Hi all,
This is my first post, and I am very excited to share the road trip idea that me and my girlfriend are planning this summer.
We are essentially planning to go from Southern CA, and visit the following destinations 1. Eugene OR, 2. Portland OR, 3. Seattle WA, 4. Spokane WA, 5. Missoula MT, 6. Boise ID, (Heading back through Las Vegas) 7. (At least 3-4 national parks along the way).
Our budget for this insane trip is roughly $1800 (Give or take $300 for emergency expenses).
The possibility of us running out of money is very real, as we are both grad students who have NEVER in our lives left the San Diego - Los Angeles area. We are in our late 20s and this is the first time we are going to be stepping foot outside of CA.
We have been saving our money for four years to make this trip happen, and as I will be leaving for Ph.D school very shortly, this summer is basically the only opportunity we will have to make this dream happen.
There are several concerns that we have, most revolving around keeping this trip as cheap as possible.
1. We will have to sleep in our car at least 8-9/12 nights that we will be on this trip.
2. Our budget absolutely cannot exceed $1800+$300 for emergency expenses.
3. The total gas for this trip (Including about $120 for side diversions (i.e., national park driving, sight seeing, etc.) is $450. Which makes our realistic budget for the rest of this 11-12 day trip $1350.
We are here to ask all of you for some advice to save money on our trip. Specifically relating to sleeping in truck stops, rest stops, and or maybe in parking lots. I know that we can sleep in our car in many of the national parks as long as we pay a camping fee, so that shouldn't be a major problem.
Anyway to the major questions!!!
1. Where would you suggest we stop to sleep in our car? Truck stops? Rest stops?
2. Out of the cities we are visiting, which ones would you say we almost NEED to spend the night at a hotel? We can spend 2-3 nights at one, so our choices are limited.
3. What national parks that you know of would be along the way on this trip?
4. What affordable sights or places do you recommend we visit on our trip?
If I come up with more questions I will be sure to ask. Thank you all! I hope to get some awesome replies soon!