Planning another cross country road trip, this time to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and others! A journey of FIRE (financial independence retire early)…

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson:  “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”

I love living in the Continental United States of America, period.  The landmass is so beautiful, so varied, and so unfathomably large.  It is a place where you simply do not run out of roads (new roads) and new places to explore.  It is a place, in short, to fulfill your wildest, unquenchable thirst for travel and adventure.  

So, why do I even mention the word “Continental”, you say?  Well, when I lived on the small island of Oahu, Hawaii, I eventually ran out of new roads and new places to explore, and that depressed me.

I was missing the big landmass that is the Continental USA, or as the Hawaiians say, “the mainland”.  After living there for over 2 years, I longed for those trips, where the roads never seem to end.  That feeling that I’m by myself (well, my wife too), driving on a desolate road in the middle of a Mojave Desert surrounded by nothing but long-since-dead vegetation, vistas for miles on end, and the feeling of vastness, is something that I simply can’t live without.

Driving on lonely roads is a special experience.  It makes me think about life, about anything that may pop up in my mind, and on a long stretch of American road with nothing but the sound of the humming engine and the sound of tires kissing the pavement, it really drives home the point that I am but a small speck of dust in this grand scheme of the universe.

Being on vast, empty roads definitely has a special place in my heart.  It was, it is, and will always be one of the best part of living life in the Continental United States.

It was to this end, that my wife and I decided on another road trip.  What good is early retirement if we’re not going anywhere, or doing anything???

How we came to this decision was brought about by our search for a long term rental for the summer.  We searched all around the east coast, hoping to snag a rental in our usual price point per month, anywhere between $1,200 to $1,600.  

We didn’t see anything we liked in our price point, so we broadened our search parameters to include the Midwest.  Immediately, we found a rental for around $1,200 in a small town near the South Dakota/Minnesota border.  

This was perfect!  After booking this one, we thought hard and fast trying to figure out if this was a sign:  A sign that we should finally go west, to see the great Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.  

We searched for another long term rental near Yellowstone National Park and after several minutes, we found one in a city in Idaho.  After booking this one as well (for around $1,550), we figured we would book other accommodations as needed along the way.

So, now we had a month in Minnesota, and a month in Idaho.  Our summer trip was slowly forming into shape.

With 2 months accommodation set up via Airbnb, we mapped out all the points of interest we wanted to explore during this trip.  Here are some of those:

• Attractions near Luverne, Minnesota 

Luverne, Minnesota would be the location for our first long term Airbnb rental. We wanted to see attractions nearby as well as to revisit the famous Sioux Falls, South Dakota, just across the border.  

• Attractions near Rapid City, South Dakota 

We had visited this area some 20+ years ago during our cross country trip to Colorado and South Dakota from New York City.  We knew there were many more places to explore including Devil’s Tower National Monument, Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, and Mount Rushmore National Memorial.  

• Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks 

These two parks would be the highlight of this trip.  It’s definitely the reason why we’re going out there, driving over 2200 miles from New York City.

One more thing: We really want to go see some bison out there in the Great Plains and beyond.  

• Salt Lake City, Utah

We hadn’t initially planned to visit there, but after unsuccessfully attempting to book reasonably priced hotels near Dinosaur National Monument in Utah, we pivoted to Salt Lake City instead.  

Miscellaneous things to consider for this trip…

Planning a cross country road trip is always a great challenge but extremely fun.  I live for this kind of thing!

As much fun as planning a trip of this magnitude is, there are things we need to be mindful of.  These are:

• Making sure we’re not driving too much on any given day 

We like to drive ideally around 4-6 hours per day, and maximum driving time of 8 hours.  Any longer than that, we will pay a hefty price to our bodies, which are no longer in our youth!  

We like to drive several hours, check in to a hotel, then be able to relax before going to bed.  In our younger days, we drove maximum 12 hours per day, especially driving through the state of Kansas from Denver, Colorado, but those days are long gone.  

We can do it, but we would rather not…

• Looking for places to eat (lunch/dinner)

We’re always mapping out fast casual restaurants along our driving route.  I get very cranky when I don’t eat, so it’s crucial that I get some grub around lunchtime and around dinner.  

