I went on two road trips in the last 2 weeks, both 7 hours or more. I just went on another short one yesterday. That one was 1.5 hours. (More on that later)
The first of those trips went from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to Boise, Idaho, and back. The other went from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to Pocatello, Idaho, and back. I was a passenger on the first trip and driving alone for the second, leading to two very different experiences.
Road trips can be exhausting and boring if you aren’t prepared. Long hours on the road, especially without good views, can feel incredibly monotonous.
So, how do you fix that? Here’s some of my advice, as both the driver and as a passenger.
Enjoy the View, If you Can
I’m lucky to live in an area with beautiful scenery, so usually, as a driver or a passenger, I can spend most of my time enjoying the view.
I always bring books and games to pass the time, just in case I can’t enjoy the view. Night time, rain, etc. might make it difficult.
But, even when I want to play games or read, I still can’t bring myself to do so when the views are so nice. I just turn on some music and enjoy it!
There are some stretches of trips that are pretty boring to me. Going from North Idaho to Southeastern Idaho, I end up in a lot of barren, brown plains with very little to look at.
It’s those areas where it gets a lot more difficult to enjoy the trip without some other entertainment. And as the driver, I can’t really do much else besides listen to music or an audiobook.
So, how can you fix this problem?
Make the Road Trip Part of the Destination
I can’t say this is something I’ve always done, mainly due to time or money constraints. But if you can make the road trip a proper “trip” then you’ll enjoy yourself so much more.
When I have a destination I want to reach quickly, I try to stop as little as possible, only doing so when I need gas, usually.
I would absolutely prefer not to go about it this way.
Whenever I’m going on these trips, I see signs for state parks, monuments, museums, scenic outlooks, and other cool stops.
If you have the time, make these stops. As many as you can. It’ll make the drive feel less like a means to reach your destination and more like the actual reason you’re even going on the trip.
I’ve done this a few times, stopping at overlooks or going to a quick stop along the way, and had an amazing experience because of it.
For example, in Scotland, while driving from Glasgow to Inverness, we decided to check out anything that seemed cool along the way. Because of that, we ended up spending an entire day in Stirling Castle! That’s still one of my favorite experiences of that trip!
On a return trip from a concert in Seattle, we stopped to go on a hike. It was a great time with beautiful scenery! I’d love to do that hike again!
Plan for Future Road Trips
Whenever I go on road trips with my family, we find all kinds of places we want to try to visit sometime later.
Just in the last couple weeks, we passed through Riggins, Idaho, home to a lot of river rafting expeditions. We also passed through McCall, Cascade, and so many other beautiful places that we might make a point of visiting in the future.
On my way to Pocatello, I was reminded of destinations like Arco, Idaho (the world’s first nuclear powered town) and Craters of the Moon State Park. I’d love to visit Idaho Falls for a longer period as well.
I passed through a small town called Deer Lodge, Montana, to get gas on the way home. It felt like a town straight out of the Old West, and it makes me wonder if it would be worth a longer visit!
Of course, I passed many familiar destinations, too, like Kellogg, Wallace, Lookout Pass, and Missoula, Montana.
On the first trip of the three, we went through Garden Valley, Idaho, where my brother got married. We passed by Moscow, Idaho, too (where I’m headed for a short time this weekend to visit friends).
Your road trip might just be a way of reaching another location, but why not let it be more than that? Use it as an opportunity to make plans for future road trips, or go on a quick excursion to make your current one more memorable!
Go on More Road Trips
This might sound counterintuitive, but it helps! Trust me!
Like I said at the beginning of this post, I went on 3 road trips in the last 3 weeks.
The first two were pretty long. 7-8 hours each, one way.
But the third, which I just did yesterday, was only 1.5 hours. Because of the previous two trips, an hour-and-a-half felt like 20 minutes. It was easy and smooth, and felt like nothing.
I’m also used to living a ways out of town (15-20 minutes to most places), so long-ish drives feel pretty normal to me.
Every time you go on a road trip, you’ll get more used to the journey. You’ll get more used to the routine and the time you spend driving.
So go on more road trips! You can explore, visit new places, and see some beautiful scenery!
Conclusion
Road trips are often a dreaded part of traveling. They’re uncomfortable, can easily get boring, and take a long time to get done.
But if you approach them with an adventurous mind, you might even find yourself looking forward to the next one!
I hope you enjoyed this post, and that it left you with some good insight for enjoying road trips. I have found myself enjoying road trips more and more throughout my life, and I want to share that with others!
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to comment below or contact me directly!
Thanks for reading! I hope to see you again soon!
