1st time road tripper !!!!

Hello all.. I am going to be adventuring the open road at the end of July with my 3 children, 12, 9 & 6 (when we go). I have never traveled w/ them on an adventure like this one but am very excited to do so, but want to make it a great experience that we will all remember. I am traveling from DesMoines IA to Spokane WA. So far the trip will take me about 22 hrs and take me through SD, MT a little of WY then ID on into Spokane. I have never traveled by car this far but want to make it fun with stops along the way. If anyone has any suggestions for some really great stops w/ kids I am willing to listen and take some advice.

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

First of all, its only in a computer world fantasy land where you could even think about this as a 22 hour trip (in fact, google's extremely over-optimistic estimate puts the trip at 24). In the real world where you've got to stop for gas, food, bathrooms, and just to let the kids run around - you're going to be on the road for a minimum of 26 hours, and more importantly, this isn't a trip you should be worried about hours - its days that are important.

In this case, you're looking at a 3 day trip, being on the road for 8-10 hours a day. That will having you covering a good amount of ground every day, but still leaves time for you and your kids to make frequent stops, and enjoy the journey. There are a ton of things along the way, obviously you've got Mount Rushmore and the Badlands and Black Hills right along the route. Yellowstone is also a short detour, although you'd really want to add at least another day to work that into your trip.