Family of 5 "Cross Country" (July 2 - August 9, 2013) - Expertise appreciated!

[A.O.Reed]

Hi there, RTA...

Our family (ages 34, 34, 12, 10, 8) is forgoing our town-home lease, has just paid off a car, cutting the fat from our lives, storing some of it away, and using our summer savings on a six-week U.S. road-trip. We just got back from a 13-day to Vancouver, BC; prior to, a 7-day to Seattle, WA, and a weekend jaunt to Tucson, AZ. The following itinerary is in no way 'fixed', as we do not know the realities of such an adventure, nor do we anticipate it going "as planned." Hence, we are here fishing for your sage advice. We'd like to camp 2-3 times, will be staying with friends & family, and in no more than 6-7 hotels (using our Choice Privileges card). So far we've booked a rental through Thrifty at just under $1,000, from San Diego International. We'll be driving any economy to full-size sedan; to be determined by what we're packing. We're packing 1 duffel bag & a backpack for clothes (yes, that's all we'll need), 1 cooler, 1 hex-dome 6 person tent, 4-5 sleeping bags, 4 pads, lantern, camping grill or stove, coins for toll-roads & laundromats. The following is what we're entertaining.

1. In parenthesis (after each destination) I've left "(_days)", awaiting your suggestions.
2. We're open to any stops you might feel are more worthy of a visit than others.
3. Please critique away; add & subtract as you feel is necessary. Be brutally honest.

HOME, San Diego, CA 92123

LEG #1 (two weeks)
Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas, NV (We begin from here on July 2)
Zion National Park, Springdale, UT (2 days) - camping
Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Keystone, SD (_ days)
Amana Colonies, Amana Colonies, 622 46th Ave, Amana, IA 52203 (_ days) - possibly camping
Chicago, IL (_ days)
Family - Lafayette, IN (_ days)
Friend - Cleveland, OH (_ days)
Family - Buffalo, NY (Niagara Falls) (_ days)

LEG #2 (two weeks)
Family - Holyoke, MA (_ days)
Boston, MA (_ days)
Statue of Liberty National Monument, New York, NY (_ days)
Family - Newark, DE (_ days)
Washington, DC (_ days)
Family - Greenville, NC (5 days)

LEG #3 (two weeks)
Family - Roanoke, VA (2 days)
Family - Norman, OK (2 days)
Carlsbad Caverns, NM (_ days)
Sedona, AZ (_ days)
Grand Canyon National Park, AZ (_ days)
Joshua Tree National Park (drive through?) (_ days)

HOME, San Diego, CA 92123

Possible Stops:
Graceland, Memphis, TN
Family - Fort Worth, TX
Lake Havasu City
Family - Tucson, AZ

Thank you very much, ahead of time, for taking the time to read this post and if you've decided to contribute to it in any way. We really appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Albert O. Reed