Spokane, WA to Southeast TX and back

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.

Welcome!

My software shows the most direct route from Spokane to Houston as I-90/I-25/US-64/US-87/US-287/I-45.

If you stay on I-90 to get to Rushmore, you can take US-18 back out to I-25.

From COS to 4 Corners, I would take US-24 to US-285 to US-50 to US-550 (The Million Dollar Highway) to US-160.

If you are going to 4 Corners, you might as well go through Monument Valley. Take US-160 to US-191 north to US-163 and come in through Mexican Hat and out to Kayenta.

From there, take 160 east to 191 south, take that to AZ/NM-264 to US-491 to Gallup. From there, you can take I-40 to Amarillo to pick up US-287.

If you want to go to Big Bend, take I-25 out of Albuquerque to I-10. Take US-90 out of Van Horn to US-385. Take 385 back out to Fort Stockton to pick up I-10.

glc--

Can I ask what software you're using? I've relied on googlemaps, mapquest, and AAA paper maps, and I can see from your suggestions that I'm missing out on something. (Both google and mapquest would send me I-90/I-25/I-70/I-35. (Then there's some variation--either I-45 or farther east through the tiny towns of east TX.)

The route your software suggested is very close to what my parents used going the other direction. (I knew that when we hit Dalhart coming home that we were back in TX.)

thanks again.

I'm using Microsoft Streets & Trips, 2007 edition. Our Map Center does the same thing as Google, it sends you out I-70 to I-35.

My route saves you 100 miles and S&T says (take with a grain of salt) it saves you 40 minutes. I've never driven it (but I have been through Dalhart on US-54) but I understand 287 is near-Interstate quality all the way from Amarillo to DFW.