The Dispatch
Most road trip planning advice stops at "pick scenic routes." The trips here go further. Hour three of cornfields is when the back seat breaks down. Gas station coffee 90 miles from a real exit is when an itinerary fails. We plan for the actual parts of driving: how long until kids need to be out of the car, which stops have decent bathrooms, which towns have one good lunch spot. The posts cover everything from weekend Chicago trips to ten-day cross-country drives. Same principles. Different distances.
17 posts tagged Road Trip Planning. See all posts →
Gas is more expensive today than it has been in nearly 4 years. Filling up the tank each week takes a huge chunk out of your budget and every little penny you save helps. Here's a few smart ways to save.
Two stations a mile apart, same gas, almost $.75 difference in price. Why, you say?!?! Once you know, you can drive right past the expensive one.
Ten Cadillacs nose-down in a Texas field, an elephant you can walk inside, a hill where balls roll up. All real, all worth the detour.
Ten Cadillacs nose-down in dirt, a hill that spells GOD IS LOVE, and a billboard mystery 200 miles in the making. Here's where to pull off.
A six-story elephant, ten buried Cadillacs, and a troll eating a real VW: the pull-offs that beat any screen in the back seat.
Your right foot costs more than the station two exits up, and the federal numbers say so.
Did you know...that empty roof rack on your car is quietly costing you up to $220 a year? Yup, that's a ton of coin for unused car fashion accessory.
Dunes, coasters, chocolate, Batmobiles, and a working Dutch windmill, all close enough to be home before the kids melt down.
RV folks have been quietly using this pacing trick for years, and it's the reason their trips don't end in a minivan meltdown at mile 478.
Seven anchor stops out west, what each one actually delivers at the pull-off, and an honest word on the six-hour drives between them.
Six western drives, ranked by what they actually deliver between the trailheads: ocean cliffs, red rock, alpine switchbacks, and one road Charles Kuralt called the most beautiful in America.
A driveway check, a jump pack, and one habit that's saved more kids than any dashboard alert.
