Soul Searching Solo Cross Country Road Trip and Scared

Hi!

A little bit about me: I am a 24 year old single mom who has undergone quite a bit of stress and pain these last few years. The love of my life cheated on me several times and left me for another woman. I am currently in dire need to find myself. I plan to travel from Indiana to Utah (Zion National Park) then from there to the Grand Canyon. I have a week to fulfill my quest and unsure if it is even possible.

I need to battle a lot of my anxieties and become whole again. I was planning on sleeping at A. Rest stops B. Local Walmarts. Are either of these a bad idea?

I will be driving my truck that is NOT 4x4 and wondering how awful it will be for me to drive on I-70 through Colorado at the end of March.

What advice can you give for a first time solo driver traveling 2,000 miles away from home?

Any safety tips?

THANK YOU!

one week one-way or two way? (2 way there isn't enough time to enjoy the trip)

I-80 doesn't go thru Colorado so you should spend some more time looking at maps.

March weather varies from lovely 70 degree sunny days to 20 degrees and snowing mashed potato-weight precip.

Others will advise it's not safe to sleep at truck stops. Not all Wal-marts allow camping. (the one near me does not)

Unfortunately I only have 8 days to travel, so now I'm unsure of where I should go.

My apologies. I did change the forum post to I-70. I have a lot more planning to do and need to invest in a good Atlas.

My fear is to end up stranded somewhere due to weather

I did find a handy site of walmarts that do not allow camping.

Thank you for your input!

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

The first bit of advice I can give you is to relax. Solo Roadtrips can be great fun, and women are actually more likely to be the ones who head out on the road by themselves.

My bigger concern would be with the amount of time you have and your approach to the trip. I'd really look to limit your driving to about 500 miles a day, which I think you'll find most enjoyable, especially since this is your first time out on the road. At the maximum, you should never be doing more than 600 miles a day because of safety concerns- that is roughly the maximum that professional drivers are allowed to cover in a day. However, when you say you have a week, that does become a big cause for concern - as for a 2,000 mile trip, you'll need at least 4 days each way just to cover the miles.

As far as sleeping, Rest Areas are not safe and are not a place you should consider. Generally speaking, Truck Stops are much safer options, as they are well lit and better patrolled. However, any time you plan to spend the night at a commercial business, be it a truck stop or a walmart, you need to check with the store management, as it is not always allowed.

The other concern is going to be your comfort. Sleeping in a car isn't always that comfortable, and doing this trip in March could mean some very cold nights. Remember, a car provides very little in the way of insulation, and running the heater puts you at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

Sleeping in a car isn't always that comfortable, and doing this trip in March could mean some very cold nights. Remember, a car provides very little in the way of insulation, and running the heater puts you at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

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I used to sleep in my Jeep when doing 4WD trips up in the mountains. On one trip I saw temps near zero. The main problem with that was that moisture from my breath condensed on the windows and then turned to ice. Made getting going the next day a real challenge since I'd parked where I didn't get morning sun. (Had 2 sleeping bags and 3 insulated pads and lots of clothes so I was perfectly warm)

I suggest a trial run sleep in the vehicle before the big trip in order to figure things out.

Where are you starting from? With 8 days, I think I'd be looking at places more in the 1000-1500 miles away from home category.

Being stranded due to weather should really be a very minor concern. First, you can use weather forecast to know a day or two in advance if you're in danger of being hit by a storm, and even if you did get caught up in a storm, it's rare for a storm to cause problems for more than a day or so, before roads are clear and back to normal.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

Where are you starting from?

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I am starting from the Chicago area- northwest Indiana. According to google maps it is only 1,450 miles roughly. Is that more doable? I really have my heart set on the Zion national park and the Grand Canyon. I've been north east and south, never west. I'm a nature junkie and could use some meditating.

You've entered something wrong if you've getting the distance from NWInd at only 1450 miles. Anywhere near Chicago is closer to 1700 miles to Zion.

While it's not impossible to get there and 8 days and back, you're looking at a minimum of 3 hard days of driving each way - and that's assuming you see good weather - plus half a day to drive between Zion and Grand Canyon.. That's a lot of driving, and not much meditating.

Even eastern Utah, like Arches and Canyonlands would be a better choice with the time you've got - but at least it cuts it down to 2.5 days each way. Perhaps an even better option would be looking at the western Dakotas - Badlands and Teddy Roosevelt NP have plenty of meditation possibilities, as do the Black Hills.

Yes, indeed, it's 'only' about 1,600 miles in the best of circumstances (starting out already on I-94 at the Indiana/Illinois state line) to either Zion (1,640 miles) or the Grand Canyon (1,680). But doing a round trip that includes both of them pushes your minimum mileage up to 3,580 or 7 days minimum driving. And that's before you factor in any side trips to see anything else en route, take a different route home for some variety, or spend any time 'finding yourself'. If you run into any bad weather and have to sit it out for a day or so, then you have absolutely no time to enjoy the sites you've driven so far to see. Seriously, even under the best of circumstances but only eight days, about the best you can hope for is a few hours each at both Zion and the Grand Canyon and then a whole lot of sitting behind the wheel, fighting traffic, getting no exercise, and generally stewing in your own juices. If you really want time to get away, think, meditate, and basically let go of all the things that are bothering you, you're going to have to find someplace considerably closer to home, more time to travel, or both.

