This Post Chronicles my Low Carb Eating on our Family Cross Country Road Trip for a Month!
If you've ever taken a road trip, it can often be difficult to find healthy options when you are traveling and truck stops are your only option. Finding some low carb options can sometimes be a challenge, but can be done. I did it with my family for our 1 month USA Cross Country Road Trip and survived!
This post today is everywhere we visited so fair warning, it's a long post with lots of pictures of our destinations and snacks thrown in between!
We bought this cute little USA sticker map for keeping track of our locations, the kids loved it!
We started out trip in Rhode Island and you can check out this post for what I did to prepare and make ahead some snacks and food we could keep in our freezer and fridge in our camper we were pulling. Our first stop was to Lancaster, PA overnight to visit friends of ours then we headed to Knoxville, TN the next day.
Brought my Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Muffins and froze them! Easy to defrost and enjoy with some butter!
We stayed overnight right in a Walmart parking lot after a long day of driving. But having that option was perfect because it was free and we could stock up on supplies we needed!
Like these for a quick snack in the car!
We then headed for Nashville and stayed at Two Rivers Campground about 20 minutes to downtown Nashville, TN.
We ate at Demo's Steak & Spaghetti House! Everyone's food was fabulous and I forgot to take a pic of my Grilled Salmon!
We loved Nashville!
My daughter and I bought our first ever cowgirl boots!
Our next day destination was Memphis!
We enjoyed dinner on Beale Street at a BBQ place called Pork with an Attitude!
We drove through Arkansas on our way through to Waco, Texas.
When you've got a cooler these yogurts are helpful to have on hand in case you really can't find anything for breakfast or a snack.
I had so much fun browsing at the Silos from my favorite show, Fixer Upper!
Our next drive was to San Antonio, Texas. The heat was torture just walking around at the River Walk, but we still enjoyed ourselves.
I didn't eat the taco shell but I was tempted!
We also made a visit to the Alamo and Buc-ee's!
You've not been to Texas if you haven't made a visit there!
AMAZING store with lots of great low carb food options! I stocked up on snacks for the road!
The Alamo!
Quotes from the Kids after 1 Week on the road:
14 yr old daughter: "It's been good other than Texarkana!"
11 yr old son: "It's Really, Really Warm"!
17 yr old son: "I'm dying from the riding!"
Husband: "On the road again!"
Me: "Thank God for Frizzease and AC!"
My hair stayed curly without Frizz!
Our next stop was Fort Stockton, Texas at a cute little desert campground and dinner at the Road Runner Cafe.
On some mornings when we were at a campground and cooking breakfast was an option, we almost always chose eggs and sausage.
For other breakfasts, I had frozen my Coconut Flour Pancakes from my cookbook and that worked well!
Carlsbad Caverns, Mew Mexico was a short trip away, about 3 hours but driving up a cliff with a 30 ft camper was not my idea of fun! Well worth the trip though, the caverns were amazing!
I had a fantastic salad at their cafe!
Tent Rocks in New Mexico was also pretty amazing, but again getting there wasn't easy, all these destinations were cliffs! It was a beautiful hiking trail though and I loved it!
Of course one of the most important places the kids requested was the Four Corners!
Standing on 4 states, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico!
Then we headed to see the Petrified Forest in Arizona and the Meteor Crater.
I'm really trying to smile, but the heights got me!
Brought these for a snack!
Next Stop the Grand Canyon!
We hiked and hiked and it was exhausting but exhilarating and breathtaking!
Pictures don't do it justice!
Having a fear of heights wasn't easy for me and made my skin crawl to see my kids close to the edges, but I survived!
We enjoyed a yummy Mexican Dinner in the Grand Canyon Village called Plaza Bonita!
I did not eat that taco shell but I sure wanted to!
Lake Mead, Nevada was our next stop. It was over 105 degrees! Felt like a hot air dryer on your face with the windows open!
Hoover Dam was incredible to tour!
Las Vegas was a bit sketchy at first because we didn't find the south end right away. The north end was a bit scary with many things I wish my kids didn't see!
We made it to Planet Hollywood for a buffer dinner with many options for veggies, seafood and other metas. We took in a Variety Show which was fun.
The next day was Utah to see Bryce Canyon and Arches National Park.
Bryce Canyon was on our requested list by our daughter and the hike was awesome up to see Thor's Hammer. Very Steep and tiring but well worth the trip!
Not easy for someone afraid of heights!
The kids seemed fine!
