Summer Traveling: Great Western Road Trip, Part 1 - What to Bring

At the beginning of June, my wife and I will engage in a classic American tradition: road trip! We figured it was a good way to kick off our second year of marriage. We'll spend the entire month of June touring the entire US west of the Mississippi. Anything worth seeing, we'll do our best to see it. This is my first real trip west, so I've got big expectations!

We'll be visiting great cities, monuments of mankind and those wonders which only God could build. We'll be staying in hotels and camping in national parks to try to get the best of both worlds. Along the way, I plan on bringing a laptop and keeping you updated on what we find, so if you want to hear more, just subscribe to my articles.

But, as you know, every road trip, no matter how spontaneous, requires some preparation in order to make it successful. We don't want to get half way to the Grand Canyon and never make it there or back home again. After looking around and thinking a lot about the trip, here's what we think we'll need (in addition to the standard clothes and toiletries):

Car Supplies: - Have to keep the car in top shape to last a month through deserts, mountains, plains and valleys!

We'll need: cell phone(s), a spare tire, jumper cables, lug wrench, tire jack, tool set (even if you can't do your own minor repairs, someone might stop to help you and can use your tools), flashlight, and a big jug of water (in case it overheats all of a sudden).

Getting There: - We could probably do alright by just hitting the road and going where it takes us, but it won't make the best use of our time.

We'll need: a road atlas, visitor information brochures (found near the border of each state, provides good information about attractions and things we might not otherwise know about), a laptop (with a good map program, makes it easier to locate yourself and even small roads wherever you are), and a power inverter (for plugging in the laptop or any other electrical items while in the car).

National Parks: - They account for at least half the beauty of the West and camping is the best way to experience them, but you need supplies!

We'll need: a sturdy, easy-to-set-up and tear down tent, sleeping bags, air mattress and pump (you have to rest easy sometime!), portable shovel/hammer (for pegging stakes or digging firepits), matches in a waterproof bag and cigarette lighters, campfire grill and pots, hiking boots, clothes for getting dirty (for any extended hikes), ponchos (it always rains), and hiking sticks (can be either a real stick or lightweight durable ones can be purchased).

Comfort: - On a road trip, you spend a lot of time in the car, so you'll want to increase your comfort wherever possible.

We'll need: music(CDs, MP3s, cassettes, whatever, you have to have it!), books/magazines (to read when you're not the driver), pillows, cooler (stocked with drinks and food), dry snacks (anything that doesn't belong in the cooler), and road trip games (you can find many online, mainly a scavenger hunt sort of thing).

Maximizing Your Experience: - A road trip is full of wonderful sites and great memories, so you'll want everything you can have to get the most of it.

We'll need: digital camera (never run out of film, you can transfer the pictures to your laptop, and charge the batteries with your power inverter), extra batteries, tripod (to add yourself to your pictures!), binoculars (plenty of things to see whether in the car or a national park), wireless card and ethernet cable (for accessing the internet along the way in hotels and coffee shops, for sharing memories with friends and family, and researching possible destinations), and Ziploc bags (you never know what seashell on the beach or precious rock you'll stumble across that you'll want to take home with you).

Hopefully, this is all we'll need. It might sound like a lot, but with sensible packing, you can easily fit these supplies into any sedan or compact car. We may learn of more things along the way that we'll wish we had or did and I'll make sure to debrief at the end of our trip with anything we've learned about how to make a better road trip.

The next part of this series will be from on the road and I'll keep as many updates as I can about our experiences, what we're learning, what places aren't worth the time, and what places you can't afford to miss. Stay tuned!