u/Gaiiden

This system to create spawn-free corridors has served me well as a solo player and lets me travel around a lot easier even if I don't have to run back for equipment after dying

I place 2m wood posts to mark the edge of the workbench area in the direction I wanna go next (after clearing it of course) then place a workbench where I can see its area overlap the wood posts slightly. Then I put the grausten hut overtop with the wisp light for guidance in the haze. This not only keeps it safe from fire (unless it's built on grass with a gap in the bottom - make sure it is flush to the ground) but enemies will not attack it if they wander into the area from spawning slightly outside. To expand the width of the corridor I use a stonecutter to see the extent of where to place a raised grausten column upon which I build a campfire. measuring things out like this ensures I have overlap

Not only dying and having to run back, but if a portal gets destroyed while out from my main base I can return easily since I don't waste inventory on food supplies. I wasn't ready to attack fortresses as I worked my way past them, but when I was ready I could easily go back to them for the assault without having to fight my way there again

But yea it's still extra work and with such dense enemy coverage I can only build two at most per day depending on how much and how tough the enemies are I need to clear first. I feel tho ultimately I make more progress since I can always have a portal nearby 2-3 benches back and I can go the entire day and break off right at nightfall to run back to the portal and fully disengage from combat to resume work the start of the next day

Mining flametal is nice too when I only have to worry about sinking into lava and not also avoiding enemies or taking damage as I hack away before time runs out

When I bought the car new in 2009 I was only driving to game conferences and expos in Montreal, Boston and Raleigh each year but I was interested in finding cool roads on my way there and back over the course of a day or two. This eventually evolved into a dedicated road trip in 2017 to see how I would fare with a week over the road. That went well enough to inspire my first cross country attempt in 2018, which succeeded after 28 days

Over the following years I started planning more hiking and figuring out how to pack enough equipment to camp comfortably on a regular basis to remove the expense of hotels. I found a kayak that could fit in my trunk and that added additional activities out on the road. A cooler could fit behind my seat and let me cook breakfast in the mornings and make snacks for hiking

Earlier this month I was 10 days into my biggest trip yet - 15,000+ miles over 45 days to Alaska and back with 75+ miles of hiking and 100+ miles of kayaking - when I suffered an engine failure because I made the wrongful assumption that my car could warn me against something like low oil levels without having to check the dipstick. The full story is in my GoFundMe where I'm trying to raise some money to help offset the engine replacement

With the rest of the vehicle still in very good shape, I have many more trips planned with the new engine

Since I'm now stuck with copious amounts of free time as I'm supposed to be still on the road, I figured I might as well compile a bunch of initial tips and advice to share via the image gallery and make myself available to anyone with questions about trip planning in general or looking to do something similar with their sports cars

I'm traveling solo, which makes it relatively easy to plan things compared to if I had a pet, a significant other, kids, or all of the above. But the basic idea remains the same: start small and track what your capabilities are. How fast can you hike, how long until you feel fatigue behind the wheel, how fast can you paddle, what food sustains you for how long, etc etc. The more you know the better you can make dense plans to do as much as possible out on the road

Some more general advice:

• Travel times given by Google when plotting driving directions in custom maps are conservative. So on the highway you can do the speed limit or just 5mph over and still arrive at the right time if not before. On backroads, since I can maintain the speed limit through corners, depending on the length and how tight the corners are I can earn back as much as 10-20 minutes
• Traveling through or around major metropolitan areas, you can use the actual Google Maps directions (not a route plotted in custom maps) to see how long it will take you with traffic by modifying the departure time in the trip options
• If you have a navigator, they can keep tabs on the 511 service for the state (they all have apps and websites you can find easily with a search of just the state code and 511) to be on alert for any accidents. The only downside is there's no easy way I've found to import your planned route into any of them to give you custom alerts or just visually make it easier to see any map markers along your planned route
• In addition to national scenic byways, most states have their own designated byways that can be found via their DOT site or just by searching for the state ID and byways
• Was recently pulled over and given a warning for going 83-85mph in an 80mph zone. I had both my dash camera and Gaia GPS speed showing 80/81mph locked in cruise control and my speedometer needle closer to 80 than 85 when I passed the trooper. So faulty radar equipment can get you and best to just do 76/77 to avoid this
• If you want to keep your car looking nice (the second image is after 17 days on the road), be prepared to shell out for detail towels and bug removal spray as well as Swiffer dust mops if you have a black car like mine. Some days are better than others but I'm generally spending 30-45mins on avg at the end of each day doing a detail. Be mindful of spraying around chemicals in park campgrounds and look for signage against general washing of vehicles
• You can try using Google Maps/Earth and other satellite photos to determine if a road is paved or not, but it's not always accurate due to outdated imagery or just not good enough resolution to tell and not all paved roads have a centerline to use as an indicator. My Z has handled all sorts of dirt roads just fine (no suspension mods) - if you have doubts find a dirt road near you and try it out
• I prefer wearing motorcycle gloves while driving. Resting your hands on the wheel for long periods of time can irritate and feel like you are bruising - the material helps reduce/remove this entirely. You don't have to worry about the sun shining on your hands so much. Hot or cold steering wheel? Doesn't matter. Wet or sweaty hands? No problem.
• Take the time to properly adjust your seat. It needs to hold you in your preferred driving position as much as possible to reduce fatigue
• My preferred method for dealing with highway hypnosis (onset of drowsiness) is one of those large gourmet lollipops you can find in gas stations, which can last 45-60mins. You can also just get off the highway for a short stretch and then get back on, or simply use a rest stop like they are intended. Just a 10-15min nap can really recharge more than I would ever have suspected