OP here. The trip is going great!
We beat streets across the plains to avoid all the tornadoes. I-40 was so rough it about beat us to death, but we made it from S. FL to Santa Fe NM in 5 days. So we got to spend 4 nights in Durango and took the train to Silverton .... and drove to Mesa Verde the day before the snow shut the roads down. Fantastic train trip.... but temps did dip in Durango to 20s at night with light snow. Brrrrrr.
We are in Moab now (much warmer) but headed towards Jackson WY tomorrow. Weather calls for rain and colder, but not freezing. Memorial weekend reservations at Jackson with town activities should be fun, then on to Yellowstone.
Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions. We will play post-Yellowstone (early June) by ear as we monitor the weather. So much to see......so little time.
