Before your Trip, T-2 days

This first post is dedicated to the preparations that go into a long road trip. Not having done this before, my family asked many of our friends and relatives for advice, and we've assembled them all here.

1. Bring water. Lots of it. If you'll be ever encountering the hot, dry climates of summer in the Great Plains and American desert, your body will dehydrate just as it would in any other hot climate; the difference being you'll never notice it. The lack of humidity will sap the moisture right off your skin, and without your ever vigilant self-hydration, you could be in a world of trouble and heatstroke.

2. Fill up on gas whenver you see it. Coming from the Northeast, it is not an uncommon sight to find two or three gas stations at a single intersection, let alone along a short stretch of road. This is not the status quo for the rest of the country. Judging from my other travels in the less densely populated parts of the Northeast, it is far more likely to to find a single gas station serving multiple towns than a single town with multiple stations. The scarcity of the number of stations outside of major populated areas makes being picky with gas prices more of a luxury than a wise shopping solution, even in these times of extreme gas prices; so it becomes necessary to ensure that your gas tank is filled to a sufficient amount. Suggestions have said that when your tank gets to below half a tank, start looking for that refill.

3. Book your sleeping arrangements and do it early. This suggestion has a twofold purpose. First, having a set place to be each night will ensure that your trip will remain on course and on schedule. Often, you will be tempted to stay a little longer in a town or hike a little more on a trail, which is good; after all, the point of your trip is to see as much as you can. However, the problem is that your trip does have a start date and an end date, and whether you like it or not, your boss is expecting you back at work at some point. By establishing scheduled stops along your trip, it will ensure that you get to see everything you wanted to see and not piss off your boss by seeing too much. Secondly, many places to stay are highly sought after and need to be reserved quite early in the season, if not year. This is especially true on campgrounds and lodges in certain National Parks like Yellowstone.

Thats all I have for now. Talk to you all after Day 1 - Youngstown, OH