I went on a very lengthy road trip to Arizona a few years ago (I live in the Midwest) with a basset hound and a guy. While our phones were pretty damn helpful in getting us from point A to point B, the maps were helpful, too. While planning a roadtrip, you may not have a ton of time to look at all the rad stuff you can visit on the way to your destination. A map, guidebook is incredibly helpful for finding all the dog-friendly establishments and monuments you didn’t know existed, and (gasp) for when you’re out of cell-phone service range.

You may think that you need to bring four purses, but you really don’t. Extra luggage, shoes, and accessories are just going to weigh you down. You’ll feel less comfortable leaving your car for long periods of time at cafes, bars, and shops if you know you have expensive gear in your car, too. Also: No one wants to carry in two suitcases into hotels or your friend’s pad every night.

This was probably the hardest thing for me while I was planning a roadtrip. I’m kind of a perfectionist and I hated not knowing exactly what I would be doing during every hour of every day. I soon realized that not having a plan was kind of awesome. And it left me and my road buddies open to all sorts of fun stuff we never even dreamed of doing.