Hello:

This is my first road trip (already begun) and I'm excited and nervous! My mother (of course) just complete freaked me out because she sent me an email saying that she's worried about the heat wave. My trip is planned to be this:

Richmond, VA (a couple days ago)
Asheville, NC (yesterday and today, leaving tomorrow)
Nashville, TN (3 days)
New Orleans, LA (2 days)
Austin, TX (3 days)
Carlsbad, NM (2 days)
Santa Fe, NM (5 days)
Taos, NM (7 days)
Boulder, CO (3 days)
Omaha, NE (2 days)
Iowa City, IA (1 day)
Chicago, IL (1 day)
Pittsburgh, PA (1 day)
Philadelphia, Pa (1 day)
home to RI!

The days are guesstimates. I'm going to be with friends until Austin, but will be travelling alone (with my dog) until Boulder then meeting up with friends again for the rest of the trip. My mom has freaked me out because she said that I don't know what I'm getting myself into between Austin and Taos. She thinks there will be no cell service, deserted roads, and that the heat wave will put me in danger. What do you experts think? Oh, I also had my car checked by a mechanic-friend before I left and had new tires put on my car.