Seattle to the mid-west and back

[oldmanlott]

Hello,
I've got two weeks in August for a road trip. Decided on this instead of going back to Hawaii again. For once I'm actually looking forward to a vacation. Got 2 sons(7&10) a dog and a wife who's up for "roughing it" in the pop-up camper we'll be towing. I'd like to start from Seattle and head out to see the big three: Grand Canyon, Mt Rushmore and Yellowstone - sleeping in the pop up along the way in campgrounds and hopefully grabbing a shower there too. I want to take it as it comes and stop at what we think are interesting spots enroute to and from the Big 3. But I have no idea of neat things/places to swing by as we go and stop over for a night or two - and for that matter the order to hit them up in, and the roads to travel.

Any advice for this 40 something Dad yearning to get on the road with the family and try and make a great memory for us all will go miles with us - pun intended : )

[Mass Tim]

Welcome to the RoadTrip America Forum!

Since the sights you listed are the three must-sees, I would suggest doing to clockwise route and heading to Yellowstone. To take it in can take a few days, and it will take a couple of six hour driving days to get there.



From there, it is about 9-9.5 hours drive to Mt. Rushmore. Doable in a day, of course, but probably you'll want to take a bit more time. To Grand Canyon is about 1000 miles, again two 9 hour days, but there is a lot to see within the distance between the two.

For interesting places along the way, Utah has five national parks, each very beautiful places to stop. Back to Seattle from there is roughly 1300 miles.

The Interstates in that part of the country offer some breathtaking scenery. I have to defer recommendations on other roads to those more experienced with the area.