I'm in the same boat. I was married for 35 years and then divorced three years ago. I've only made one long trip since the divorce, but plan on driving to Alaska when I retire in 2018.
Our last trip to Yellowstone was great. The ex took a lot of photos from the passenger seat that I couldn't have taken when driving. She was also an extra set of eyes and a navigator and kept me from taking some wrong turns. Several times she had me turn around and go back because she had seen something that I missed. Once it was a herd of Elk a half mile off the road. We hiked in and took some great photos.
She was also the inspiration to take a lot of our side trips. Some of our better adventures were her idea.