30 Day Western Trip From Chicago

[RT2015]

Hello,

I'm in the process of planning a 30 day western road trip from myself, wife, and 7 and 9 year old daughters. We will be staying in hotels with reservations already made (all of which can be modified and cancelled as needed). We're planning on spending most of our time in the National Parks with a couple extend city stays (Las Vegas and San Francisco) to recuperate. We have done several lengthy trips in recent years so I'm not too concerned about the drive. I would however, appreciate any feedback on the specific route we have in mind and/or suggestions of what to do and see on the way. Thanks in advance!

Departing Early June from Chicago, IL
Day 1 Leaving in the early afternoon, drive overnight. (We have done this several times taking turns sleeping and driving)
Day 2 Arrive in Estes Park, CO / RMNP
Day 3 RMNP
Day 4 Estes Park / Drive to Montrose, CO (Visiting friends in the area, any suggestions of what to see/do?)
Day 5 Montrose, CO
Day 6 Drive to and explore Canyonlands NP
Day 7 Arches NP / Drive to Bryce NP
Day 8 Bryce NP
Day 9 Drive to Zion NP / Zion NP
Day 10 Drive to Grand Canyon North Rim / explore / Drive to Las Vegas (yes, this day is long. we don't really want to spend more than a day at the GC though)
Day 11 Las Vegas (for the kids of course, they love the MGM pools)
Day 12 Las Vegas
Day 13 Las Vegas / Drive to Palm Springs, CA
Day 14 Palm Springs (again visiting friends)
Day 15 Drive to Vasilia, CA (We'd love to find a cute town around here with boutique shopping and restaurants)
Day 16 Sequoia NP
Day 17 Drive to San Francisco / Pinnacles NP (Is pinnacles worth the stop?)
Day 18 San Francisco
Day 19 San Francisco
Day 20 San Francisco / Drive to Oakdale, CA (again we're looking for a cute town in this area to stop in)
Day 21 Yosemite / Drive to Mono Lake
Day 22 Drive to Grand Teton NP
Day 23 Grand Teton NP
Day 24 Yellowstone NP / Staying in West Yellowstone
Day 25 Yellowstone NP
Day 26 Yellowstone NP / Drive to Glendive, MT
Day 27 T Roosevelt NP / Drive to Fargo, ND
Day 28 Drive to Eau Claire, WI (visiting friends)
Day 29 Eau Claire, WI
Day 30 Drive Home

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

To try and drive over 1000 miles through the night with kids while taking turns sleeping is a recipe for disaster and is going to be no fun and more importantly UNSAFE ! Please think again, you have time to break this journey up and stop over on the way.

Day 10 Drive to Grand Canyon North Rim / explore / Drive to Las Vegas (yes, this day is long. we don't really want to spend more than a day at the GC though)

A day ? You won't have much more than an hour here. I think you would be better off going from Bryce to the North rim and then stop over in Kanab and then into Zion and on to Vegas.

You have the makings of a good family road trip but don't start out on the wrong foot and be exhausted [or worse] right at the beginning of the trip. Another long drive which is beyond what we would recommend and is way beyond what a pro driver is legally allowed to do in a day, is from Mono Lake to the Tetons. Your trip looks rushed in parts and I would consider trimming places or at least a couple of days from places, Vegas and SF perhaps

[Lifemagician]

Day 1 Leaving in the early afternoon, drive overnight. (We have done this several times taking turns sleeping and driving)

Even though you have done this several times successfully, does not mean it is safe. Not everytime a drunk driver drives does he end up killing someone, but sooner or later he will.

As Dave points out, this needs to be adujusted for safety's sake. Don't keep playing Russian Roulette. Sooner or later the full chamber will come around.

Lifey