Hold the Roadtrips please...

My family has started to have a tradition of getting together (as many of us as possible) on Thanksgiving and leaving Christmas for other gatherings. Last year many of my family members made a huge effort to drive all of the way down here to Sierra Vista to spend Thanksgiving with us. This year my mom is hosting thanksgiving. I had been thinking for a very long time that that was where we would be spending thanksgiving this year. However, I am not so sure now. We took Jake to the airport this morning and after spending some time with him and saying our good-byes we stopped at a drive through right outside the airport for some munchies. Just 10 minutes after getting onto the highway Kailey is screaming because she is hungry too. So I pull off onto the access road for some privacy while feeding her. During which time Lyla decides she needs to potty. Since we are near the outskirts of Tucson there is only a ghetto Circle K. I needed gas and air, but after getting all of the kids out of the car and taking them inside we discover they don't have any public bathrooms and there are no gas stations nearby. I didn't want to drive back into Tucson, but Lyla decided she didn't really have to go potty and she was just kidding. Then 30 minutes later she can't wait and we are in the middle of nowhere. I pull off onto a Ranch Road exit and she has to pee in the dirt. By the time we get to Benson (the exit on the interstate that is about 30 miles from Sierra Vista and the half-way point to Tucson) it had been over an hour since leaving the airport. I took the van out of cruise control to stop at the exit and it started making scary noises and refused to accelerate. I was able to pull over and had to get out and check it out (not that I could have done anything). When I started it up again whatever happened stopped and we went on our way. By the time we got home we had taken over 2 hours on a drive that is usually just over an hour! I am not feeling confident about going on a mong car ride anywhere right now. Especially in our van that would probably not make it. Suggestions anyone?