Learning a few things as we begin to plan our trip

(Craig) Here's what we know so far about the route we must take when we leave Colorado: Departing sometime between April 1st and 15th; must be in West Virginia on May 10th; going to visit Karin's dad in New London, Minnesota on the way.
So we have some stops in-between. That's easy! I pinned our road map to the wall and gave Karin a dart. Well, if we go with that strategy, then we are heading to Eureka, CA, going to the beach and driving into the ocean for about 5 miles :)
Ok, we won't do that. Plan B....we tried a program by Microsoft called Streets and Trips 2009. It offers us a 60 day trial before purchasing, so we tried it. Nothing to go crazy about, but it did make an interesting route for us. We like it, and may stick with this route. Our first leg would be Denver to Valentine, Nebraska. Found hiking, biking and a river to kayak there! Well, it may still be chilly in April, so we will see. May stay there a day or two.
Here's some interesting info we've found: you can "boondock" (camp without facilities ie. water, sewer, electric) for free in many WalMart parking lots...and also casino parking lots. You always need to check with that store or casino. We found two interesting websites: www.freecampgrounds.com shows camping sites across the country that cost $10 or less. www.casinocamper.com shows casinos that you can park at for free. Ok, we need to be frugal, so this is a great start :)
The second leg after Valentine, Nebraska takes us thru Oacoma, South Dakota. This is a small town along the Missouri River. The Lewis and Clark trail runs thru here. This may be our second stop. Then on to Minnesota.
This first leg isn't set in stone by any means. Just sharing our thoughts and processes as we move along.
I did ask for some input from another website that has many experienced RV'ers on it. I asked whether they preferred trip planning software, a GPS or the "old school" foldy maps. I'll let you know what the consensus is.
Thanks for all of your messages and emails!! I've received several messages wanting me to be detailed about our steps towards this trip. Many have also thought about doing this someday and want to hear the positives and negatives that we run into as we plan to hit the road. There is SO much more to do....
Oh, and feel free to leave comments here, send me an email, message via FaceBook, or even become a follower. All comments, opinions and suggestions are sincerely appreciated!