Advice on upcoming road trip

Here is one practical possibility for your trip:

Des Moines to Grand Teton 3 days on the road
2 days in Grand Teton
2 days in Yellowstone.
Yellowstone to Flaming Gorge, Utah 2 day

Flaming Gorge to Buena Vista, Colorado 1 day
2 days in the Arkansas Valley

Back to Des Moines from Buena Vista
2 days

I'll add details on a following post. Not telling you what to do, but dealing with some practical limits.

As DrewE mentioned many forget what it is like to have limitd time. While I would agree that the itinerary is too much, you could easily do the northern portion and enjoy it I think.
1 Drive to Mitchell SD or beyond the first day (bad lands are about 550 miles from DesMoines)
2 hit the Badlands on day two and travel farther west to somewhere in eastern Wyoming like Gillette (only 200 miles) just a drive through of the badlands a short hike or two
3 get to YNP get setup etc lay of the land so to speak
4 YNP
5 YNP
6 YNP
7 Teton
8 Teton
9 head east to eastern wyoming/ western SD 450ish miles to rapid city
10 hit devils tower and perhaps something else in the area
11 crazy horse, rushmore, cave park (cant remember the name)
12 travel east stop at minuteman missile monument for an hour or so
13 travel east
the above is just a ball park idea that way you break up the travel days going to and fro if you are ok with driving 600 miles in a day you could easily add a day vacation activities however in an RV that is really pushing it but split the driving it is doable

"There are a few people here who apparently don't know or recall what it was like to have limited vacation time available, and wouldn't dream of spending less than an entire summer to see the parks you list. That's frankly absurd for most families or full-time employees; and while having a lot of time is undoubtedly grand, it doesn't hold that those with less time should never go anywhere because it's too rushed. Still, there does come a point where it's hardly worth the effort to travel a very long distance to see a destination for only a couple hours.”

I appreciate you saying this because I honestly was beginning to feel that other people don’t think you should travel unless you have all the time in the world (most especially those TripAdvisor people). When I only had two weeks of vacation, I would cram every possible minute full of things to do since that was all the time I had. Unfortunately, we aren’t retired or independently wealthy and have unfortunate time constraints. I do want it to be worth the effort we are making to get across the country to show our kids at least some -- and as many as possible! -- of those wonderful national parks in the West.

We will have to make the best of driving around YNP in the RV. I don’t suppose it would be wise to tow a Suburban?? ;-)

RVs are a great way to travel. The TripAdvisor people are dead wrong there, in my opinion. Particularly with a large group, I would much, much rather be in a motorhome than in a minivan when going down the road. (I will admit that, in the event of a serious crash, I would much prefer to be in the minivan than in a motorhome...but naturally my goal is to avoid being in a serious crash in any case!)

As others have said, this is an extremely aggressive itinerary, maybe even an impossibly aggressive one. The west is big and spread out. You'd almost certainly be spending more time seeing the inside of your RV than the parks you're intending to visit. I think the idea of only doing the southern parks (or perhaps only the northern ones) is excellent.

There are a few people here who apparently don't know or recall what it was like to have limited vacation time available, and wouldn't dream of spending less than an entire summer to see the parks you list. That's frankly absurd for most families or full-time employees; and while having a lot of time is undoubtedly grand, it doesn't hold that those with less time should never go anywhere because it's too rushed. Still, there does come a point where it's hardly worth the effort to travel a very long distance to see a destination for only a couple hours.

I appreciate all this kind and firm advice :-) I think I will suggest to my hubby that we just do the north part of this trip this time. (YNP has posted the road openings schedule and they’re set to all be open by May 26.) My hubby and I have been to Zion/Bryce/GC and hiked/tented in them all. So, while I would love to go back, they will have to wait. Now, to convince him that he can’t “do it all”!

Annam,

You are planning a disaster.

First, the road trip from Pitts to Des Moine is 13 (at least) road hours. Unless you have multiple drivers and a very comfortable vehicle, that is two days by itself. If you are including that in the two weeks, then you have about 10 days to cover approximately 3500 miles.

This will be a time you remember as frustrating and a a waste.

Now, Try this...
First stop - look up Ashfall state park in Nebraska. It is about a day out of Des Moine.
The Wall SD - Watch the signs for Wall Drug. It is a tourist trap with free water and cheap coffee, but you can't go by it.
Then on to Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse.
Devil's Tower would be next.
From here, you will have to cross the Bighorn to get to either Teton or Yellowstone.
Going to Yellowstone, you have to go through Cody, stop at the Buffalo Bill Museum.
Now you go into Yellowstone. If you don't spend three days there, it will be a complete waste. Remember that YMP is larger than several eastern states. For your family, you will need a Full Hook Up (FHU) campsite. The only in the park is Fishing Bridge. This would be a bad idea for you unless you plan to book all the tours with the buses that run in the park. You need to study up on YNP. Take walking shoes, back packs and water bottles.

You might also be able to find an bivouac in West Yellowstone and rent a car to tour the park. It is not a place for a normal motorhome to tour.

Do you realize that I just burned off your first week and haven't even thought about getting you home??

Matt

Your plans along with being too aggressive may not work at all. Snow in the west has been generally heavier than normal this year. You might want to check on opening dates for Yellowstone. It could stile have lots of snow well into late June.
In fact, cut the plan in half and make it the southern half of the trip this year.

What he said. Do be aware that you cannot expect to drive as far each day as you can in a car. For starters an RV does not handle like a car, and for safety's sake you will want to go slower. You will also want to stop for the night well before dark, so your driving day will be shorter. Backing into a campsite in the dark in a place you've never been before isn't especially desirable. Plus, campground offices usually close by dark, if not by 5:30 or 6:00 pm. When we travel by RV, we plan on 300-350 miles a day max. And there are many who say 200-250 miles a day is even better.

Since this is your first RV adventure, don't feel bashful asking for help and advice from neighbors at the campgrounds you visit. We're a friendly bunch, the odd curmudgeon not withstanding

You are way too over committed, two weeks is just not enough time to see all those parks unless you are satisfied with a drive thru on the scenic loops. Cut it in half. Rushmore, Devil's Tower, Yellowstone, and Tetons will easily fill up that time period as would Zion, Bryce and Grand Canyon. You'll have at least 4 days of driving in and out of Kansas. So that only leaves 10 days or so for everything else.

The RV is fine, Travel Advisor is targeted on the hotel staying restaurant visiting population not the camping crowd.

I think that you understand completely. You have a rather aggressive agenda, but you already know that. Go, have fun and let the naysayers sit in their bubbles.