The North American continent is such a huge landscape of every conceivable terrain and climate. In the same country, you can walk in a tropical rain forest, play on a Caribbean beach, hike in a mountain range or fish on a peaceable lake. And if you like camping, you know that nothing compares to pitching a tent and sleeping snuggled in nature’s arms.
One of the hardest things about living in a place of such great diversity, with so much to offer in term of sight-seeing and of such great size is how do you take it all in and actually enjoy everything to see and experience? Many have taken on the challenge of a cross country journey to scratch that itch, breaking away from the strain of daily living and not fretting about the mortgage. There's nothing like traveling by car from one coast to the other to offer you a deep appreciation of the majesty God has put into the American landscape.
But to actually make that cross country trip an escapade which will stay with you for good, you might consider planning such a trip and mixing it with those well developed camping skills you have developed. By camping across the U.S., you can enjoy that same sense of getting close to nature but broaden your experience by camping at different state parks from Washington to Florida or New Jersey to California or whatever route works best for you.
Naturally, such an expedition will take lots of planning and preparation. For starters, you must fastidiously map out your route so you know from night to night where the following camping location exactly is. The brilliant thing about the National Parks and Recreation System is that you can virtually visit any campsite in the country utilizing the net and view the locations of the campsites and even make your reservations on the PC so you know that you have a campsite waiting for you at each stop along the way.
Other preparations slot in with your current camping skills including how to prepare for meals, the equipment list and emergency preparedness. A camping trip of this size can take a few weeks and you do not need to rush it because part of the excitement of camping coast to coast is becoming familiar with the land at every stop on the way. If you are new to camping, taking a good quantity of time to work out your camping abilities, your apparatus tick list and building your campsite capabilities will pay off well when you set off on this kind of great excitement.
A pair other words of advice will pay off well that pertain to being prepared for any contingency. While camping is clearly cheaper than staying in hotels, you ought to be sure your financial position is sound should an emergency arise and you find you want to use hotels or buy new apparatus to replace things that get damaged. Always be aware of accommodations nearby should the weather take a turn for the worse. If you're caught in a flood in your campsite halfway thru your coast to coast adventure, that may throw off the whole trip. So be ready to make other arrangements in a rush.
With good preparation and masses of well rehearsed emergency fall back plans, you can be ready for almost any circumstance that might come up during your big trek across the North American continent. But even with those changes, you will look back fondly on this great undertaking and the numerous nights you became close to nature in yet one more of the beautiful and soul inspiring camping locations across this great land. And do not be confounded if after you get home, you are beginning to plan your next great outing camping coast to coast.
Rick Rosstalifo is a camping entusiast and Seattle financial consultant, as well as financial consultant L. A..


