Planning for a Three Week Road Trip

It began with a notepad, a road map, and a Google Sheet. The notepad recorded ideas and thoughts while the road map showed us what could actually be done. Next, we placed different versions of the trip into a Google Sheet. We had nine different versions in tabs before creating a calendar view of the final itinerary. 

The hard part was beginning now--to reserve campsites, hotels and what attractions were worthwhile. The biggest money saver was the fourth grade pass to the National Parks and Lands. This little card saved us a bundle--I highly recommend getting this when you have a fourth grader. We subscribed to Dyrt, and I was already a card carrying member of Marriott and Hilton brand hotels. We also went through all our credit card rewards to see what could save us a little. Additionally for gas, Chris made sure to do as many gas apps as possible as well as Upside and IExit. Upside was great about getting some cash back. I loved IExit to see what was on exits that were upcoming. 

Camp sites were easier than hotels. There are so many things to consider when you are booking hotels! Do you have to pay to park? Is it cheaper on the company website versus a third party? Can you use reward points? Does your credit card have deals? We only did three hotel nights thinking that we could book some more while on the trip (this led to some flexibility, but honestly some decision fatigue as well). 

Here was our packing list for clothes: T-shirts (8) shorts-athletic 2-3, khaki 2-3 pants (3) socks (5) long sleeve shirt (1-2) nice shirt (1) underwear (8) bras-sports and regular hoodie/pullover (2) base layer (1) swimsuit (1)--I took two: a one piece and a two piece hiking shoes hiking socks (3) sandals tennis shoes rain jacket warm jacket Hats--cap, warm sunglasses We used three duffel bags: one had clothes for the next day with long sleeves and bathing suits in case, and the other two had two family members other sets of clothes. We also had a laundry bag handy with laundry detergent! 

Here was our packing list for camping: tent (Kelty Wireless 6), ground sheet, stove, propane, kitchen, pots, plates, bowls, cups, mugs, coffee press, hiking blanket, lanterns, flashlights, clothesline, dish towels, scrubbers, dish soap, multitool, hammocks, sleep pads, sleeping bags, pillows, fire starter, wash tub, cooler, table cloth, bungee cords, chairs, and utensils: forks, spoons, knives, corkscrew, clips, can opener, peeler. We used two large plastic tubs (Rubbermaid type) that had bungee cords around them to store these things. One small plastic tub stored our cans, spices, and oils. We had two bags for snacks that we kept the dish soap outside of one with our snack bowls and utensils from Ikea. We also took a backpack cooler to hike with or to have for quick snacks in the car. 

Entertainment: We each had a journal, a couple books, coloring/sketch pads, and Madlibs for the boys. We brought the following games: Quirkle, Banagrams, Spot It! sports edition, a deck of cards, UNO, and Story Cubes. 

Chris purchased a trailer hitch on a standing platform where we stored most of camping gear that we wrapped in our tarp. This allowed us to have space to have part of the third row up to separate children if needed. 

 

We did a run through of packing and planned to get everyone up early with egg cups for breakfast before heading to our first stop: Memphis!