We can't help you with finding more time, but perhaps we can help you find a spot for some quiet reflection that would require less of a grind to get to (and home from). There are many open beaches along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts that could be reached in a couple of days, including Gulf Islands National Seashore, Cumberland Island National Seashore, and Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Even closer to home, retreats such as the Amana Colonies in Iowa or even rural mountain settings such as the Ozarks and Great Smoky Mountains will let you slow down, breath and think without having to drive thousands of miles for the privilege.

By all means get away, but mot so far that you burn yourself out getting there.

AZBuck

Thank you very much for all of your suggestions! You all have been great help! I am trying to extend my trip to 13 days if my sitter will allow it!

You are wanting to get away from it, have time to think, for 13 days. Keep focused on the purpose of this trip 'find yourself', which right now is more important than seeing the great national parks.

Zion and the Grand Canyon will still be there when you have more time someday, and can make the trip in a less stressed state of mind. You are very young, and if you make this roadtrip a memorable one for all the right reasons, you will find there will be many more in the future.

I urge you to choose something closer to home. If you tend towards mountains, I'd head to Colorado, if the coast appeals more to you, then follow Buck's advice. But to spend most of your time driving does not give you time to think/meditate. Head for a place where you can spend considerable time out of the car.

Battling traffic you will need all your concentration on the road at all times. It will not achieve what you are setting out to accomplish.

Neither will sleeping in your truck put you in a reflective mood. I would highly discourage it, even at safe places such as truck stops. For your sanity at this time you need to wake up refreshed, have a shower, get dressed and check it all out in a full length mirror. It is impossible in a car to keep up your daily regime. All that will not make you feel any better about yourself than you do right now.

Stay closer to home and budget for cheap accommodation. With the hotel discount coupons you should be able to pick up cheap hotels/motels along the way, and give yourself the opportunity to sleep in, lazily get dressed, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, even if it is only cereal, yoghurt and fruit in your room, though most places have at least a breakfast of sorts..

Don't worry about not seeing Zion and the Grand Canyon right now. Not everything needs to be achieved before you turn 25. In my case, I had earned my seniors card, and was a grandmother, before I ever hit the road. Now a decade and a half on I have seen more of North America than most of its citizens ever will.

All my best wishes.

Lifey

Thank you Lifey, this is amazing advice. I still have quite some time to plan and will try to stay closer to home.

I was so determined to have a change of scenery and indulge in new places and people that I believe I have lost focus.

I will continue to do more and more research, for my trip won't be for another month and a half.

I just want to live and stop watching time escape me, become one with myself.

Nature is just what helps me reconnect with myself and an intense trail or two, I feel, would help me grow and push myself.

Why don't you look at the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania? Depending on exactly where in Indiana you are, you could possibly make it there in one day - or worst case, sack out in your truck in a truck stop for one night. Bring a tent and camping gear for when you are there, campgrounds open in April.

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Originally Posted by glc

Why don't you look at the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.

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Although, pretty, I have already travelled through Pennsylvania when I went to visit Elmira, New York with a friend. I will not be able to travel for a long time after this trip of mine and want to make it as breath taking as possible. Something new to my eyes.

I plan to camp rather than hotels if I can :)

Thank you!

March is too early for regular campgrounds which is for good reason. Communing with nature in March isn't what most people think of since March doesn't have real good weather. But sometimes communing with nature in a storm can be invigorating as it reminds us of how puny we humans are in the big picture.

I don't think anyone has made this suggestion:

Get a paper USA map, or the USA map pages of a paper atlas. Take a compass, put the point of it on your town near Chicago, and then draw a ring around it that would be roughly 1000 miles away. That's a 2-day drive one way. Look at what's inside that circle. There are many things, including the above-mentioned Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. I see Kentucky's Mammoth Cave National Park, Arkansas' Hot Springs National Park, Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains National Park, just to name a very few.


Donna

Following up on the suggestion of Colorado for an 8-day trip... a couple of good options:

(1) Great Sand Dunes National Park (in south-central part of CO)
http://www.nps.gov/grsa/planyourvisi...ngsleeping.htm

(2) Mesa Verde National Park (southwestern corner of CO)
http://www.nps.gov/meve/planyourvisi...ngsleeping.htm

On the drive to/from you could loop towards the west-central corner of CO (actually eastern central Utah) and explore Arches NP.

Part of your self-exploration simply will be out driving on the open road. Once you hit Colorado the topography changes from the mid-western prairies in a very delightful way with plenty of very scenic routes. Folks on the forum will have plenty of suggestions on how to get off of the Interstates once you have made a decision on your destination.

Caveat: National Parks will charge admission fees and camping fees. An $80 annual pass might be an option for your admission fees (camping fees not included).

Thank you for all of the suggestions!