Hi Road Trippers--
My husband, two kids (7 and 5), and I are going to drive from Spokane to Southeast Texas (as far east and south as you can go without hitting Louisiana or the Gulf), beginning June 29. We need to be back in Spokane July 15. I grew up making the trip from Texas to Idaho Falls, but I was a kid in the back seat (or back window), so I've not planned a trip of this magnitude. I am more than happy to take one route down and another back.
I'm interested in your opinions about the must-see places and things between here and there. (We go to Yellowstone yearly, so we don't need to go through eastern WY for that reason. We'll save the Grand Canyon until the kids are old enough to hike it safely.)
A directish route would be I90 to Billings, US87 to I25 in Denver, then going east on I70 through Kansas, I35 south through Kansas and OK, I45 South through TX to I10.
Right now, the following things have made the list:
Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monument
Friends in Colorado Springs
Four Corners (my husband's idea--I've been there and experienced the anticlimax in person).
Would staying on 25 south through CO and NM and picking up I10 in West TX be worth the extra driving? I'd love to do some stargazing in west TX, perhaps going as far south as Big Bend National Park, and it wouldn't make a lick of sense to turn east in CO if that was my destination.
I appreciate any input.