Some questions about a trip out West

cruising spud wrote:
my husband, who has already retired, and I are thinking about taking a trip out West.

Now, my questions:

#1-I am a planner and have always planned trips in meticulous detail. Before a trip like this, I would always have our major campgrounds booked (example-the national parks). This time though, we would like to take our time and travel without time constraints. Doing some research, it appears that the national parks have quite a few "first come, first serve" campgrounds, so I am thinking we would be good. BUT, am I right?

It depends on the time of the year and which National Park. Summer months are high season for all National parks. The more favorite/popular parks require greater reservation times. ie. months in advance. I would suggest you have an alternative private RV park back up reservation near the National Park in the event you can't get into the NP. I make reservations for my whole trip route. Reservations can always be changed or cancelled.

#2-I was thinking that about two months would be a good time frame for a trip like this. Yes? No?

First figure out approximately how many days you ideally would like to stay at each area/park, then figure out what is a comfortable number of miles you want to drive each day. Now crunch all the times and miles and you will get an approximate number of days your trip will take you to complete.

Thoughts? Thank you.