Planning a Trip: Step 3 – Gather Reference Materials

Last week I wrote about Step 2 in my planning process, fixing the most restrictive spots. In planning for our big trip out west, I had already collected a long list of potential stops, plotted them on a map, created a spreadsheet of sites and nights. Once equipped with a tentative plan, I found the “problem spots”, such as holiday weekends and camping in national parks.

Once I had fixed the most restrictive spots, I then started to fill in the other dates. As I booked campsites and calculated what we might visit each day, I created both a spreadsheet and an itinerary document, listing travel times, directions, opening hours, phone numbers. Hopefully anything we might need along the way.

Creating an itinerary document is something I’ve been doing for years and years. I love having all reservation information and addresses in one spot. It makes it easy for me to find what I need, and I can also send it to people who need to know where I am (Rob, my mom, house sitters, etc.).

In addition to these reference materials, I decided to buy some books from Amazon. We now have a couple of Lonely Planet books, a nice, spiral bound Michelin atlas and a Woodall’s campground directory. I’m sure that these books will come in very handy while we are on the road.