cross country trip with no obligations and plenty of questions

[james]

We are in SE WA & are about to embark on a trip home to TN. We are planning on leaving on 5-21. There are a number of places that we would like to see.This is a hard trip to plan. It is my wife and I and our 9yr. old girl and her pup. I have a rough idea of our route, and a list of places we would like to see in mind. But I would like any help I could get on filling in the spaces in between. Any little "must see" places or little gems along the way. Short hikes are okay. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Here is my proposed route:
I-5 S and off to crater lake, then on to crescent city CA for some redwood viewing.
Then S to leggett and over to hwy 1 S to SF to see the golden gate.
From there to lake tahoe, then on to yosemite, sequioa np, and death valley.
From death valley on to vegas and hoover dam, and then on to the grand canyon.
From the grand canyon to glen canyon and canyonlands np and then over to arches np.
Then it will on over to CO where my wife really wants to spend some time, but i'm not sure where to go( maybe colorado springs).
After a few days in CO, will probably be time for home VIA 70 into St.Louis to go up in the arch.

As you can tell, there are an infinite amount of things to figure out but with your help, it could be a little less stressful and easier to plan. If there is somewhere along the way that you think that I should really spend a little time then please feel free to tell me. Like I said we have no time frame. Thanks in advance. Sincerely, James, Lucy, and Madison

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

How much time do you have for this trip? You've got a great route lined up already, but I could see you needing almost a month just to get through everything you've already listed.

One other thing I will note is that National Parks are not all that dog friendly. They generally are not allowed on trails, so you pretty much have to stick to the main roads. National Forest lands are better suited for travels with pets, so for example with Sequoia, instead of visiting the National Park, you might instead head for one of the Sequoia Groves inside the Sequoia National Monument. The monument isn't as spectacular as the National Park, but you'd still get to see giant trees, and it would set you up nicely for a very scenic trip through the southern sierras and across to death valley.

Colorado will have plenty of choices with lots of National Parks and National Forest lands to pick from and tons of scenic mountain roads.

[james]

Thanks for the reply. We are looking at probably 3 weeks. Do you think that is enough time? If not, any suggestions on where I could shave off a little time?