Thanks! I kind of assumed the map estimates would be off a bit, so I tried to keep the driving time under 8 hours for most days (other than the first one), but yeah, i may need to look closer on the way back as I have a few 7 hour drives that will most likely be significantly longer.

You were close with the Springfield guess. I'm leaving from Champaign, Il (8 hours, 18 minutes according to google maps), but will probably be around 10/11 hours with stops.

You listed a lot of interesting places that I will definitely be looking into as really the only places I had planned out so far were for Tucson, Amarillo, and Albuquerque. And thanks for the recommendation about the Junior Ranger program. Will look into that as well.