Have you never been to a service station, bookstore, tourist information centre, or sporting goods store? Here's an idea ... before you go ... visit those places. They've got lots of interesting stuff in them.

I don't like nailing down route before I go. I prefer to have an approximate destination and an approximate timeline and take each day as it comes. But if you've already go specific places you need to be, that makes it more challenging, and you probably will need to make more detailed plans. Just be sure to plan days off so you can get some rest or catch up.