N. Tier budget

[chipg]

My son and I are planning to do the Northern Tier next summer (2008) and I am trying to get an idea of a ball park budget.  I know so much depends upon where we camp, the food we eat etc.  I am only thinking about what we will spend after we leave.  We are planning on taking about 10 weeks, camping most of the time but staying in a motel occationally (every 10-14 days?) doing most of our own cooking. I haven't done an extended tour for over 25 year so am really out of touch with what it will cost.  Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Chip  

[Peaks]

For what it's worth, I biked the Northern Tier in 2004 with our daughter.  Our average expenses were about $47.00 per day (2 people).  This includes hotels 20% of the time.  We did most of our own cooking.  But we also stopped at various places for second breakfasts, second lunches, dinners, etc.  

[MaryK]

Hi Chip,

My husband and I are into our third week of a Northern Tier tour.  We're doing mostly motels and B&B's right now, because it's comfortable.  The motels can run anywhere from $65 - $90 per night.  The nights we've camped have been state parks, which are about $20 a night.  I don't know the pricing for private camp grounds.

As much as possible, we're stopping at grocery and convenience stores for food.  For breakfast, we often get an egg sandwich type thing and maybe some juice or coffee.  That can be under $10.  If you can find a grocery store to make sandwiches for you for lunch, that'll be another $5 - 10.  We'll often get one large sandwich and split it between the two of us.  Or, you can buy bulky rolls and a 1/3 pound of sandwich meat and make something yourself for a little less.  We carry little packages of mustard that we pick up along the way to make sandwiches more interesting.  We usually add fruit and some gatorade, another few dollars.

When we camp, dinner is usually mac & cheese with a can of peas or green beans.  Going out for dinner has been as inexpensive as $4 for a big bowl of pasta to $50 in a more expensive place, including a few cold beers.

You'll also need to budget for incidentals like replenishing your supply of suntan lotion, toothpaste, etc., replacing equipment and admission fees if you want to stop along the way.

I hope this helps.  I've got intermittent e-mail access so drop me a note at mary_kernan@yahoo.com if you have specific questions.

As I said, we're just starting our third week and it has been awesome.  By all means, you should do this with your son.

Mary