Tips

• We slept in the car a fair amount in the beginning of the trip. It was easier to just park and go when we had full days of driving ahead of us. (easier to find camp grounds out West though). 

• People out west are very nice so don't be afrad to ask them about cool stuff in the area! We would have missed some pretty cool sites if we didn't ask around.

• You will eat a lot of fast food you cannot even help it. BRING LOTS OF SNACKS & Music. We brought peanut butter and jelly and ate Pb&J everyday until we ran out of bread. There are grocery stores along the way though so don't get carried away with the supplies.

• Bring plenty of water! It is very easy to get dehydrated in the hotter climates out West, especially with all the walking you'll be doing. You'll also want water to wash your face at night because you will get sweaty and dirty.

• Bring a comfortable pair of shoes (preferably hiking shoes). I wore Nike Free Runs for the trip and found they were super slippery and unstable.

• Be prepared to deal with the people you’re going with for a very long time haha. You will be crabby.

• You're also not going to shower very much so bring a headband or a hat, some strong deodorant, and some body spray...

• Surprisingly, driving isn’t that bad because you don’t have a true destination most days; you’re just driving.

• The farther west you drive the earlier you’ll wake up because of the time difference. You’ll easily wake up at 6am to start driving.

• It's also a good idea to designate someone as the late night driver and someone as the early morning driver. Mike was our late night driver and he would drive until 2-3am sometimes while I slept. Then I would wake up at 5 and drive while he slept. That way you're constantly moving without getting overly exhausted.

Camping Tips

• Try to call ahead and make reservations if you can.  Call at least a few hours early, you don’t really want to try to reserve them before you start the trip because you don’t know exactly how long you’ll be able to drive in a day. Therefore you either won't make your reservation or you'll drive too far then waste a reservation and possibly money.

• Just look online and try to find a site a few hours in advance. KOAs are nice but expensive. They have showers (The only one I experienced was too cold to actually shower though), WIFI, and cabins if you want to splurge. 

• Camping can get expensive ($20+ a night at some places). Backcountry camping is free in most national parks though! If you have some experience this is the way to go.

 

Full Story (click a destination to be taken to its full page)

 

On the first day we drove into Ohio late into the night and slept in the car

 

Next we stopped at Notre Dame, IL to see the campus (beautiful and right off the highway).

 

Then we stopped at Sioux Falls, SD (not that cool – we just stopped for like 10 min at night time).

 

Bad Lands National Park (SUPER COOL! Be sure to climb the trails!

    -They have camping but it's expensive. We actually reserved a campsite in advance but decided to cut our losses in order to get on the road to Mount Rushmore.

We arrived at Mount Rushmore just in time for the sunset! Then we camped at a KOA near by (called for reservations and I think they had wifi. I was very excited to take a shower here but simply couldn't because of how cold the water was.)

 

Drove to Yellowstone National Park (SUPER COOL – wish we had more time here. There are some very cool hikes if you get the chance to explore the trails.)

Arrived at Yellow stone at around 6-7pm and reserved a camp site at Lewis Lake (kind of a weird process so be sure to read the directions). Then we drove right to Old Faithful and arrived right in time to see the geyser!

Then we made it back to our campsite before dark in order to set up our tent. We wish we has stayed at Old Faithful until dark though because the stars would have been amazing... Do it if you can!)

Woke up EARLY (around 7am) and explored/hiked for most of the day.

 

Left Yellowstone in the Afternoon and found Grand Teton National Park (free with Yellowstone admission)

Ate lunch at Signal Mountain Summit Lodge. This restaurant was reasonably priced and very good! It was also complete with a beautiful view of Jenny Lake and the Teton Mountain Range (highly recommend).

Then we took a sightseeing detour up SIGNAL MOUNTAIN SUMMIT ROAD! Really worth it

Then driving through the mountains was amazing!!

Slept in the car between here and Utah.

 

Woke up early (around 6am). Drove to Salt Lake City and got breakfast at a nice little place on the main street. Very good... Then drove through Park City.

Stopped at the Great Salt Lake (Smelled terrible so prepare yourself). Very nice man and dog in the gift shop! You can float on the lake if you bring you bathing suit, but if you’re camping and not showering often... not a great idea haha)

 

Drove to Las Vegas! Just drove through because I wasn’t 21...

 

Drove to Hoover Dam (Rented a hotel room at the hotel closest to the hoover dam on the highway – Hacienda Hotel and Casino – Got to shower there for the first time all trip, which was amazing).

 

Woke up late for the first time all trip and drove to the Hoover Dam

The security guards at the Dam just looked at us and said "you’re good," so they didn’t really check cars like the sign said.

Explored hoover dam. Then drove into Arizona to camp.

 

Woke up and drove towards Grand Canyon National Park (lots of cool gift/rock stores along the way...we stopped at many).

Arrived at the Grand Canyon and started at Mather Point. Then we explored the path along the southern rim. It got dark and we had to leave though (wish we had more time here)

Slept outside of the Grand Canyon. (Might have slept in a hotel parking lot this night...)

 

Woke up early and drove to Arches National Park (VERY COOL).

 

Drove towards Rocky Mountain National Park. Camped right outside the park boundaries near a lake (IT GOT VERY COLD CAMPING AT NIGHT)

Woke up early (around 6-7 am) Drove to rocky mountain national park SO COOL, BUT VERY COLD IN MORNING – Need sweats! We also went too early because it was so foggy & cold, and the visitor center wasn't even open yet.

The fog cleared though, and we just drove through and stopped at the various pull off points to view the mountains.

 

Then we drove to Denver, Colorado, and hung out there for a while. Their city square is very pretty, and we got a chance to explore the streets and shops.

 

Then we drove into Kansas and slept somewhere in there.

Then we drove straight home from Kansas (Very long drive).