We ended up just driving through Salt Lake City because although I had hoped we could stop there and let the kids actually go in the lake, the time of year (early June) meant it was too cold really so we drove onward towards Idaho Falls. We ended up in a scary situation with a blown tire but thankfully a Good Samaritan called the police to stop us before our camper went up in flames or we flipped over. We felt nothing at all and drove on this tire for over 10 miles we were told!
I can only Thank God for His protection on this trip!
Our next stop was Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. We drove in through the East Entrance which also brought us through Montana. I was ready for the bears with Bear Spray! Thankfully we only saw a few at a very far distance!
We saw Old Faithful which was very cool but we were really chilly as it was about 50 degrees and we weren't prepared for it considering we had just left about 85 degrees!
We saw a few cool places in Yellowstone like Midway Prism Basin and Painting Pots which looked like boiling mud!
So much wildlife in Yellowstone!
Next stop was Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and Crazy Horse!
After this we visited a friend for a quick visit in Iowa, warning us to leave soon as a tornado was headed their way. We continued on through Missouri and saw the Gateway Arch from the car.
We never stayed more than one night anywhere except Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. Too many places to see and only 1 month to see as much as we could!
When all else failed as far as any good choices for pit stops and food, I had my fridge stocked with avocados, salami and cheese!
Continuing on the road through Illinois, Indiana and finally our stop in Kentucky to see the Arc Encounter! It was amazing and a must see in Kentucky!
We stopped at my brother's home in PA one night then drove to one last campground called, Tri-State, which was 3 states, New York, New Jersey and on the Delaware river.
I can't say it was easy to stay low carb, in fact it was quite difficult when in the car a long time to not munch on snacks, low carb or not, too much munching and not enough exercise makes for gaining weight. The last week was the hardest because of being on the road 8-10 hours to get home.
And Finally the The BEST item that saved me car sickness was this SeaBand I wore EVERY DAY!
I did find these in almost every gas station pit stop we made!
If you ever have a chance to set off across our great country I would highly recommend it! I wish we could have been gone longer than a month, but we did as much as we could in 28 days seeing 23 new states we'd never been to before! It was a once in a lifetime trip of memories our family will never forget!
Stay Tuned this Week and I will be sharing my Country Fried Steak inspired by this month long road trip!
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.
Susan
I recently made a VERY long road trip to attend my youngest son's military graduation. I drove from Michigan to Ft. Benning in Georgia, then drove my son to Virginia where he lives with his father so I could attend his graduation party there, and then drove back home to Michigan. 2, 225 miles in 5 days with 1 day between each leg of the trip.
I packed a cooler with deviled eggs, meat sticks (like summer sausage or hunters sausage), cheese chunks, cottage cheese, celery sticks, s/f jello and lots of water. It made the trip a lot easier!
Pam
Hi, your trip sounds awesome!! I live in Las Vegas, Nv (have for years). I would like to apologize for our downtown (north end). I hate it! It's not what most of the residents want! But the city officials say freedom of speech! Yuk!
There is so much more to see and do in the Las Vegas valley, just not casinos!
Hope you can return someday and see the beauty of the desert!!
Thanks for sharing!
Pam?
Steph
Ouch! We are a group of 3 low-carb mamas, who follow you, who happen to live near North Las Vegas. We know our city has a high homeless population near D street or possibly you were at Fremont street which the character actors on the street are sexualized; however, we try to minister to those in need of a reset on life. We model reaching out to those people with kindness and compassion. We teach our older kids that leading those types of lifestyles are often a product of hurt, abuse, abandonment, and addiction and not necessarily a choice. Not one of us have ever had a "scary" experience in those areas. It could've been an amazing learning/teaching experience on the human condition instead of sweeping it under the rug as "sketchy". We couldn't imagine your time on the strip, further south, was exactly child-friendly with all the escort cards strewn about and the drunken tourists...
Brenda
We were walking after parking the car and there was a homeless man, possibly on drugs following us and then passed us and continued to turn around, stare and make comments to my husband, quite confrontational. My kids were quite scared. Once we got to the sign which must have been Fremont street, not sure, it seemed somewhat better but there were lots of half dressed men and woman, drunk and taking pics. We quickly left to find our car as soon as we could. Not trying to put any area down at all, I know it happens everywhere, but we were definitely not in the right area with kids that's for sure. I admire you ministering to those in need in your area.
Amy
You hit a lot of great national parks, but you missed my all time favorite. Personally, I would have skipped the Four Corners monument and headed for Mesa Verde National Park. There's so much so much more to do there (exploring various ancient cliff dwellings) and an excellent historical museum with many artifacts of the people who once lived there.
Brenda
So much to see, wish we could have gone there!
