Alabama to Oregon in 3 weeks

[w4ffl35]

Hello,

My parents are moving from Alabama to Oregon and they need me to drive a car semi-full of stuff. This of course is the perfect opportunity for a road trip! I've invited a female friend to help me with the driving as well. I figure I have enough money for about 3 weeks of driving and I've got the trip planned out a bit.

Leaving on July 2nd we have (http://g.co/maps/5nw4b) :
Day 1: Montgomery, AL -> Memphis, TN
Day 2: Memphis -> Joplin, MI (she's got a friend here)
Day 3: July 4th in Joplin
Day 4: Joplin -> Somewhere in Kansas
Day 5: Kansas -> Somewhere in Nebraska
Day 6: Nebraska -> Denver, CO (Stay with a friend)
Day 7: Day in Denver to celebrate my 21st.
Day 8: Denver -> Yellowstone (probably a late start though)
Day 9: Spent in Yellowstone
Day 10:Yellowstone -> Salt Lake City, UT (stop at Grand Tetons along the way for a few hours)
Day 11: Salt Lake -> Somewhere near Grand Canyon
Day 12: Grand Canyon -> Las Vegas (Hoover Dam stop)
Day 13: Las Vegas -> Death Valley National Park
Day 14: Death Valley -> Yosemite Valley NP
Day 15: Yosemite Valley -> San Francisco, CA
Day 16: Spend a day in SF
Day 17+: Drive up the coast to Portland, OR

Days 4 and 5 are just to pad out the trip a little before Denver, but I'm not sure what's to see or where to stop.

Lodging will mostly be cheap motels and couch surfing so we can splurge for the national parks. Food will be from groceries stores, but I'm a bit of a foodie so we might rack up some expenses having a taste of America.

I'm a little worried I've crammed too much into this trip, so if you have any suggestions or insights please let me know!

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

Your trip is quite nicely balanced and achievable, but I too would worry that you are trying to cram a little too much into your trip. Denver to Yellowstone is a full day on the road so a late start isn't going to help matters, but that could easily be sorted out by just having one overnight stop between Joplin and Denver, unless you really want to celebrate your birthday in Denver, then it would put the timing out.

I fully understand the 'attraction' to Yellowstone, but it adds almost 900 miles to your trip for one day there and you won't really have a few hours in the Tetons if you are to make it to SLC. Your fine up to Denver, but I can see your trip getting a little tiring rushing through all these great places to San Fran. As I mentioned, it's achievable, but I can't help thinking that you would have a more enjoyable trip if you took a more direct path from Denver to the Grand canyon and enjoyed some of the wonderful scenery and National Parks in between. Rocky Mountain NP, Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce canyon and Zion are just some of those you could choose from with Colorado National Monument, Monument Valley and scenic drives like the 'Million Dollar Highway' and Utah scenic 12 to choose from. Getting off Interstate and having a more time to enjoy what's all around you is the way I would go, but ultimately it's trip, your decision.

[w4ffl35]

Dave you've raised a good point, and probably one I'm gonna go with. Saving a couple hundred dollars is a good reason as well. I'm gonna take a look at those alternate sites you suggested and see how they strike my partner's fancy.