Costs - 10K USA

[vermilye]

We did a 10,389 mile
42 day trip
In a 2003 Town & Country
Spring, 2004.
Cheapest gas $1.79, Most expensive $2.99, average $ for fuel - $25.36 per day. Average miles - 247 per day or 297 per day if you only look at the days we were driving.
Lodging - Average $52.78, lowest motel $32.16, highest $137.50 (low $ does not include campgrounds, but the average does.)
Didn't record food as a separate item but everything else (food, gifts, ice, oil changes, etc) came out to an additional $63.62 per day for a trip average of $141.76 per day.
Our Trip Across the USA

For anyone interested - I finished posting a previous trip Our 1996 trip across the USA

[Mark Sedenquist]

We did a 10,389 mile
42 day trip
In a 2003 Town & Country
Spring, 2004.
Cheapest gas $1.79, Most expensive $2.99, average $ for fuel - $25.36 per day.

Jon, that is a good idea for yet another parameter -- least and most expensive prices for line items.

Lodging - Average $52.78, lowest motel $32.16, highest $137.50 (low $ does not include campgrounds, but the average does.)

Do you recall the towns with the highest and lowest motel rates that you stayed at?

Thanks for this data!

Mark

[vermilye]

The least expensive motel was the Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada. By the way, it was the only place we stayed that provided a vase of fresh flowers (roses) in our room. The most expensive was a reservation for 3 nights at the Mariposa Lodge in Mariposa (34 miles from Yosemite.) We didn't have a lot of choice - the campgrounds were not open yet & it was Memorial Day weekend.

[Mark Sedenquist]

The least expensive motel was the Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada. By the way, it was the only place we stayed that provided a vase of fresh flowers (roses) in our room.

I remember when you mentioned that motel in an earlier post. We have got to check it out. Actually, Tonopah has a number of truly wonderful motels -- sometime you have got to check out the decorations at Jim Butler's -- plus the information they have about the local mining operations is worth the price of the room any day of the year!

Thanks for the additional information.

Mark

[Utahtea]

The least expensive motel was the Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada. By the way, it was the only place we stayed that provided a vase of fresh flowers (roses) in our room. The most expensive was a reservation for 3 nights at the Mariposa Lodge in Mariposa (34 miles from Yosemite.) We didn't have a lot of choice - the campgrounds were not open yet & it was Memorial Day weekend.

What campgrounds weren't open? All three of the Yosemite Valley campgrounds were open before Memorial Day. I know...we camped there in April. Mariposa has camping at the fairgrounds.

Utahtea

[vermilye]

I should have said nothing was available rather than nothing opened. We called for a reservation & was told all available sites were filled. We didn't know about the Mariposa Fairgrounds... (This was May/June, 2004.)

[Utahtea]

I should have said nothing was available rather than nothing opened. We called for a reservation & was told all available sites were filled. We didn't know about the Mariposa Fairgrounds... (This was May/June, 2004.)

Yes, I can believe they were booked for Memorial Day weekend...probably MONTHS in advance! Did you know that there is a walk in campground in the valley that does not take reservations? I would imagine that you would have to be there days before the Memorial Day weekend to get a spot.

Utahtea

[Carol White]

Our complete budget information - as well as some fun "stats" for our year long trip can be found at our site - click on "our travel journal". Some of the things that we kept track of for the year?

* High and low - motels, campgrounds, gas prices, newspaper costs, daily temperatures, rounds of golf, elevations - and more!

* things we each liked "best" - radio stations, motels, resorts, scenery, etc.

* Regional "oinkers" - foods from various parts of the country

* Planes, trains and automobiles - various types of conveyances we experienced along the way

...and other fun things.

We also offer a very complete budget worksheet on our website. It is in MS-Excel format (.xls) and free to download at this link.

Have a fun time figuring out this important item for road tripping.

Carol White

[Carol White]

Hi Mark -

I have most any stat that you could want from our trip.

Our most expensive "motel" was the Greenbrier Inn in White Sulphur Springs, W Va. I had always wanted to stay there and it was an experience of a lifetime. Nearly $600 for one night by the time we got out of there - but it was a really fun, decadent splurge!

Our least expensive motel was The Capitol Inn in Pierre, SD - $35.99 and a place to wash the "Rolling White House" at no charge - she had been rolling for over 6,000 miles by then and really needed a bath!

Our average motel price for the year, including taxes was $79.14 - yes that includes the Greenbrier and a few other less extravagant "splurges". Our average campground night was $18.43 with a high of $54.64 in Key West and a low of $5 at several passport america sites. We stayed mostly in KOAs and Good Sam Parks. The best value was a city owned park in Iron River MN. A beautiful little park for $11 a night full hook-up as I recall.

Let me know if you are interested in anything else - much of it is on our travel website.

Carol White