My wife and I travel quite a bit for work and pleasure so I have been fortunate to see quite a bit of the country over the years. One of the best times we ever had was on a trip to Alaska. I had work up there for a week and then my wife flew up and we spend another week or so just traveling around. We rented an SUV and brought a tent and sleeping bags and just went wherever we felt like. No reservations, no plans. We basically just would look at the sky and see which direction looked clear and head that way. The moral is just go where your heart takes you and you will learn the most interesting things and have the most fun. My tips if you are an outdoors sort of person:
1) Camping - Bring a tent and sleeping bag and just camp most of the time. You can save a lot of $. If the weather is bad or you crave a real bed and shower every few days splurge on a hotel room.
2) Hotels - Most reputable places have those "frequent stay" type cards where you accumulate points for free nights. The Choice Hotels chain (Quality Inn, Comfort Inn, etc.) has the "Choice Privileges" program which is usually running a stay 2 separate says and get a night free. When I travel for work and just need a clean hotel on the road for one night I usually stop at one of the Choice Hotels. They are usually decent for a night and every 3rd night is free. You would be surprised how quickly the free nights add up. Pick a few hotel chains that you are happy with and get the free "frequent stay" card for them and get your points. I have found that the less expensive name brand hotels usually have FREE high speed Internet where the higher end places charge you for it. Take a laptop on the road with you and use the free high speed Internet to keep us updated with your travels here on CD! If you let everyone know where you are and where you are heading I bet you will find some folks here on CD that say "Hey that's where I live! You want to meet up and let me show you my hometown! I'll even buy you lunch!".
3) If you camp, don't forget about the State camp grounds and Corps of Engineers camp grounds. The COE camp grounds are usually less crowded, well maintained, and near some sort of water recreation like lakes. The COE campgrounds aren't allowed to advertise so you have to seek them out but there are books and websites to help you find them. Try:
www.recreation.gov and
www.corpslakes.com
4) If you want to see a lot of National Parks get an annual National Park Pass. It will save you a lot in the long run. IIRC they are about $50 per year and if you go to 2 or 3 parks it is worth it. Also, it may sound cheesy but get a National Park Passport and get it stamped at each NP you visit. I never did this but wish I had. The NP Passport is sort of like a real passport but you get it stamped usually at the visitor center of each park. When you get older you will like to pull out your NP passport and look at all the stamps for all the NP you have been to and remember each visit.