Boston - Portland, OR: 7 days enough time?

[TheMoosiah]

Hey all! I'm new to this site & I was hoping that someone might be able to give me some advice. My wife & I would like to take I-90 west from Boston & eventually end up in Portland. The deal is that friends of ours are moving out to Portland and are paying for our gas to take their car out there for them (they can't drive, as they have 2 young kids). We've wanted to drive cross-country for a while anyway so it worked out perfect. There are really only a few things that are must-sees for us, as we travel across the US via this route. They are - Niagara Falls, my brother's family in Minneapolis, Mt Rushmore & Yellowstone Park. I figure that we will br driving 8 hours or so a day & my question is this - what is a reasonable length of time for this trip? Is 7 days enough? Should I try to hit up the boss for a couple more days? I'm sure that some of you have experience on I-90 & would have a better idea than I would. I'd like to tell you I know exactly how long we'd like to stop at each landmark but we honestly don't. We've never been to any of these places & really don't know what to expect. I also realize that a lot of this depends on the individual but still, any information would be REALLY appreciated! Thanks!!!

Moose

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

You're looking at about 3,300 miles just for the point to point driving. Toss in the fact that you don't want to drive more than 8 hours a day and you've used up your entire seven days just making the drive. Even then you'll have to realize that 8 hours of driving means 10 hours 'on the road' when you factor in a meal and fuel and bathroom breaks. That's fine, but now you have to add in however much time you want to spend at Niagara, visiting your family in Minneapolis, and making the (very slow!) tour of Yellowstone. I think I'd try to find another couple of days, minimum.

AZBuck

[TheMoosiah]

That's exactly the kind of info I was hoping these forums would provide. I'll talk to my boss & try to get another 3 days out of him!