michigansandzilla wrote:
Thanks for all of the advice.
I guess I should have specified that I don't intend to spend all of those days in Yellowstone. We'll have 10 days for vacation in total. Hopefully 2 in Tetons, 3 in the Black Hills, and 5 in Yellowstone.
It doesn't really shorten the drive though. We'll have a "stop" in the Black Hills that's one day closer to home, but we'll still have to drive one day to the Black Hills from Yellowstone and then two days home.
We've had a few trips where we drive 650 miles in one day and we can do it without issue. It's the 3 consecutive days to get there that have me questioning the drive. 3 big kids can't sleep in the back of the truck. The seats don't recline, where does the middle person sleep, etc.
This last week we did:
Day 1: 470 miles in 8 hours, expressway driving
Day 2: Explore the area
Day 3: 270 miles on county roads in 6 hours, we were tired of driving by this point
Day 4-7: Camped
Day 5: 470 miles in 11 hours on county roads. UGH!!! Too much driving
Day 6-7: Camped
Day 8: 2.5 hours on the expressway home, fast without stops and it felt like a super quick easy drive.
My oldest son will be 14 next summer. How much time do I have until he has college summer classes, a job, etc. We can't wait for longer vacation time to become available because we aren't changing careers.
Is it worth it to go to these places with this pace? I guess that's what I'm really asking.
Will I regret not taking my family to Yellowstone/Tetons/Black Hills because I didn't want to drive for 3 days to get there?
When dealing with multiple driving days you need to understand that typically the first day will be the most miles driven. Each day after that your tolerance for driving declines. Especially if you don't do multiple long driving days as a normal thing. Truck drivers and iron butt motorcycle riders do multiple long days as a routine. They are used to it. There are some tips for this type of driving/riding available on the iron butt website. They include laying off caffeine and how to make gas stops shorter. In fact my son is out today on his motorcycle doing a lap around Lake Michigan. He left at 6 am and plans to be home around 2AM Friday. I've done several long drive days but try to limit it to one long day out and one back. I can make about 800-1000 miles before I have to stop. so from the Chicago area I can be as far as the east coast or Colorado in a day. It also helps if you have multiple drivers. I'm not saying these long days of driving are for everyone I'm saying they can be done and done safely. You need to recognize when you are tired and get some rest. I can start a drive at 3:30 in the morning and drive 15-20 hours but if I start that same drive at 4:30 in the afternoon I'm lucky to be awake two hours after sunset.
