Category

Planning

Category

Road trips are a lot of fun! Road trips can be associated with some anxieties as well. Budgeting and feeling confident that you can afford to travel can be a road block before you even leave your driveway! If you’re wondering “how much does a road trip cost?”, then you are not alone. Luckily, hitting the road while managing road trip costs is completely doable! So, how much does a road trip cost? The answer is: it varies depending on a number of factors. My husband and I take several road trips each year, and are happy to share our road trip costs and budgeting considerations. Thinking through the the categories of expense that we discuss in this article is certain to leave you feeling in control of your trip plan! What Typical Road Trip Costs Will You Experience? Preparation is the key to success on a road trip! This includes…

Our America the Beautiful Park Pass is the gift that keeps on giving! We purchased our pass in April 2019 before taking our epic road trip to National Parks from starting point of Las Vegas, Nevada.  On that trip, we reported savings of $144 (after deducting the $80 cost of the pass itself). Our most recent trip to the Southwest to visit even more National Parks from a starting point of El Paso, Texas yielded even more savings! How Much Did We Save with Our America The Beautiful Park Pass? Our El Paso road trip would have cost us the following (for 2 adults traveling together in the same vehicle): White Sands National Park: $25 vehicle fee Guadalupe Mountains National Park: $10 per person x 2 people = $20 Carlsbad Caverns National Park: $15 per person x 2 people = $30 (note, at Carlsbad, we did opt to purchase a…

You can spend A LOT of time developing a plan for your road trip! While envisioning what is possible can be fun, it can also be stressful. Your research reveals the abundance of adventures that you can have, yet you know that in your limited time, you will only be able to scratch the surface. So how do plan a road trip? What stops should you make? How should you allocate your time? How do you ensure that you will actually be able to see the “one thing” that you have your sights set on? In my opinion, the answer to these lies in the art of developing a solid road trip itinerary and knowing the goals of your trip. Benefits of Having a Well Laid Plan for Your Road Trip Having a solid plan for your road trip has many benefits. For starters, you can prioritize in advance the…

One important consideration for anyone planning to visit multiple parks and public lands within the next year is purchasing an America The Beautiful Annual National Park Pass.  This pass will have your entrance fees covered for over 2,000 federal recreation sites, including National Parks and Monuments, BLM Lands, National Forests and other public lands that charge an entrance fee for a year from your date of purchase. When Should I Purchase a National Park Pass? For anyone planning a National Park Road trip, you might want to do a little research and some quick math to see if purchasing this pass will be worth it for you.  You can purchase a pass year-round, and it is good for one year from the date of purchase. Example – How Much In Entrance Fees Can I Expect to Pay? We are currently planning a National Park road trip from Las Vegas. As…

**Update: We have returned from our Las Vegas Road Trip and share our entire journey and experiences if you follow this link.  Continue to read this post if you want all of the planning considerations for the final day of our trip.** Death Valley is the last National Park that we will visit on our Vegas Road Trip before spending a few nights in “Sin City”.  Join our email list to follow along on our journey and to pick up tips and experiences that will help you to plan your own Vegas National Park Road Trip. We are planning to make several stops in quick succession on the way to Death Valley, so it will be critical for us to be focused on our timeline in order to get to spend the better part of the day at the park.  This is a logistics heavy post, and on days with…

Our Grand Canyon Day is sure to be a day of pure amazement, and a bunch of driving! The Grand Canyon is a park that was on my list of places to visit well before I was conscious of what National Parks were (and definitely before I had knowledge of my desire to experience them all)! The Average Grand Canyon Visit I read that on average, people spend about 17 minutes looking at the Grand Canyon on their visit.  This is somewhat surprising to me because I have probably spent more than 17 hours over the course of many years viewing photos, documentaries, and reading about this spectacular site!  (Maybe there’s a little exaggeration in my number, but please believe that it’s closer to 17 hours than 17 minutes.) In a sense though, I am also not completely surprised by the 17 minutes figure.  Everyone explores new places differently.  Some…

We’re getting closer to our Las Vegas road trip adventure, and I cannot wait!  The fourth day of our journey will be to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Rainbow Bridge National Monument!  We will also pay a brief visit to Horseshoe Bend. This is the fourth post in a series that we are writing about what we plan to do during our Las Vegas road trip.  We invite you to check out the previous posts in the series. 1: Great Basin NP, 2: Bryce Canyon NP / Cedar Breaks NM 3: Zion NP / Pipe Spring NM Our Plan to Visit Rainbow Bridge National Monument If all goes according to plan, the fourth day of our journey will start bright and early.  While I’m not a morning person, I will be ready to check in by 7:30am at Wahweap Marina for our tour of Rainbow Bridge National Monument.  This…

My favorite time of year to travel is in the late spring / early summer months. As a Midwesterner, I welcome spring because it brings new energy to my life. The air is crisper, the days grow longer, and the promise of new beginnings surrounds me! Springtime is also the perfect time to reacquaint yourself with the outdoors. Winter sports are fun, but not always accessible, so I often find excuses in the depths of winter to curl up by the fireplace and sip hot cocoa. But in the spring, the natural glow of the sun shaves off the nip in the air as I stretch the day and take advantage of the outdoors to walk, and smell the fresh buds on the flowers and trees. Road trips are also easier in the spring because the likelihood of inclement weather altering your plans is negligible. Instead, you can make concrete…

Spring is in the air, and we are already looking forward to adventures to be had on the road! Here is our list of road trip essentials that you won’t want to leave home without! Some of these items may seem like no-brainers, but I’ve made the mistake of taking off without some of them before… trust me, they make a difference! Happy Exploring! (Some of the links below are affiliate links which means that if you click through and make a purchase, we will receive a small commission.) #1 Water: Yes, we know that we all need it, but it is imperative to have on the road!  Not only to drink, but also as a backup for your car (i.e. if you run into an overheating issue or the like), taking a couple of gallons will undoubtedly come in handy.  We also suggest carrying refillable Nalgene water bottles with…

We recently shared that we will be flying into Las Vegas to enjoy 11 days of adventure.  The second day of our journey will take us to Cedar Breaks National Monument and Bryce Canyon National Park. This is the second post in a series that we are writing about what we plan to do during our Las Vegas road trip. We invite you to follow along on our journey!   Marching Downward in Elevation We recently shared our travel plans with Jason’s step-mother who worked out west for a number of years as a geologist.  She is a wealth of knowledge about the rocks and formations that we will see on our trip.  One visual that she gave us that I thought that I’d share for a little context for the Parks that we are going to visit is as follows: in Bryce Canyon, you will be in the rocks at…