When I was 12, my family piled into a Honda Odyssey and headed west for a summer exploring the national parks. That trip changed my life. I tasted the freedom of the open road and experienced the wonders of America’s wild places. I was hooked.

Last August, I set out on an expanded version of that adventure, seeking to spend 10 months visiting all the national parks in the contiguous United States (I made it to 45 of the 47). I hoped the trip, which I chronicled on a blog, chasingcairns.com, would teach me more about wilderness, America … and myself.

I knew I would learn from every moment and every mile, but only if I paid attention to what was happening around me. So I adopted a series of daily practices — I called them my “roadtripology rules” — to force myself to be as deliberate as possible about the trip.

This might seem paradoxical. Aren’t road trips supposed to be as spontaneous as possible? Of course. My rules sought to enhance spontaneity by making sure I noticed it when it happened. They made a big difference for my trip, and they should work for other travelers as well.