Let’s face it, most of us are extremely reliant on our phones. When someone gives me verbal directions to a place, my first instinct is to disassociate from the conversation. I know I’m just going to use my GPS to get to the location anyways!
However, when it comes to road trips, especially those around national parks, it is important to know how to navigate like it is the 1980s (I think, we wouldn’t actually know what the 80s were like).
Planning for a road trip is exciting but also daunting. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the location and forget to plan some logistical aspects of the trip like, “how will I get from point A to point B?”
Those of us used to popping an address into our GPS might make the mistake of not having a backup when the time matters (aka: in the middle of a desolate Utah desert with low gas). These few tips can be the difference between a ruined day or an epic adventure!
Surviving the Road Without Service
Use Your Phone! Did you know you can offload locations from Google Maps to use on your phone even without service? It is hands down my most used tool for navigation on the road. Doing this will take up a decent amount of storage, so only store what you need.
A day or two before we head to a new destination, we offload maps for the area we will be exploring and towns we will be driving through. This way we don’t have to worry about losing service during a long drive or while exploring a new destination. Check out Google’s quick tutorial here.
TIP:
Download offline maps to your phone to use GPS without service!
Atlas/Map. We keep a USA Atlas and West Virginia Gazetteer in our van at all times. While we don’t use them often, I consider this something I’d rather not need and have than need and not have. Plus, some Atlases are really cool! We currently use the Rand McNally Road Atlas & National Park Guide.
Print or Screenshot Important Documents. Digital QR codes have taken the place of most paper tickets and reservations. Don’t rely on having cell service to pull up your confirmation email when on the road! We are over the top and both print and screenshot our reservations. With the amount of national parks moving to timed entry passes, this is an important step to remember!
Download Media. Whether you’re into audiobooks, podcasts, or music for your trip (we like a mix of all three) remember to offload at least a day’s worth of listening for you and your carmates.Â
Good tunes can make or break a drive, but no tunes is just sad! Make sure you have some backup playlists for those long drives through the midwest to keep you going.
Use the Libby app for free e-books
We use this app constantly for long stretches of driving! Make sure to download audiobooks to your phone in order to continue playing when offline. All you need is a library card!
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