Graduation road trip.

Me and a couple of my friends are planning on a road trip for after we graduate. This isnt just a fading dream because we have been actively planning for it for a few months now. This trip will be in the summer of 2012(ya its a long way off) but we are trying to get everything planned out.

The road trip will include us going from my house in Ohio to Roswell, NM then to the grand canyon. From there we will go to either Sacramento or Modesto, CA. Then we will make a turn around and hit Mt. Rushmore and Chicago on the way back.
With stops at each of them we are planning for around a 15 day trip that probably can be extended if it needs to.
The trip will be made in either a 1996 Chrysler Sebring or a 2007 Jeep Patroit.

We are each planning on saving $2000 each. There will be three of us. So around a 6000$ budget.

Any feedback i can get will be appreciated. This hopefully will be a fun roadtrip and hopefully the time goes by fast.

Welcome to RTA!

I am planning a trip that follows most of the places you plan (Wisconsin to Cali), which is for a 22 day trip and I have been told that it is going to be a stretch to complete the trip in that amount of time. I might suggest adding another week or so to your schedule.

thanks. we will definitely consider it. The way i got my original guess was through microsoft streets and trips. This i know really cant count in all of the stops accurately and the accidental direction mistakes or oversleeping.

Welcome to the RTA forum!

One of the real easy mistakes to make when planning a trip using online mapping programs is that they assume you never really need to stop and there are no human factors in play.

Just with the driving, you're looking at about 6000 miles. Even at a sprinters pace, driving 8-10 hours a day every day, that alone would take about 12 days. So if you've only got 15 days, then that leaves very little time to stop at the Grand Canyon or any of the other places you'd like to visit.

I think you're at a good starting point, but you may find that you've really bitten off more than you can chew. When you plan, I wouldn't schedule days of much more than 500-600 miles on your longest days, and significantly less on days where you want to do some exploration.

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Originally Posted by thootenbass

This trip will be in the summer of 2012.

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The trip will be made in either a 1996 Chrysler Sebring or a 2007 Jeep Patroit.

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We are each planning on saving $2000 each. There will be three of us. So around a 6000$ budget.

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With a bit over three years, you're off to a great head start with your planning. However, a few things:

1. Are you sure these are the same vehicles you'll have at the time of your trip? I went through three vehicles in high school, and another three or four in college. The reason I ask is because of luggage space for three people; the answer to the next question is related to this.

2. Are you planning on camping or staying in motels? It's hard to say how the economy will play out in the next few years, especially on items such as inflation. Generally, 3% increase in prices per year is not uncommon. Fuel prices will probably continue to fluctuate. That said, I think your budget is not unreasonable.

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Any feedback i can get will be appreciated. This hopefully will be a fun roadtrip and hopefully the time goes by fast.

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There's no doubt that it will, but enjoy it!

Curious about your destinations. Beside a cheesy museum not much in Roswell....Modesto?? Sacramento? Man, there are so many other great places to visit.

Ya, we have considered what "erikendres" said and are planning to add around a week.
We are plannning to go on and off between camping at local campgrounds and staying in cheaper hotels/motels. When we get to Sacramento/Modesto we might be able to stay with my aunt and uncle but those arrangements will be made later
Also about the budget we are planning on mixxing probably 2 meals from the cooler(sandwiches, cans/bottles of soda, and chips and fruit and oter stuff) and 1 meal from a restuarant/fast food.
In reference to what "Midwest Michael" said, we have put in the plan for a stop after 3-4 hours but yes i do agree that you cant plan when somebody really needs to stop.
About the cars, we are not sure if the Sebring will be working in 2012 but for sure the Patriot will still be there since its my moms car and she already bought it.
LUGGAGE- Ya itll be three guys(myself, my brother and my friend) and we have all done something together and we all really pack light.

thanks guys for the help and suggestions

First of all thanks for the reply.
The three of us are kinda into the history thing of UFO's and stuff and since its just a half an hour drive off of the interstate we decided to go check it out. Sacramento/Modesto are where my aunt/uncle live so we could get a free stay as well as see some of the stuff. The only reason i said Modesto is becuase that would be our "base of operations" for the rest of our stay in California.

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Originally Posted by thootenbass

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The three of us are kinda into the history thing of UFO's and stuff and since its just a half an hour drive off of the interstate we decided to go check it out.

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I'm not sure where you've heard or seen that Roswell is just a half hour from the interstate, but its about 150 miles from town to I-40 or I-25. On 2 lane roads, thats going to take 2.5-3 hours.

I'd also say that California is also a huge place, so its tough to make any one place a base of operations. Other than San Francisco, which is an hour away, plus traffic, you'd be looking at driving at least a few hours to even the closest of other attractions, like Yosemite or Lake Tahoe.

Ya i know about roswell. I made a second check right after and i was way wrong. It is around 125-150 miles away.
And thats why we are staying a few days in california. And really its not like we have to hold on to a specific itinerary anyway.

If you want to explore that part of NM (yes, it's a pretty long detour) you also might visit places like: Billy the Kids Grave-UFO Museum in Roswell-Lincoln-Capitan (Smokey the Bear SP)-Valley of Fires NRA-Alamogordo(New Mexico Museum of Space History)-White Sands NM-Bosque del Apache NMR and VLA (Very Large Array). Will take a lot of time though.
Yeehaw

thanks. We are trying to figure out some more stops that we can do on our way out west. We have alot of stops on the way back but really not enough to keep interest on the way out there.
I'll try to look up some of the stuff that you(Yeehaw) said.

Thanks again, thootenbass.

What part of Cali will you be staying in? Im from Los Angeles, theres a lot of fun things to do if you come to this side of town.

I am gonna be staying in Modesto. We might be staying a week or so and since i have family in the area i could get a free stay.
we will be traveling out of the sity alot in our time there.

That sounds like an awesome trip. When I graduated high school in 2006, I took a cross country road trip with my fiancee and my younger brother. We left Lansing, MI and drove 11537.3 miles in 39 days, so about 300 miles per day. We hit each state west of the Mississippi as well as TN,KY,IN,IL, and WI so 26 in all. With a limited budget we went very frugal on the trip. We camped each night in mostly state or national parks (better than camping on top of one another is some private campgrounds). We also did not eat out. We had a cooler and a grill so we just bought a couple days worth of food at WalMart to save money. On average we drove about 6 hours per day which gave us plenty of time to see lots of things. The whole trip (everything included...and I mean everything) was $4079.50 or $105/day or $0.35/mile. It was split over 3 people so a 39 day vacation for $1360 pp is a great deal! I will never forget the memories that were made on that trip.

If you need any information about preparation, sites to see, campgrounds, or costs let me know. I have it all down in a Excel spreadsheet. Anyway it sounds like an awesome trip. Have a great time!