Eating, is also something I love to do, so why not do this with vigor and enthusiasm?

It’s vital that we stop by for lunch along the way after driving for few hours in the morning, then repeat for our dinner.  We have to be well nourished during our trips, right?

• Safety, always 

We’re always trying to find accommodations (Airbnb or hotel) that are in good areas.  Although we don’t always succeed, we do ok for the most part.

Lately, Hilton hotels have been a very good choice for us, especially safety wise.  These hotels are typically built in reasonably safe areas, so we rarely have issues with them.

Airbnb rentals on the other hand, can be hit or miss.  We learned our lesson while staying a month in a rental in Claysburg, PA, which had its share of issues related to safety.  (We witnessed couple of people getting arrested by the police during our stay.)

We do try our best to research the area a bit before booking somewhere we’re not sure about.  So far, so good…

• Budget for the trip

One of the most important things to think about is the total cost of the trip, including lodging, fuel, food, attractions, and tolls.  We typically spend about $2400 per month during the summers if we’re staying near the east coast.  See below for a typical summer monthly budget:

1. Lodging $1200-$1500 (usually Airbnb)
2. Food/groceries/takeout $500-$700
3. Transportation including fuel $600 (car payment + fuel)
4. Attractions $0 (we live a very low cost minimalist lifestyle these days)

Because we’ll be on the road, we know we’ll spend much more than that.  These are what we estimate will be the cost for the duration of the trip:

1. Lodging, Airbnb $1200 (6/11-7/9) Luverne, Minnesota 
2. Lodging, Airbnb $1550 (7/17-8/14) Rexburg, Idaho
3. Lodging, hotels $2000 or so (we need to fill in between these long term stays as well on the way to and from there)
4. Transportation including fuel $2800 (Fuel estimated for 12,000 miles driven; our car gets roughly 30 miles per gallon which equals 400 gallons; 400 gallons times $3.25 per gallon in summer of 2025 plus our car payment)
5. Food $1800 (we’ll be cooking our meals at Airbnb rentals, but probably do takeout at hotels)
6. Attractions $200 (America the Beautiful Pass at $80 for entry into national parks/monuments/memorials plus state parks)
7. Car maintenance $100 (we’ll need an oil change somewhere in the middle of the country)

Total estimate: $9650 for the trip from 6/8 until 8/29 (compare this to our typical summer budget of roughly $7200)

** We’ll see what the actual cost is at the end of the trip.

• As always, improvise, adapt, and overcome 

As is the case with any travel, you have to be flexible with your travel plans, otherwise, the trip will be miserable.  If you’re a perfectionist, who has to plan everything then go nuts if there’s a slight deviation, then you’ll be disappointed big time.

The goal is to ultimately enjoy the trip and the experience (mostly good but sometimes bad).  As nice as having everything work out as you had planned, sometimes a trip is more memorable when something doesn’t go as planned.

It’s in encountering these obstacles, thinking through solutions, then overcoming them, that you learn something new, and also about yourself.  These things tend to remain much longer than any so called “perfect” trip.

In our experience, nothing ever works out as planned, especially travel.  Something always happens: a flat tire, getting lost, finding out a restaurant is not open when Google Maps shows as open, an Airbnb host cancels our rental few weeks before our trip, etc.

We don’t have to like them, we just have to make it work.  We’re adults.  We’re supposed to know how to deal with life issues.

In conclusion:

One of life’s greatest gifts is the ability to see this beautiful landmass that is the Continental United States.  I finally have the time and enough resources to venture out to see all the amazing places I always wanted to visit.

After doing one cross country road trip, you want to do more.  You want to visit other places, mystical, amazing places in popular culture…

We are so grateful that we’re embarking on another road trip.  A road trip that is so epic in nature, that we needed over 2 months to complete.  

Come along with us as we explore the Great Plains, the Black Hills, the majestic Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, and the Great Salt Lake City.  Thank you for reading and happy trails!

Jake

Wandering Money Pig 

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