Gale Schmidt
Wow!!! Thanks so much for sharing these great pictures of your trip. I really enjoyed this.
Brenda
Thank you!
Kelly
Thanks for sharing this! It's very inspiring. That is a once in a lifetime opportunity that your kids will never forget! Did you end up gaining much weight at all?
Brenda
The last week was difficult with being in the car so much to get home. I gained about 4 pounds.
Lin
We live in Virginia and took a similar trip about 4 years ago. We made it out to the west coast and drove up the Pacific coast from L.A. to Seattle. We intended to go on up to Vancouver but I had a touch of the flu so we stayed an extra day in Bremerton, Washington. We came back through the northern tier and crossed Lake Michigan on a ferry and on home to Virginia. It took us 32 days and 9000 miles and I'm ready to do it again! I'm glad you had a wonderful trip, even with the blown tire, and are safely home.
Brenda
Wow that was an awesome trip! We drove over 8000 miles! Wasn't easy but we have memories!
Vonny
Hi Brenda, Wow so glad to see you and your family have these great memories that you will treasure for a lifetime. The pics you posted reminded us of our 3 american road trips with #4 coming up April 2018. (This time from L.A. across to Miami then up the east coast to Maine). We're both Aussies that love travelling your great country, thanks to "Cruise America" doing over 20,000 miles on our trips so far, loving and laughing over every mile as we have so much fun. I agree Buc-ee's is fantastic for low carb snacks, we also loved "Dollar Tree" As were huge Harley Davidson fans i think we have seen inside almost every dealership we passed, visited the Harley Museum in Milwaukee and the Harley Cafe in Vegas. Your pic of the caravan tyre reminded me of our first trip in Australia with our 5th wheeler, at the top of Queensland state cruising along on the coastal road late arvo and wondered why a car passed us pointing to the back of our 5th wheeler, on inspection yep you guessed it our wheel was driving on the rim! Why does this seem to happen miles from the closest tyre shop? Sorry for the ramble, but had to share as we know where your'e coming from.
Cheers, Von.
Brenda
WOW! You are a traveler! I'm happy we did it with the family but not sure I'd want to do it again as it was quite stressful, especially with the blown tire. Good for you on so many fun adventures!
Jeri Mayes
Thank you for sharing your family, your beautiful pictures and yourself with a wonderful documentary of your road trip. I have been to several of your places (SD on a motorcycle for one) and it brought back great memories Thanks so much.
Brenda
Thank you!
Jeff Reid
Oh, I was going to tell you too that I spent 12 amazing years living in Anchorage, Alaska. I hiked often in the Alaskan wilderness and had several too close encounters with bears. You do have to be careful! 🙂
Brenda
I was crying watching the video in Yellowstone to learn about bears and how/when to use the spray.
Jeff Reid
What an awesome trip!
My grandparents lived in Ft. Stockton many years ago, back in the 1970's. They had a snack bar across the street from one of the schools, and it was a popular hangout for the kids. We inherited their jukebox when they retired in 1977 and moved to tiny Blum, TX. My sister has it now. 🙂 Anyway, I have wonderful childhood memories of Ft. Stockton. 🙂
We visited Vegas way back in 1980, and I still remember flying over the Grand Canyon in a helicopter. I was 14 at the time, and it was great fun! 🙂
Thanks for posting about your amazing trip. Yes, memories for a lifetime!
Ruth Mowry
Wonderful trip , great photos and memories and I'm jealous !!! I take it you're from RI??? We are too. !!! We're from Cumberland and Burrilleville and now live in Fl. for retirement 🙂 We do go back every fall for a month. Your trip is on our list of to-do's. We haven't been able to plan it as too many other things keep cropping up !! Like hubby's back surgery,,But we're ready to take off again !
Thanks again for sharing.. BTW Very handsome family 🙂
Brenda
Thank you!! Yes born and raised in RI!
Christine Castaneda
What a wonderful trip! Thank you for sharing your adventure with us. You just needed one more stop in Cali which is where I live, :-D.
Oh and I would have eaten those tacos shells, no doubt, but that's me. LoL
Brenda
Yes we thought about going to Cali it was about 2 hrs one way but we'd only be in desert and have to turn around so we decided we'll need to fly for a vaca to Cali.
Ellen
What an amazing trip. A lifetime of memories for your kids. My niece's family did the same thing in Europe recently (husband stationed there). Thanks for sharing your adventure so we can travel vicariously with you!
Renee
I can sympathize with the fear of heights. I don't even want to get close to the edge! Lol.
I made a similar trip when I graduated from high school, but starting in Calfornia, going south, then up the east coast, through the Midwest and then home.