1st Cross Country Trip..thoughts?

[mcguirehg]

I'm still working on our agenda for our 1st cross country trip. I really narrowed down the trip a bit so we aren't rushing around too much. We are driving from NY with the hope to get out west in a few days and enjoy the west as much as possible. Any thoughts or needed adjustments at each park, shorter longer stays? From Tenton to Moab we filled in the Salt Lake area.....any thoughts if this is a worthwhile stop with kids? Dan





1. Travel to about Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, IN ,14 hours, 756 miles
2. Blackhills & Bandlands, South Dakota, 14 hours, 895 miles, electric hookups (5 nights-reservation required) – Custer State Park
http://gfp.sd.gov/state-

3. Yellowstone National Park, 10.5 hours, 620 miles (9 nights, reservation required)


4. Grand Teton National Park (3 nights)


5. Park City/Salt Lake area

6. Moab Utah (dead horse requires reservations,5 nights)
http://www.utah.com/stateparks/dead_horse.htm

7. Pikes Peak
http://www.pikes-peak.com/
Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods, Olympic Training Center, Cheyenne Canyon, Manitou Springs, Pikes Peak, Cog Railway, Cave of the Winds, Broadmoor, Seven Falls, Old Colorado City, Santa's Workshop, Historic Cripple Creek


8. Rocky Mountain National Park (6 nights)
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[loggenrock]

Custer is great for several days. We tend to only stay maybe 3 nights in any given park, then move on to see more. As another "eastern" traveler, our rule of thumb for trips out west (been cross country 9 times now...) is we scurry (read: long days) until we cross the Mighty Mississippi, then back it down to see things that are not easily reached on shorter trips. You'll discover your own beat that you will travel to! Yellowstone is good for 4 or 5 nights. It's a BIG park - can take 1/2 a day to travel across it. Around Salt Lake City - you can visit the Olympic village near Park City. We just had a really nice visit to Promontory Point where the "Last Spike" of the Transcontinental Railroad was driven - about an hour or 2 north of Salt Lake. We tend NOT to create a firm itinerary when travelling (except for a park like Yellowstone where reservations are pretty mandatory), prefering to mosey along, stopping where we want to. Take the kids whitewater rafting down the Snake River in Jackson Hole. Wander south to Zion NP. LOTS to see and do "out west"! Have fun! ST

[mcguirehg]

I built several travel days in so we can be sure to take our time. Our trip has us on the Road on June29 and checking out of RMNP on August 5th.

Leave Sunday, June 29th at night
Drive: 6/30, 7/1, 7/2
7/3 Custer Park

Dive: 7/8, 7/9

Yellowstone National Park: Check in: July 10th

[Dadio24]

We plan according to this: 8x4x2 : 8 hours of driving, 4 stops (every two hours) and always stop for the night 2 hours before bedtime (or dark)...

[linnemj]

My wife and I have found our travel sweet spot is about 400 miles a day. That equates to 50 miles per hour for 8 hours. We only do that much if we are in transit from one part of the country to another.

[Matt_Colie]

McGuire,

Read what is written here and take it to heart. Unless you have three solid drivers and a very comfortable coach, your driving schedule could get you all killed. Driving while tired is a KNOWN KILLER. And it happens all the time.....

Yes, we have done long days, but we never do it on purpose.

Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.
Charles Kuralt <= My favorite quote these days

Matt

[dahkota]

Speaking only from experience, the leg from Indiana to Custer is closer to 20 hours rather than 14. Why? You are already exhausted from the previous day's drive. Your stops along the way get longer and more frequent. You get so tired of sitting in the car you just want to scream (okay, the passengers do - the driver at least has something to do).

Another thing you might consider is that, if you leave at 6AM and you drive 700 miles and you manage to make it in 14 hours, you are still arriving at the campground at 8PM. Or later. From experience, arriving at an unfamiliar campground at night doesn't make for a pleasant experience. On the road from Indiana to Custer, we stayed overnight at a rest area so we could arrive at Custer in the morning. We stayed in Wapiti Campground outside Yellowstone so we could get into our Yellowstone campground in the morning. Had we not stopped the night before, we would have arrived at both campground around 10PM. We never would have gotten into our Custer site in the dark.

Your trip sounds wonderful. I would just caution you about real world drive times vs. Google Maps.

[jefe_4x4]

Sooner or later you will find out where the sweet spot is in terms of how much ground you cover and how you mix that with layovers or short days of travel. We originally traveled too short a distance at a time! We tried the 300 mile rule for keeping peace in the family and it worked when we had a family. Now retired, Jeanie and I can and do do 600 miles a day, but not day after day. Maybe one day on and one or two shorts. It all depends on what we are trying to get to and spend some time at, and what we want to scoot on by. This is flexible, and case by case. It takes time to develop this pattern, a pattern that you will soon own.
Happy Trails to you.
regards, as always, jefe

[TyroneandGladys]

While in Custer State Park check out the mammoth site in Hot Springs.
I would suggest taking at least 2 days between South Dakota and Yellowstone National Park and stop at Devils Tower and The Little Big Horn National Monument.

[2gypsies1]

Although we love Yellowstone and have been there often, for your first trip you could cut down your time from 9 days to 5 days to give you some extra time for a cushion.

With two children your driving days are extremely long. Your whole family would appreciate a stop around 3pm to unwind, take a walk, use the pool, have a leisurely dinner and relax for the next days' push.

[BB_TX]

That is a great trip for you and the kids.
BUT.
If you mean those miles in one travel day I seriously doubt you will make those miles in the times you noted. In some cases your numbers come out to averaging 60 mph or more.
Unless you have no plans to stop for fuel, food, or rest stops you are not going to do that. Especially since Custer State Park is well off the interstate and from there to Yellowstone since you will not have interstate all the way.
Getting thru Chicago will likely kill your mph average also.
Hope you have some cushion built in. Especially since you are talking about having reservations to arrive on a certain date.

OOPs! You added some travel information while was typing.

[mcguirehg]

We were planning to build in an extra day on the long travels and stop, if needed for a break and sleep. Any thoughts on our stays at the park...too long or short?

[I_am_still_wayn]

In your first two days you will average 59 MPH if you never stop! That is not doable in a fast car let alone a RV! The third leg of your trip, to Yellowstone, you will have to average 61 MPH without any stops! Again not doable. You should plan on no more than 400 miles in a day, maybe 500 if you get a really early start and enjoy driving 12 to 14 hours daily.

On your posted agenda, you will be so tired and nerves so frayed you will not enjoy the trip. And you will be driving 18 to 20 hours daily!

YOU SHOULD PLAN ON 4 DAYS TRAVEL TIME TO REACH CUSTER PARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[twins89]

You have a beautiful itinerary planned but I hope you arent' planning on driving 14 hours in one day. The most you should plan to do is about 500 miles at most. There are many county parks and easy places to get off the road each night and finish the next day to the next destination. You want to enjoy the ride and drive. Walmarts and Lowes (we like Lowes - wifi) are an option for overnight too, if you are self-contained.