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Wow, you had a home invasion happen to you? Details please. And what is B&E?
I drove cross country back & forth, but not for scenery. As far as that goes, it's pretty uneventful and there's not much to worry about in terms of safety.
What you're doing sounds like an adventure. Looks like lots of woods and some desert. I would bring lots and lots of water. You can get stuck in the sand somewhere with your Altima and you'll be screwed bigtime. Some lady went camping with her son & dog in CA national park...got lost, got stuck in the sand, and the son died of dehydration.
I would search Bug Out Bag and get lots of ideas from what people carry in theirs. Like a shovel, bear spray, fix-a-flat can, tire plug kit, extra oil, coolant, flares, food, fire starter, first aid kit, etc. If I were doing what you're doing (and notice, I'm not advising this), I would carry a concealed weapon...whether legal or not. Chances are, you'll never need to use it. Just better safe than sorry. First time gun charges may or may not be that bad...worse is, a felony conviction on your record....or a break, and only get a misdemeanor. First time raping or getting killed is always worse. Getting a reciprocating weapons permit from Utah should cover many States that you pass through.
Hostels seems to be far and few in the USA as compared to Europe. I was researching hostels (www.hostels.com) and they seem to only exist in large US cities....and bad areas of such cities. Like in DC, where I'm familiar with...I would not like to venture out into those areas...and the hostels are just someone's rowhouse. In CA, there seems to be many more hostels that looks like a big dorm (rather than small crappy houses). Many of them don't allow people older than 35.
$4k is a lot for 30 days of camping and cheap lodging. Wow, $5k for a TV and $700 for tires on an Altima? I spent $780 on tires but these were Z rated 18" & 19" high performance ones for a Corvette C6. You need to shop better dude. I'd also get familiar the car I'm driving, ie. the routine maintenance, make sure the spare tire is inflated, etc. I would have a big road atlas and a GPS too. I have 2 GPS, one for back up b/c they can fail. The GPS failed once (it was my error) and I almost drove off of an incomplete road (that ended into the desert) out in AZ while doing 80mph......what saved me was the high performance brakes of my high performance car. I would have totaled my car and got hurt pretty bad in the middle of nowhere.
This is good to have (I've seen it on sale at $79)
700 was for tune up tire etc, I'm pretty smart know how to not get taken. Just bought a pistol grip shotgun this will avoid any legal issues a handgun would bring.
I have all the supplies to get me going, food will be a daily find won't be hard though.
Only part I hate about this is leaving my two cats behind in boarding. If I still had my Expedition they'd be coming with me.
700 was for tune up tire etc, I'm pretty smart know how to not get taken. Just bought a pistol grip shotgun this will avoid any legal issues a handgun would bring.
I have all the supplies to get me going, food will be a daily find won't be hard though.
Only part I hate about this is leaving my two cats behind in boarding. If I still had my Expedition they'd be coming with me.
B&E - Breaking & Entering
There are still issues in some states with shotguns, especially if you're going to keep it loaded.
700 was for tune up tire etc, I'm pretty smart know how to not get taken. Just bought a pistol grip shotgun this will avoid any legal issues a handgun would bring.
I have all the supplies to get me going, food will be a daily find won't be hard though.
Only part I hate about this is leaving my two cats behind in boarding. If I still had my Expedition they'd be coming with me.
B&E - Breaking & Entering
I suggest that you check the laws re firearms possession and access in a car while transiting many of the states you plan to visit. You may find that it's not legal to transport the loaded shotgun within your passenger compartment in many states, nor even if it's loaded in the trunk of your car in others, or even to be accessible to you at all in the car while driving through some states.
For sure, do not bring a firearm across the border into Mexico, if that's one of your destinations. It will be seriously expensive to work through their legal system and to get out of jail if you're caught with it ... loaded or unloaded, in pieces, or locked up in your vehicle ... it's a very serious crime down there.
Your budget of $130 per day is far more than adequate if you're camping and preparing most of your meals. Public parks (Fed and State) camping fees are pretty nominal, especially if you buy an annual parks pass for the places where you'd most likely be spending most of your time ... for example, CA. Much of your budget on many days will simply be fuel for your car. If you've got a decent cooler, you can stock up on several days worth of perishable foods in the bigger cities/towns you pass through on your way to outlying areas with the camping locations.
In a car the size you have, I've always had plenty of room for an 8' x 10' canvas wall tent, a couple of folding chairs, a cook kit with a coleman stove and decent cookware, a small weber bar-b-que, and a small folding table. I've always been able to set up a very livable campsite to enjoy ... don't forget to bring a sunshower, you'll find it pretty handy for washing up and pre-heating water for doing dishes or clothing chores.
Also info on Hostels or cheap hotels would be great, not willing to sacrifice safety for living cheap though!
Motel 6 is fairly cheap but if you're really wanting FREE or inexpensive, you could try couchsurfing.com, where if you want to a place to sleep for a couple of nights, people are willing to accommodate you, providing you make arrangements with them first.
we let this traveling professor stay at our place for two nights, after she contacted my girlfriend on the couchsurfing site.
Just bought a pistol grip shotgun this will avoid any legal issues a handgun would bring.
I think shotguns are still illegal in national and state parks. Also, some states have strict restrictions about transporting firearms through theirs. I'm not 100% sure though.
If you bought a cheap van that checks out ok mechanically, you can bring your cats along and also camp inside of it instead of having to mess with tents.....especially when it rains.
If i were you I would avoid Pine Ridge. If you don't hide almost all your money real well. Any where you go out west when you buy something have cash if you use it, in your hand and do not use your wallet if it contains cash.
Why is that exactly? By out west, what states do you mean?
I think shotguns are still illegal in national and state parks. Also, some states have strict restrictions about transporting firearms through theirs. I'm not 100% sure though.
If you bought a cheap van that checks out ok mechanically, you can bring your cats along and also camp inside of it instead of having to mess with tents.....especially when it rains.
Nope in National Parks guns must be disassembled, in State Parks guns allowed w/ in reason.
States I'm traveling to all have peaceable travel laws so I'm safe now that I looked it all up!
Yurts are very cool, and some that we have stayed in in Oregon have allowed pets. We've always paid less than $30/night when we've stayed in yurts. They have deluxe yurts which also have their own private bathrooms and kitchens as well but those cost a tad more. You might want to check into them. Oregon state parks also have some wagons and teepees you can stay in.
I'm curious, though, what does your having experienced a B&E have to do with the sudden urge to take a holiday?
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