The Great Cross-America Road Trip?

Greg Chappell asks: "I'm about to undertake a great American tradition of road tripping from Massachusetts to Washington State. I've got a moving company to tote my stuff on my one-way journey, and a handful of friends brave enough to venture by my side. Have any slashdotters recently attempted such a trip? What are the best solutions for on-the-road email, cellular, and Internet access? Where are those attractions, parks, and museums across the US that every road tripper needs to see? What's the best technique for planning such a trip, other than the usual websites? I've got no limits on the places I can visit or the distance I can travel. Any advice you can toss my way would be greatly appreciated!" People interested in this article, might also want to check out the older version of this topic. Also, what travel devices (no, not the laptop, think smaller) should no geek leave home without?

Comments

Dual-band phone, Cyber cafes, and the Rough Guide

[jefflinwood]

Hey,

I go road tripping for at least one month every year. I'd recommend picking up the Rough Guide to the USA from your favorite book store. It will list camping spots, cyber cafe's, national parks, museums, all that good stuff, targeted to the sort of young, independent traveler that you probably are. Every time I visit a new place, I check up on it in the Rough Guide, and I know the cool restaurants, bars, and out of the way attractions.

Get a dual band phone that supports analog, in case you get into an accident, or you need to make a phone call.

There are cyber cafes in almost every big city, and anywhere near a tourist stop. You'll probably go through Yellowstone National Park on your trip, and I know there is a outdoors store with iMacs in Livingston, MT, just north of the park. The Rough guide has a good list of places that sell internet access, not just cybercafes.

Bring a laptop for offloading pictures from your digital camera if you have one. Those memory cards quickly fill up at a megabyte a picture.

Get a good tent, and practice putting it up at home, so you aren't trying it for the first time when it's dark, rainy, and 45 degrees :)

Re:what you need

[linzeal]

You really really really should get out of your car every time you begin to feel back pain, don't take pain relivers to fix what can be solved by stretching.

Re:must-see sights - Wyoming!

[nelsonal]

Feel free to drive REALLY FREAKING FAST through eastern Oregon or eastern Washington.

Hey, thats my home your talking about. If you follow his advice, do be careful, the cops are like locus around Ritxvile, and speeding tickets are pretty high in Washington. Actually that county has one of the highest fell aaleep at the wheel per capita death rates because its so boring and unpopulated.