for snacks and cold drinks, lots of water. You can replentish the ice each night in the motel. Keep in mind there are going to be parts of the trip you will not have cell service, for these areas we carry a prepaid phone card.

I use a lumbar support cushion for longer drives and it helps. I don't schedule long breaks; shorter ones suit me better.

The other suggestion I have is to have a few of the hotel directories on-hand. You can usually pick them at reception areas (maybe Indy?) so you'll have an idea if a Choice or Comfort or Holiday Inn (or similar) is located when you're ready to call it a day.

I Love this forum! Thank you all for such wonderful guidance! I actually love to drive 'off hours' so pre-dawn apeales to me, rather than late at night which would make me nervous finding lodging. I like the idea of early checkin, bathe, dinner, sleep and take off again like 3-4am. Living in CA I avoid traffic the best I can, my favorite tip is to start driving Hwy1 before sunrise and watch it bloom on the coast, absolutely breathtaking, and I am usually the only car on the road.
I am flying to Indy to pick up my just bought new car that is being serviced as we speak. I know it will be in perfect condition and know it's history to trust wisely, and I will also have OnStar with my Park Avenue. I think it freeing to drive and stop by spot and how I feel, I am too rigid, and that will be a good exercise for me.
I have never had Basque food and I'm excited to enjoy that dining experence.
Wise tip, not to have a big lunch and feel sleepy.
Remember cell, charger and laptop.
Cooler a very good idea.
Lodging directory, where would I purchase for multiple states?
I am looking forward to this trip more and more! I will do my best to share feedback and photos!
I am so grateful for your input, you have made me so happy and confident. Thank you each for taking time to help me. (((Hugs!!!)))

bodi, the directories are available free from chain hotels. Each chain has its own national directory and lists hotels under states and cities. You can pick one at any of their locations. I'm sure if you call their 800 number they'll mail it too.

Thanks again for your help, I'm going to try America's Best Inns "EverGreen" room begining in Indy. Any of you experenced Evergreen or Best Inns Standard rooms? Still have not finalized my route, got fascinated with Historic Hotels along the way and some fabulous B&B's but many are sold out for my week, so still working .....

Hi Bodie:

When I'm travelingin the summer I usually get on the road about 5:00 a.m. - that way it's starting to get light and don't have much darkness - I'm just not comfortable on a road that has a lot of open spaces and it still being dark. I usually drive for a couple of hours, stop and have breakfast then basically have a flexible plan - if I see something that I think I'd enjoy seeing then I stop and take my time exploring. Usually it's a 12 hour day and if I get only a couple of hundred miles it's fine, if I go 6 or 7 hundred miles that's fine too. I never make reservations because of that reason. I have found that most of the Best Westerns are good places to stay, but try and get some of the directories for some of the chains that you like - at least you'd know if there was one of their facilities in a town you choose to stay in. When I travel I always get the AAA travel books - lots of good info on sites, lodging and even restaurants. If your a AAA member they are free, plus you can get maps, but if you have GPS on your new car (which sounds great)I think you can forgo the maps - although the atlas is a good idea, plus the atlas usually has some good suggestions for things to see. Make sure you have a car charger for your cell phone and that you have your road service number handy. The suggestions that have been given are all good and not much else to add - I do like to stop in some of the smaller towns and just walk around a bit to stretch my legs and look in some of the stores - some of those stores are like stepping back about 50 years and yes, definitely go for a Basque meal in Elko and have a big appetite. Wishing you a safe trip.

Get a Best Western directory, for sure. We use them exclusively when traveling west of the Rockies. Or go to www.bestwestern.com and get a complete listing. I haven't tried, but I'll bet that you could do the same for all of the hotel/motel chains.