Pre-Trip Planning

Before your trip it is important to make lists.

• What do you want to see?

  • To get an idea of what you want to see or do, watch some YouTube videos or search for things to do. – for this trip I looked up a ton of “must do” hikes and things to see/eat

  • Research costs, open/close hours, and other important factors. – The pandemic really has put a damper on hours of place or even if they are open/closed for the season.

  • I like to visit Trip Advisor and type in the place or company and peruse the comments section to get a good idea of what to expect.

  • Take note of how you’ll get there and what time of year you plan to go. Many places are cheaper to visit and less busy if you go during off season months. – Visiting during the peak season meant I planned for travel time and for road construction time.

• If you plan to drive

  • Make a list of car maintenance tasks to have done at least 3 months prior to your date of departure. – I took my 6 year old Nissan Sentra on this 4,000 mile trip and got a new battery, front brakes, new tires, and an overall inspection to ensure I was good.

  • Use Google Maps to find nearby gas stations, rest stops, or restaurants along your route. – I had a detailed list of safe places we could stop in the desolate west.

• If you plan to fly

  • You can certainly look for the cheapest flights 10-8 months prior to your trip and use helpful apps like Sky Scanner find these flight deals.

  • Be sure to utilize Google Maps for detailed information on local restaurants nearby your desired location.

• Make a list of items to purchase before your trip. – we had a list of things to buy for each list we had… hiking items, snack items, toiletry items, in-car bag items, medical items, and basic purse items.

• Make a list of things you already have that you might need to bring. – we had a list of things to bring that we already had for each list we had… hiking items, snack items, toiletry items, in-car bag items, medical items, and basic purse items.

• Make a budget for your trip! You can visit many places on the cheap or if you want to have spend more, you can…or you can budget to live like a king….it’s up to you. – I like to do an estimate of how much I think I’ll spend then save all of my receipts and log how much the whole trip actually cost me. We opted for the middle tier budget estimate and wanted to stay in a cabin in the park, eat and drink at local places, and be able to buy a couple souvenirs. We could have easily camped just outside of the park – eaten out of the pre-bought groceries and camped at local campsites the whole way home for much much much less than we opted for.

Just Before Leaving:

• Print off any maps, tickets, reservations, or itineraries you may need and keep them in a folder.

• If you’re going on a road trip, hit up the grocery store to purchase your bread, peanut butter, etc.

• Check your desired destination sites, Facebook pages, etc. to ensure there aren’t any last minute closings or restrictions.

• Other last minute gems: laundry, make space on your phone for more photos/videos, send your itinerary and trip details to a loved one, put all the cards you booked thing with in your wallet.

Helpful Tips for Visiting a National Park:

• Wake up EARLY – parking lots, trails, and avoiding construction – it’s all dependent on how early you get out and about. We like to wake up at 4:30am in order to head out with the sunrise.

• There is likely no cell service in the park so research and plan well ahead for road construction updates and park closure information.

• Be well aware of your gas options and how many miles per gallon you get. Many parks do not offer gas and you need to know how far away you are from a gas station at any given time.

Day One: Des Moines, Iowa - Wall, SD

We started our journey just after 10am with our final destination being Wall, SD. While getting gas at Sinclair – I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a pic with the dino statue then CATWMAN was scootin’ along through South Dakoter. We stopped at the 50ft Dignity statue and were blown away by its beauty and size. In my opinion it was cooler than Mt. Rushmore. We made it to Wall, SD and checked in to our hotel. We stopped by the wacky Wall Drug area with a little under an hour to take it in (truth be told, we had visited Wall Drug on a previous road trip). We decided to eat at the Badlands Bar where we tried some local beers and shared a bacon mac & cheese, fried pickle fries, and a side salad. The waitress was bustin’ a move – and that’s one thing I’ll say ….every front desk person, waitress, staff member of wherever we went was hustling. The front desk lady at the hotel was there checking us in in the evening and she was there in the morning to get us our grab-and-go breakfast bags out of the fridge. Shout out to these fine people and tip them well if you find yourself traveling and able to do so.

Day 2: Wall, South Dakota – Billings, Montana

We left South Dakota and drove 80mph into Montana. After checking into the hotel we explored downtown Billings. They have so many casinos in Montana it’s absolutely nerts. There are strip mall casinos everywhere you turn. In the Midwest we have just as many bars as we do churches but in Montana it’s like twice as many casinos as churches. Billings is charming and cute, honestly. I love it there. It’s a nice walkable city with plenty to do and see. We stopped at a brew pub called Uberbrew for dinner. We both got local beers and split a giant pretzel, side salad, and mac and cheese. The waitress told us that breweries in Montana have to serve their last drop of beer no later than 8pm. Now I knew why all of the restaurants closed by 9pm. After walking around some more and using the tiny downtown casino bathroom – we headed back to our hotel for the night.