Recommendations for a new road tripper

[chris.williams]

Hi all - when I was little, my family traveled back and forth all over the US and Central America by car, but it was always to get to the destination.

Now with my own family, I find myself with seven weeks in June & July and a new Class-C (for us anyway) and a general direction:

We are looking to stay east of the Pacific ;-), north of I-80, west of the Dakotas and south of Calgary. The ideal trip would be a mix of 2-3 night stays and 4-5 short days on the road per week. If we could keep it to between 150 & 200 miles on a travel day, that would be best, but if we have a long haul (<400 miles) every 2-3 weeks, that's OK too. We want to get out, look at the scenery, take short hikes and see natural wonders and man-made curiosities.

As for staying the night, since we are self-contained, I'd prefer to stay away from RV campgrounds, and find places not too far off the beaten path to stay - every once in a while, find larger campgrounds with a dumping station. We like to enjoy nature (from primitive campgrounds to National Parks) and stay away from the yahoos who shoot guns and ride their OHVs in the middle of the night through the campgrounds - everything in its place right?

Stopping for a day or two every now and then in a city like Portland or Vancouver would be nice so the kids can see a movie and have a change in scenery.

Now the big question: recommendations? places to see, stay, avoid?