If you begin “My son and I began our first solo road trip…”,  you’ve yet to take one.  Solo=alone.  No one. Not even a dog.  People stretch the meaning because they really can’t go it alone so anything less than another adult in the vehicle, qualifies.  Never sign a contract with someone given to such leaps.

There is much to fear alone on the open road – mostly the person you see in the mirror, but that’s a topic to broach with your psychoanalyst.  If you’re like me you’ll skip the outrageous bill, take the SRT plunge, and wonder why everyone doesn’t fire his or her shrink.

For fears of which you can’t be blamed, there are things you can do to control them.  Understand they can’t be eliminated. Cars break down and tires go flat.  If you’re okay with that, the adventure of a lifetime awaits you.  If not, take someone with you. Just don’t call it a solo road trip.

The first eight of these are about limiting risk.  There’s more you can do than this list, like a AAA membership. But that’s only good as long as you have cell service.  The more you rely on outside factors, the less control you maintain, which diminishes your ability to reduce fear factors.  Less, diminish, reduce – all used within one sentence to send a message – learn how to change your own tire. I’m an experienced SRT’er so I occasionally put the truck places I shouldn’t, hike into places I shouldn’t.  I’d prefer not to die a painful death, but I want to enjoy life a bit as it flashes past.  And so we all make choices.  Make good decisions based on your own knowledge/experience base.

No, I don’t carry a gun.

1. Know how to drive.  It’s more than keeping the car between the ditches.  Do you know when to shift into a lower gear? If you’ve got 4-wheel drive, can you shift into it at any point or does the vehicle need to be at a certain speed?  How about shifting out of it? In North Dakota last November I drove into a snow bank that was much deeper than I expected (in an attempt to turn around).  The only way out was reverse in 4-wheel low.  Once free of the snowbank, I couldn’t get out of 4-wheel low.  Confusion.  Resorted to manual.  Some of knowing how to drive is experience; some is simply knowing what all the buttons mean on your dash.
2. How to change a tire.
3. Maintain a full tank of gas and bottled water in the front of the vehicle.
4. Don’t drink an alcoholic beverage unless it’s for dinner in the hotel you’re staying or you’re having a night cap in the room.  Obviously drinking and driving is a no-no, but a loose tongue in the wrong place has equal potential for disaster.  See #8.
5. Find lodging before dark.  Doesn’t mean you have to call it a day. Just secure a place to stay; then you’re free to explore the local area as long as you want.  See #4 and #8.
6. Wear a seat belt at all times.  It won’t save your ass if you drive off a mountain but it will provide protection in most other cases.
7. Keep your cell phone charged. Check in with someone daily (preferably the same person).
8. Don’t talk to strangers.  A tricky one. The people I meet are a big part of open road adventures.  Use good judgment.  My daily routine while traveling is to awaken early and go to bed with the chickens.  This translates to striking up conversation with people over breakfast or lunch and becoming more insular as the day progresses.  To no one do I give much information about where I’m headed.  When around others, pump gas and order dinner with confidence; at all times send the signal you’re in control.  I will not go to a bar. I avoid other strays even early in the day.
9. Get off road. Yes you can do that without 4-wheel drive.  See #1.
10. Before you leave home practice saying “holy shit”, varying the emphasis and inflection. You’ll use it in a lot of varied applications.

** This article is mine.  Feel free to link to it, but any republishing without my consent will find me on your doorstep.  Fear that. **

Join the Road Trip Revolution at the Solo Road Trip Facebook Fan Page, here.

Other how-to SRT related posts:

Road Trip Coffee Can Survival Kit

3 Best Kept Travel Secrets

Take a Solo Road Trip!

