A Great American Road Trip
September, 22 2017 - January 7, 2018
After graduating I decided it was time for me to go on an adventure. With Donald Trump as president and the cacophony of the media, I realized that I did not know what most of the United States was actually like from my bubble in the Northeast. So I went on a very long road trip to find out.
I was accompanied by the lovely Lia Coleman. We drove all over, starting in Boston and going as far as Alaska. We spent nearly 4 months on the road and almost all of that time we were living out of the car in rural or wild country. Here is a map that Lia made after the trip:
To record the trip, Lia brought a Polaroid camera with 100 shots, and I brought a pair of binaural microphones. We used all 100 pictures by the end, but some of them were too dark, others were too bright and some were just bad so they're not all on this page. You can find all 100 in order here.
The Car
Our car was a practically brand new 2017 Subaru Outback. And it was a rental! We spent a long time looking to buy a car but we were worried that anything we could afford would break down. It turns out that extended rentals are not that expensive with special deals and you get unlimited miles.
All in all, the rental cost ~$3000 for the 4 months we owned it. Split between the two of us it was significantly cheaper than rent in Boston. Plus we put 30,000 miles on it...
We added blackout curtains and lights to the car. In the back we had a blow up air mattress (also for backpacking), topped with memory foam. When it got cold, we had a 2 person backpacking quilt rated for $-10^\circ F$. It was very cosy and we could sleep anywhere discretely:
This car saw a lot:
All of our clothes were under the bed in the spare tire section. We packed very minimally - I had 1 short sleeve shirt and one long sleeve one. Everything we brought was polyester so that it would dry quickly.
Food and other supplies were in the space behind the front seat and in the glove compartment. Here is the full packing list. We had everything we needed to explore, eat, sleep and stay safe:
We even brought a projector. We could power it from the car using an inverter and then project it on our bed sheet, attached to the car with magnets. One night we found out we were accidentally camping on the island of Spectre, a location in Tim Burton's Big Fish. So we projected the movie behind the abandoned sets it was filmed on.
Survival
By the time we got to the South, living in the car was becoming unbearable. It was in the 90s and humid at night. We took one break from the car and spent $30 to sleep in a motel in Savannah, Georgia. I cut off all my hair in the bathtub and made it into this little video:
If it is hot, stay near the coasts so you get a breeze at night.
Or just stay where it's cold. I liked the cold a lot and with a warm enough sleeping bag you can sleep in the car in Arctic temperatures.
Some other tips:
- Walmart has overnight parking, free water and bathrooms.
Park far from the entrance, but under a light so you
don't get robbed. We probably slept at 30 or so Walmarts.
- Libraries are a great place to stop. They are still
everywhere, especially in small towns. Usually free
wi-fi and sometimes a place to meet people.
- Colleges are great too. They have libraries and local events,
plus you can just walk into interesting classes.
We stopped by for a randomized algorithms class
at Stanford.
- Other good places to sleep: hotel parking lots,
train parking lots, state/national parks,
beaches and docks.
- Always have gas and water. Put the water in the
sleeping bag so it doesn't freeze.
- Bring a physical GPS. Your phone will not work.
- Use public land when you are out west. Most states
have websites with marked spots.
- Clean the car every day.
- Buy a national parks pass. It pays for itself in
two visits.
- Don't eat out. It's expensive and unhealthy.
It's easy to go to grocery stores when you're on the road
so take the opportunity to eat very fresh.
Fruit, vegetables, cured meat, bread are great.
Some staples were cantaloupe (it comes with its own bowl),
greek salad, and avacado mushed into bread with adobo:
Things to doThings to seeThe middle of nowherePeopleComing home
After graduating I decided it was time for me to go on an adventure. With Donald Trump as president and the cacophony of the media, I realized that I did not know what most of the United States was actually like from my bubble in the Northeast. So I went on a very long road trip to find out.
I was accompanied by the lovely Lia Coleman. We drove all over, starting in Boston and going as far as Alaska. We spent nearly 4 months on the road and almost all of that time we were living out of the car in rural or wild country. Here is a map that Lia made after the trip:
To record the trip, Lia brought a Polaroid camera with 100 shots, and I brought a pair of binaural microphones. We used all 100 pictures by the end, but some of them were too dark, others were too bright and some were just bad so they're not all on this page. You can find all 100 in order here.
The Car
Our car was a practically brand new 2017 Subaru Outback. And it was a rental! We spent a long time looking to buy a car but we were worried that anything we could afford would break down. It turns out that extended rentals are not that expensive with special deals and you get unlimited miles.
All in all, the rental cost ~$3000 for the 4 months we owned it. Split between the two of us it was significantly cheaper than rent in Boston. Plus we put 30,000 miles on it...
We added blackout curtains and lights to the car. In the back we had a blow up air mattress (also for backpacking), topped with memory foam. When it got cold, we had a 2 person backpacking quilt rated for $-10^\circ F$. It was very cosy and we could sleep anywhere discretely:
This car saw a lot:
All of our clothes were under the bed in the spare tire section. We packed very minimally - I had 1 short sleeve shirt and one long sleeve one. Everything we brought was polyester so that it would dry quickly.
Food and other supplies were in the space behind the front seat and in the glove compartment. Here is the full packing list. We had everything we needed to explore, eat, sleep and stay safe:
We even brought a projector. We could power it from the car using an inverter and then project it on our bed sheet, attached to the car with magnets. One night we found out we were accidentally camping on the island of Spectre, a location in Tim Burton's Big Fish. So we projected the movie behind the abandoned sets it was filmed on.
Survival
By the time we got to the South, living in the car was becoming unbearable. It was in the 90s and humid at night. We took one break from the car and spent $30 to sleep in a motel in Savannah, Georgia. I cut off all my hair in the bathtub and made it into this little video:
If it is hot, stay near the coasts so you get a breeze at night.
Or just stay where it's cold. I liked the cold a lot and with a warm enough sleeping bag you can sleep in the car in Arctic temperatures.
Some other tips:
- Walmart has overnight parking, free water and bathrooms.
Park far from the entrance, but under a light so you
don't get robbed. We probably slept at 30 or so Walmarts.
- Libraries are a great place to stop. They are still
everywhere, especially in small towns. Usually free
wi-fi and sometimes a place to meet people.
- Colleges are great too. They have libraries and local events,
plus you can just walk into interesting classes.
We stopped by for a randomized algorithms class
at Stanford.
- Other good places to sleep: hotel parking lots,
train parking lots, state/national parks,
beaches and docks.
- Always have gas and water. Put the water in the
sleeping bag so it doesn't freeze.
- Bring a physical GPS. Your phone will not work.
- Use public land when you are out west. Most states
have websites with marked spots.
- Clean the car every day.
- Buy a national parks pass. It pays for itself in
two visits.
- Don't eat out. It's expensive and unhealthy.
It's easy to go to grocery stores when you're on the road
so take the opportunity to eat very fresh.
Fruit, vegetables, cured meat, bread are great.
Some staples were cantaloupe (it comes with its own bowl),
greek salad, and avacado mushed into bread with adobo:
Things to do
Things to see
The middle of nowhere
People
Coming home
