28 Day summer road trip

[NZer]

Hi, My Wife & 3 kids are planning a 28 day July road trip, We were thinking starting off from LA heading to San Francisco then up to twin falls ID across Wyoming to Mt Rushmore SD, on up friends in fergus falls MN, Down Through Iowa to St Louis MS, West to Oklahoma City, Continue on across New Mexico & Arizona, Then to Las Vegas before returning to LA.
We were hoping to have 2 nights San Francisco, 5 nights Fergus falls MN, & 2 nights Las Vegas, The remaining nights don't matter where.
I Know this is a huge mileage to be doing but is it realistic in that amount of time.
Also we are Flexible as to which way around to do the trip, Which would be best that time of year?
There are so many things to see & do on a trip like that, But are there any idea's that really stand out from the rest on that Route?

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America forum.

Wow, that's quite the little excursion you've got planned. It's a shade over 5100 miles in total, so that driving alone will fill a minimum of 10 to 11 days. Then you've got 9 days of layovers. Add a day or two in Los Angeles to get over jet lag and to make your overseas connections and you're down to maybe a week's worth of time to actually see and enjoy all the great places you'll be driving by. I'm not arguing against your plan, mind you, I just want to make sure that you understand what you're all in for. Have you done such marathons before? How do your wife and children feel about it? How have they reacted to long hours in the car on past trips? Those are some of the realities associated with a trip like this. Whether it's realistic is up to you and your family. Personally, I'd love it as a solo jaunt, but with 5 people in a car....I don't know.

Just some of the highlights would be: the California coastline, Yellowstone National Park, Badlands National Park, St. Louis, and the Grand Canyon. There are, in fact, many more places worth stopping at than you'll have time for. I don't think the direction you make the circuit in will matter much, except that you should plan on the crew being pretty tired by the tail end of it. It might make more sense to go counter-clockwise so that you're doing most of your driving at first and then making your long stop after you've been on the road a while.

Good luck planning, and don't hesitate to raise further questions

AZBuck