places to stop Boston MA to Portland OR, tips, saftey etc.

[imported_Emily]

my boyfriend and i are planning a trip this summer after HS graduation and are looking for ideas of places to go, typical as well as offbeat, any ideas?

I'm kinda afraid of taking on such a big trip, any sujestion about saftey,cheap places to stay, how to meet cool people while avoiding bad things? what things should i know about car matenence/emegancy care?

[Robert Schaller]

Emily, these are common questions that are asked and answered many times on the forum -- so there's lots of information here for you already. Use the search button at the top of the forum page and use key words (one at a time) like "safety," "cheap", "maintenance," etc. Lots of earlier threads will come up for you; once you've done that, some of your first questions will be answered, but you may have more specific ones -- come back and we'll be happy to respond in more detail.

Some of the obvious choices of places to visit along this route (or not far from it) are Chicago and Salt Lake City (if you like big cities), the Badlands of South Dakota, the Black Hills, Yellowstone Park, and the Columbia River Gorge (which you pass through to get to Portland anyway). Mount St Helens may be calmed down again by then, and if so, I'd be sure to include a visit there as the recovery of the area and related changes are fascinating to see. A bit further off-route but well worth your time is Glacier Park in northern Montana. Many of these places will have lots of opportunities for camping, biking, hiking, and sightseeing, etc. You won't be able to visit ALL of them, of course, but you could choose the ones that seem the most interesting to you. Don't forget your camera! Bob