Great western scenery in 7 days?

[rhill65mstg]

My grandfather, who is in his 70's and in relatively good health, has mentioned his desire to see beautiful western scenery. So, I would like to take him, along with my wife and grandmother (also in good health) on about a 7 day roadtrip in the summer leaving from South Carolina. I'm also a history buff so I would like to see a few historical sights along the way. I've never been on a roadtrip before so I would appreciate any advice. reservations? sites? routes? etc.

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America forum.

First of all, you'll have to realize that 7 days is not enough to do this as a pure RoadTrip from South Carolina. You would literally have to spend all your time (3.5 days out and 3.5 days back) just getting to the Rockies. So, you're going to have to fly into somewhere, spend your time seeing what you'd like, and then fly home. It's the only way to do this. I'd suggest 3 possibilities. One starts in Las Vegas and would include the Grand Canyon, some of the National Parks of southern Utah, Death Valley, and perhaps Yosemite. The other two begin in Denver with a possible southern loop hitting Mesa Verde, the southern Utah parks, Grand Canyon and Santa Fe, while the northern loop would go to Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, Devil's Tower, Mt. Rushmore and Badlands National Park. If one of those appeals, then we can start to work out the details, but again, a 7 day trip driving from South Carolina will simply not let you see the west.

AZBuck