One of the most helpful road trip planning aides that I have utilized in planning our upcoming road trip is Google Maps. With Google Maps I am able to plot our trip in a very unique way.

Layers:
Utilizing ‘My Maps’, I have created a separate map for each of the different types of sites we want to see. I have one for National Parks, National Forests, National Monuments/Lakeshores, etc. and another one for baseball stadiums with different markers for Major League parks vs Minor League parks. I have one for roadside attractions and one-of-kind stopovers. Each map utilizes a different color for the markers used and with a simple click I can layer them on top of each other and they all appear on one map. This is very helpful as I am not always interested in where the baseball parks are while I am trying to determine the location of camp grounds.

Segments:
Brett and I discussed having short driving days so that we force ourselves to travel slowly, enjoy the trip, and look around. We originally discussed driving no more than 120 miles/day, so I created a Google Map with segment driving lines. I alternated line colors so that it was easy to see our progress from day-to-day. As you are drawing the line on the map, it tells you the distance from the start of the line to your current location, so you know when to end for the day. This was helpful in determining where to search for campgrounds as well as giving us a general timeline for Segment 1: Indy to Fargo. We know that we will not stick to this route but it was helpful as an planning exercise nonetheless.