Hi Dan,
I recently laid out a route from Asbury Park, NJ, to Oceanside, CA. and this how I did it. First I e-mailed all of the states that I was to pass through and requested their road map or vacation package. States such as MD and TX have really nice maps while CA and MS did not send one. I then penciled in a route through each state staying off the major highways. I then went to my Streets and Trips CD and zoomed in to get a more detailed look. At the 18mi. scale various motels, B&B's and eating establishments are shown. After printing and trimming, I ended up with a stack of maps about an inch and a half thick that fit perfectly in a ziplock bag. I could have stopped there but I wanted to know some of the elevation changes that I will encounter, so when I saw a good deal on Topo USA I purchased it and followed my route and noted on my printed maps the areas of major elevation changes.
I also found web sites that list by state, then city about every hotel, motel in the country. I then noted these on my printed maps, as I may decide to stay inside on occasion. Believe me, its not that hard.
I chose this method because after reading about 50 cross country journals it felt like I have already ridden the route.
Rick(PA)