Just for comparison: We are traveling from near Indianapolis, IN to Keystone, SD (Mount Rushmore) in July. Our entire trip is 1130 miles one way (less than 300 miles a day). We have 16 days total. We are taking 4 days to get there, and 4 days to get back home. That leaves 8 days in that part of the county. The camper will be parked the 8 days in one spot and we are planning day trips and really want to explore all we can in those 8 days. But, knowing our limitations also, I know we will spend about 1/2 that time at the campsite, or near the campsite.
Why 4 days there and 4 days back? Because we don't want to drive so hard and fast just to get there. We are building in secondary destination points and attractions along the route, so we can stop for a couple hours here and there, or once we get to the campsite for that night, we can explore that area a bit too.
We don't have kids traveling with us on this trip, but we also want to have a relaxing time also. We are pushed and shoved for deadlines at work so much, we really want an experience that's not time sensitive and pushing us to the limits of our endurance. For us, we need the down time, the relaxing experience, and the time together. The other thing, we want to experience and take in what we are seeing, drink it in, and make it part of our memories. So for us, shorter hops, longer stays, and deeper memories. We have only 2 weeks, so we reached for only 1 main destination.
