Asheville NC to Santa Cruz CA family of 5 and a pig :)

Don't miss Santa Fe, NM (not far off I-40 and worth it.)

There is a lot to see along I-40, more than you will have time for. In Amarillo, there is Palo Duro Canyon State Park and the Big Texan on Old Route 66. In New Mexico, Tucumcari still has dinners along Historic Route 66 and numerous murals painted on buildings plus other attractions. Santa Rosa is another Route 66 town and has the The Blue Hole and Santa Rosa Lake State Park which has a nice campground. In Albuquerque, the Pueblo Cultural Center and Petroglyph National Monument are worth visiting in my opinion. In Grants, there is the Mining Museum. Just South of I-40 going West from Grants are El Malpais National Monument, El Moro National Monument and the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano. Acoma Sky City is said to be the longest occuppied location in the U.S. They give tours of the pueblo and there is an RV park next to the casino.

Homolovi Ruins State Park is near Winslow where you can stand on the corner. Meteor Crater and Petrified Forest National Park are not far from the Arizona/New Mexico border.

In the Flagstaff area are Sunset Crater National Monument, Wupatki National Monument, and Walnut Canyon National Monument. Sedona/Camp Verde/Cottonwood are about an hour South of Flagstaff with Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well National Monuments, Tuzigoot National Monument, Palatki and Honaki Ruins, V-Bar-V Heritage Site, Verde Canyon Railroad, Fort Verde State Park, Cathedral Rock, Gold King Mine, Jerome State Historic Park in the area.

All this before you even get to the Grand Canyon.

Consider stopping at the GC, Bryce and Zion NPs. All are spectacular and close to I40. The distance back to them from Santa Cruz might put them lower on the priority especially since there is much to see in CA.

And you'll encounter some real mountains in the West up to 8,000'. But I40 grades aren't to bad.

2566 miles I40 7 days

Not much 'time' for any 'sight seeing'

Towing trailer...8 hours (2 rest stops/1 lunch break) 330 miles/each day eats up those 7 days (couple of 400 mile days required)

I40 Attractions
Meteor Crater. Winslow AZ
Petrified Forest National Park. (AZ)
Blue Hole of Santa Rosa. (NM)
Tee Pee Curios in Tucumcari NM
Cadillac Ranch. Armarillo TX (bring spray paint to leave YOUR mark)
Fort Smith National Historic Site (AR)
Cummins Falls State Park. Cookeville, TN

It sounds like a fun plan, but it would be more fun if you could take more than 7 days to do the trip. Make a real vacation out of it! You need to identify something that interests each member of your family, then plan a stay over where that person's interest is fulfilled. For example, if your son is into trains, plan on stopping at a Rail Road museum that also has a real train you can ride. Or if your daughter is into doll houses, maybe a museum of miniatures. If another child is really wanting to go to a Theme Park with rides and water slides, plan a day at one. You get the idea. Make the trip meaningful for everyone. 50 years from now, they will be telling their grandkids about the time they traveled across the Unites States in a covered wagon! (well, 50 years from now, who knows what kind of transportation we'll be using?)

Then draw a straight line from point A to Point B on a map, and see where you have to deviate to reach all of these destination points. That's probably the best trip planning you can do. Everything else will fall in line... campgrounds and such.

But I do certainly hope you can put more time in the schedule to make it really a powerful trip for everyone!

FYI, we traveled with a pet chicken, a rabbit, cat, dog, fish, an iguana, turtle, mice, hamster, guinea pigs, and 3 birds for years! Never had the experience of traveling with a pig though.

Very carefully check the payload on the SUV. You have to subtract the weight of everything carried in the vehicle: passengers, pigs, luggage, ice chests and so on plus the weight of a weight distributing hitch (maybe 50-75 pounds). And whatever is left will be the payload left for the trailer tongue weight. I'm guessing it won't be much. The payload is shown on the driver side door post.