We went from California to Iowa (just east and north of Omaha). Going we did the trip using mostly I-80 Taking the 99 north To Sacramento then catching the 80, through Reno, Salt Lake and other points of interest like Ogallala Nebraska - a tourist high point in any body's life LOL. First thing I did (like 3 months before hand, was to plan the route. I made the mistake (yes mistake) of planning to drive the trip in two days. Although I managed it with a lay over of 3 hours in Rawlins Wyoming, pressing on early the next day to reach our destination late that evening (like 11:00 pm) On the way back I spread it out over three days, night one Cheyenne Wyoming, night two Salt Lake city Utah, arriving home just a bit before sunset the third night. We selected "points of interest" along the way for breaks and for touristy things (on the way back). Get a map with touristy things to do, then call or look for a website for that. Some offer deals and discounts for people who plan ahead. Again I planned this out 3 months in advance - Part of that planning was going to AAA and getting their travel books and maps of each state. We booked motels for the nights we were staying in advance. Further we "shopped" around - meaning I called several places, found their prices per night selected the one that allowed dogs with the best price. Being an AAA member there are discounts along the way through use of the card. Further we had a promotional use of a route planner which came with a long list of restaurants and motels where one could print up coupons (came with the Old computer which died a horrible death, program long lost now) However if you surf the net you may find a similar route planner which will guide you for your trip and may offer discounts/coupons, etc. We took the Shell Card - Shell does go across the US to at least Iowa - although we took the card, we did not use it that much - instead we used CASH - at Mom and Pop Stores and Truck stops. Truck Stops usually have cheaper prices on cash, food, etc. Flying J http://www.flyingj.com/ is a good place to stop, you can see by their map they have locations all over the place. I can see the I-80 laid out there through California (Sacramento) Through Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska. They also list their gas prices: http://www.flyingj.com/fuel/gasoline_CF.cfm Trust me For the 3.29 price they have for Ripon (a hop skip and a jump away from us) is cheaper than the 3.69 for Shell Gas which is one exit away in Ripon.