I think you missed something. I changed my plans and was able to do what I wanted in a reasonable amount of time. I took others advice on not going to the southern rim of the canyon, which was my initial plan, but went to Bryce instead and spent 3 full days there. It was perfect. My mother always wanted to travel out west and I finally was able to do it for her and she enjoyed the entire trip, filled her phone with pictures of the mountains and canyons. For her the drive was a big part of the trip. The kids enjoyed it was well, especially the drive across I70 in Utah, and the mountains in CO.
Next year though, going to take 2 full weeks and go to Texas, or through Wyoming. We will probably take some short 4 days and hit Nebraska again, they liked the camp grounds we overnighted in. The campground in Chatfield Co was perfect too, they have an RC flying field, so I know what I may do next year too. :) My wife has family up there, so may spend a few days there, let her and the kids visit, while I fly.