Shoutout to the paper maps that got me from Denver to Moab in 2009
Back in 2009 I drove from Denver to Moab with a folded road atlas from a gas station and a printed list of cheap motels. I had no phone plan that worked out there, so every wrong turn cost me real time and gas money. Now I pull up free offline maps on my phone and the trip planning takes maybe 20 minutes. The part that changed for me was paying for gas in cash and tracking every dollar in a notebook, mostly because card swipes felt risky back then. These days I still keep $40 in small bills for tolls and diners that want a minimum, since that habit never stopped saving me hassle. What did you use before smartphones on long drives, and do you still keep a paper backup in the glove box?