This forum is an amazing resource - thanks so much to all the posters for making this community what it is! As the title suggests, we (my wife, pup and I) will be moving cross country in a few weeks from Washington D.C. to Seattle. Most of our stuff will be shipped - so we will look to be traveling light (without a trailer, etc.)
We have about 12 days to make the drive - so are nt too rushed. We wouldn't mind putting in a couple of long days and then spending a day or two extra at a great place. Here is the proposed itinerary (from to for each day)
- Arlington, VA Columbus, OH: visiting a close friend here
- Columbus, OH Bloomington, IL: drive through - nothing specific; just breaking up the drive
- Bloomington, IL Des Moines, IA: drive through - nothing specific; just breaking up the drive
- Des Moines, IA Sioux Falls, SD: drive through - nothing specific; just breaking up the drive
- Sioux Falls, SD Mt. Rushmore
- Mt. Rushmore Mt. Rushmore
- Mt. Rushmore YellowStone NP
- YellowStone NP YellowStone NP
- YellowStone NP YellowStone NP
- YellowStone NP Coeur d'Alene, ID
- Coeur d'Alene, ID Coeur d'Alene, ID
- Coeur d'Alene, ID Seattle, WA
I didn't think there was much to do / see in the Mid-West and Great Plains area that we haven't already seen (we've spent a lot of time in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cleveland, etc.) - so are hoping to get through it relatively quickly and to the mountain states. We would do it faster and cover more miles per day, but also want to ensure our pup is relatively comfortable. Few questions:
- I have heard a lot about Stanley Idaho and the drive through Sun Valley, but think it would be too much to squeeze into this trip and still have a good time. Thoughts?
- Any location recommendations for the 2 - 3 day stay in YellowStone? Since we have the pup we would prefer to stay in cabin and do some mild hiking. We are open to camping too, but a cabin stay would be our first preference
- Should we spend the extra day at Coeur d'Alene? Or should we just spend one night there and drive on through to WA? It looks beautiful!
- Any other suggestions for getting through the Mid-West / Great plains?
Would love to hear from the group here! Thanks so much.