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Bob,
I know there are no such restrictions for Canada...I go north and south of the border with my camp stove very often and I never had any problem with that. I don't know for Mexico, but I'm pretty sure it won't be a problem.
Another thing, if you follow Syv's suggestion and cross the border in Cornwall, be sure to get a peek at the 1 000 islands. Ottawa, Brockville and Kingston are nice towns to visit too.
Gen
Wish to say "Thanks" for all replies since I first posted. All good stuff. Courtney gets back from Austria Monday and then our planning will take a more rapid pace as she completes her last semester and graduates college in May. We depart about the 15th.
Mark of RTA, you have been most helpful in your responses. We are about three and a half months from departure. As we review our plan I am wondering if there are any parts of the country, especially in the southwest, or other areas too, where we have to be particularly careful that we will have enough fuel for the car to the next area where fuel is available.
If you limit your driving to the major highways and/or Interstates, you will find fuel at the minimum every 50 miles or so. There are some two-lane highways in the SW and other sections of the mountain states where you could easily drive 100 miles between fuel stations, but those are well sign-marked and should prove no problem. A good plan is to fill the tank whenever it reaches the 1/2 point if you really concened about it. Personally, I like a little "fuel-risk" now and then. Driving into an unfamiliar area with a near-empty tank drives my principal roadtrip companion a little crazy -- but it is all part of the experience for me.
Seriously, I don't think that particular concern is justified in the USA.
Mark
OK Mark, you have been super. We are three months out and I have a new concern. Daughter and I are traveling by car and taking no gear to sleep outside. We are not opposed to tipping the seats back, locking the car and catching some winks. I have done this before, not for an eight hour stretch, but catching enough to refresh and then move on. We plan to use an inexpensive motel or stay with a friend many nights along the way - maybe every other night or as the need hits. I am concerned about being in some of the national park areas where we may want to stay over to the next day to see a little more. We have no time line so making reservations at this point is no good. In national park areas is it allowable or advisable to sleep in the car till sunrise?
According to a ranger I spoke with today at Death Valley National Park, it is prohibited to sleep in your vehicle or camp in ANY of the national parks, except in the designated campgrounds. Another possibility for you would be to camp in the national forest lands (where they exist) outside the parks, either dispersed or in a campground, or in nearby commercial campgrounds -- which are usually marginally less expensive than motels. Last summer, the typical charge I paid for private campground camping was around $18 or $20.
I have Microsoft's Streets and Trips so we have a general route planned. You can type a desination into S & T and it shows you how to get there. RoadtripAmerica.com has been super in our planning. But since Internet access will not be available in the car, is there any software on the market like S & T that would be like the Lonely Planet USA book, that would allow us to review what each state offers so we can review it on the road as we travel?
Mexicali as an entry point into Mexico is better if you only want to say that you were in Mexico. However, I would recommend that you enter at Tecate and follow Hwy 2 east then exit at Mexicali. You will be able to say that you were in Mexico and also see a great downhill road into Mexicali.
OK, we are two months from departure and I am reviewing a new concern - Big Cities. Being a midwestern guy I can handle Chicago pretty well even taking in the likes of Navy Pier. In New York we plan to leave the car in Connecticut and take the Transit in to the Big Apple. I think the closest stop is Stamford though we might use New Haven since I know a student at Yale. What about other cities like LA, San Fran or Seattle? Can one expect to travel in and find a place for the car or is there a place for the car and then use public transportation?
If you are fine with Chicago, then in my experience, there is no city that will bother you. Even Manhattan is easier to navigate than Chicago at rush hour. Parking rates are a little extreme in Manhattan, but those other cities are reasonably on par with Chicago.
Mark