My wife and 3 kids did a 6 week 11,000 mile cross country trip 3 years ago. We made a lot of stops along the way. You could do the trip in the time you have, if you want to. You'll have to do long days of diving to save time to see the sites. Can you both drive your rig? It looks like you'll have to drive about 1450 miles to get to the Badlands. Your going to need 2 to 2 1/2 days of driving to get to the Badlands. We pulled into Wall SD at about 4:00 p.m. for the night. We walked around Wall and had dinner. We hooked up the 5th wheel the next day and went to the Badlands. We spent all day at the Badlands hiking and taking in the sites. We drove a back road out of the Badlands to our campground near MT.Rushmore. We did MT. Rushmore and Crazy Horse in one day. I'd skip Crazy Horse if you don't have the time. We did the next day at Custer State Park. That place is beautiful and I wish I had more time to spend there.
We drove from Rapid City to Cody WY. and checked out the Buffalo Bill Museum. We spent about 2 to 2 1/2 hours at the Museum. We left there and made it to the East entrance of Yellowstone NP just before 7 p.m. when they were closing the gate for night construction work. We spent 3 full days in Yellowstone. I would have liked to spend a couple more days, but we had a great time.
You could stop at Rocky Mountain National Park on the way down to the Grand Canyon. We spent 3 full days in the Rockies. We went to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We spent 3 days there. Its was beautiful and we had a great time. We did this trip the last 2 weeks of June and the month of July. It was hot that time of year.
2 days drive to Wall SD
1 day Badlands
3 days MT. Rushmore, Custer State park and Deadwood
1 day drive to Cody WY. and into Yellowstone NP
3 days in Yellowstone NP
2 days to get to the south rim of the Grand Canyon
3 days at the Grand Canyon
2 days ride home
17 Days, no guarantee it will be stress free! I'll guarantee you'll never forget the trip.
Have a great trip!
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Enjoying the Lagniappe wrote: We spent a month and a half at Yellowstone - didn't see nearly enough of it. Yellowstone is Huge.
We spent two weeks at the Grand Canyon and saw a lot.
We spent a week at Badlands - it was enough time.
The Mount Rushmore area has a lot to do - Crazy Horse, Deadwood, Sturgis, Custer State Park, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, etc.
I would say go to Yellowstone and take your time and enjoy it.
Agreed! When I retire I plan to return again to Yellowstone and spend the entire summer. There is that much to see. Most people don't venture far from the road. The Tetons are a must see nearby.
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