Motels

The best

JR Inn, Soda Springs, ID - no a/c ("never had it"), but everything else made up for it, from the wonky-angled walls and perfectly preserved details, to the postcard of the place. Proud, charming, honest, hearty and welcoming. Like the town itself, a tiny slice of how America would love to see herself.

The worst

Compare/contrast with Motel 7 in Rawlins, WY - a shithole in a shithole, and the priciest place we stayed, somehow. Oil route, see...

More from our roadtrip