America is wonderfully varied. It has everything from mountains to plains to deserts and well everything.

And it has all the extremes when it comes to weather. There are places that are beautiful and temperate all year round. There are places that get extreme heat and humidity. And there are places that get enormous amounts of snow and cold.

The seasonal changes and my trip around the country.

My trip took six full months and this meant that I could potentially experience some pretty negative weather effects. But this is how I planned it:

I started in April in New England. The weather was moderate. And I head down the coast and experienced Florida, Louisiana and those hot southern states in May which was moderate.

Then as the June came around I head north in the country. This way I could spend the hottest months of July and August in the north where the weather was wonderful and moderate.

By the time September rolled around I was back in the southern states and enjoying fall weather in those normally very hot states like Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

Another thing to consider is the mountain ranges in America. There are two major ones. There are the Appalachian Mountains in the east. They aren't too bad.

Then there are the Rocky Mountains in the west. And those are a different story. Much more of a challenge.

This is a weather concern too because the elevation means very different weather. It can get really cold up on those mountains, and then pretty hot on the bottom!

But this is more of a temporay pass-thru concern. And it's more of a matter of having your vehicle in tip top shape and able to handle the terrain changes.

And this is what I did. I spent a fair amount of money on my car before I embarked on this adventure. I went through everything, maintenance, battery, fluids etc. And even new brakes and new tires.

Going up these mountains can be very stressful for the car, and going down these mountains is very stressful on the braking system.

But my car was perfect.

So, planning ahead of time really paid off for me in multiple ways.

I got great weather for the whole trip and my car never broke down. I never even got so much as a flat tire. A trip like this is a lifetime experience. And planning ahead of time can have a substantial impact on how it goes.

My recommendation is to do the planning, do the thinking, and do the work necessary ahead of time so your trip will also be the most rewarding, and least stressful.

Okay! I am doing it again!!

That was 2018 and now we are just into 2023 and this Spring I am embarking on another big adventure. I am heading to Europe on a spiritual journey - to include a 500 mile walking pilgrimage. Read more about that here: Italy, The Vatican, France, The Knights Templar, and A Pilgrimage in Spain.