Solo Road Trip Safety

Just for fun:

Road Trip Badges of Honor

Somewhere on the outskirts of Paris, Texas was a heavenly little burger joint.  Our stops there were the rare exception to home cooked meals and would have been pure giddiness had I ever been allowed to have two of those small gems.  For that cruel dictum I fought back by eating the huge roll on my lunch plate first. And my skinny friend’s for dessert.  I can’t recall the superheros of the time because Wimpy balancing that stack of burgers was the only hero I required.  Iron Man recently bumped Wimpy as a more modern version of burger clutching role model. Stopping for an American cheeseburger was first priority upon his return from three months in captivity – my kind of hero despite the Burger King bag.

Burger King wouldn't know what this is. Lander Bar & Grill Kitchen Sink Cheeseburger, Lander, Wyoming

Since fast food is off limit during a solo road trip, I’ve become part bloodhound in detecting the smell of a well seasoned flat iron grill.  Oh I’ve ordered burgers in upscale restaurants (just in case you’re a first time reader I use ‘upscale restaurants’ loosely).  But haven’t eaten one yet that surpassed the cheap ones cooked on a blackened grill of high quality beef, American cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and pickles – in Oklahoma with onions fried in.  Always capped with a white flour bun toasted on said grill and slicked on top with a shimmer of oil – pulls the whole thing together. Not unlike the rug in The Big Lebowski.

the basque beret bun is the perfect lid. Brownie's, Tulsa, Oklahoma

That’s the basic architectural structure but no condiment or food item plopped atop is doubtfully frowned upon. Mom’s “eat the damn thing before you judge” was taken to heart at an early age.   Which brings me to the Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail.

Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail Map

No single state can lay claim to a burger component like New Mexico to the hatch [chile]. Roasted, then sweated to shed the skin, halved or chopped and blanketed with cheese, the first bite yields a soft tomatillo wang that settles on the front of the tongue; mild to medium heat creeps toward the back. The taste bud conference in the middle is unmistakably green pepper, a stab of sunshine, and a swish of buttery chardonnay.  Wimpy would have pawned his waistline for this coupling.

66 restaurants (in honor of Rt. 66) made the trail for 2011.   Some, like Blake’s Lotaburgers have multiple locations. My favorite? The green chile cheeseburger from Bode’s General Store in Abiquiu. Clayton’s The Rabbit Ear Café was good.  I couldn’t get past Blake’s Lotaburger in Espanola being part of a chain. Bobcat Bite in Santa Fe (in a very un Santa Fe location) grinds their own chuck roast. While bigger than Bode’s, it lacked something. Could have been the karma from Bode’s table cloth – an intangible advantage that may not have a leveling component. I’m guessing those table covers aren’t available just anywhere.  Sorry Bobcat.  If you’re headed to New Mexico or near any of its borders, plan on taking the burger trail map and stopping for a New Mexico gem, or two.

**   No caveman cookery will take place tonight. I’ll give the arteries a break and grill the Boca Burger in my freezer. They now make ¼ pounders!  I can’t decide if this is more of a good thing or a harder slap in the face.  The cheese will remain in its cellophane package. A stack of tomatoes, pickles, and lettuce will be piled high between a whole wheat bun that I’ll give a good lick on top to mimic the oil slick.  And I’ll dream of being Wimpy’s best friend on a day he was flush with burger money.

Bode's General Store Green Chile Cheeseburger and the Rockin Table Cover - most burger joints can't compete with that

Bode's on the Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail and home of the SRT favorite Green Chile Cheeseburger.

** For more fun travel and taste bud ideas, check out Wanderfood Wednesdays at Wanderlust & Lipstick. The Pan Fried Chive Bun recipe is on my list. Check out the July 12th post.

Other posts in this series:

The Abiquiu Inn

Abiquiu – The Penitente Morada

Abiquiu – Plaza Blanca

Abiquiu – The Dar al Islam Mosque

Abiquiu

New Mexico Travel Sites:

Hatch Chile Festival – September 3,4, 2011

New Mexico Tourism

Where to buy hatch chiles

Join the Road Trip Revolution at the Solo Road Trip Facebook Fan Page, here.