Travel tips

This is a list of things that I think are worth knowing if you (or myself in the future) ever attempt to camp across the country. I credit my dad for most of these.

1. Camp in national parks-they are in the best  and most beautiful spots. Reserve America is the website to use if you want to see if a campsite is full or not. You can also make reservations given 2 days notice. Don't plan out too far ahead where you will stay-its not worth the effort and you may want to stay in a certain place longer.
2. Consider buying a national park pass. Its $80/yr and waives admission to all the national parks (like the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, ect.). Some entrance fees can be as high as $25/car.
3. Have your radio tuned to AM 1610 (at a low volume so you don't have to listen to the static). This seems to be the de facto standard for information and cool things to see and you will start hearing voices (even at a low volume) whenever something interesting comes into range.
4. Rent a small car that gets good gas mileage. Budget will rent you a car for a month max and if you have good credit, for as low as $100/mo.
5. Also get an app like waze or gas buddy. Waze is cool because it shows you gas prices along your route although sometimes the path it finds for you to take can be a little strange and as of this writing, its prices are not always up to date (it gives you the age of the price report).
6. Get an aerodynamic roof rack for all the camping stuff. You will have more room in the car and when you get to a camp site, just remove the rack and place it on the ground where you need all the camping stuff anyway.
7. Bring an inverter with multiple plugs. Lots of camp sites do not have electric and you might need to charge all you stuff (lights, phones, GPS, ect in the car).
8. Consider upgrading your cell phone data plan for the month you will be traveling and then cancel it.
9. McDonald's and some Subways have free Internet access if you ever need it.
10. Make sure to bring lots of sun screen, bug spray, water bottles, canned and/or dehydrated food (with spices to help flavor), peanut butter and crackers (salt is important to replenish as you sweat), pasta, disposable silverware, disposable plates, disposable cups, lighters, and trash bags.
11. Some other things that were useful to us were: pepper spray (pepper spray [unlike guns] is legal in most parks and offers some amount of protection from people and animals), a camel back (some sites you will not have water next to your site), kitchen soap, large pot for cooking, propane stove, bright lights, socks and good shoes, easy to set up tent, hats, reusable bags and backpacks, rope (for drying clothes and other stuff), sunglasses, cold weather blankets and clothes (it can get down to 35 F in the mountains), road atlas or back up GPS (don't depend on phone apps because some places you will not have cell service), and a camera that can take panoramic shots.
12. If you don't want to rent them, a blow up kayak, wet suit/mask and snorkel, fishing poles and some bikes can be extremely fun and useful.
13. Consider keeping a blog so that you will remember the names of places and experiences. Pictures are nice but they don't tell everything.