West - I'm looking for feedback on my Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota itinerary

EDIT: See post 15 (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/west/1342633-im-looking-feedback-my-colorado-utah-wyoming-south-dakota-itinerary.html#15) for updated itinerary.

I'm planning a 2+ week road trip for a family of four, with 5 and 10 year old girls this summer and wanted to share my itinerary. Partially because I'm looking for input and partially to share my ideas with anyone else planning a similar trip.

First the map - http://g.co/maps/2vxdf

Tuesday, June 5th
Drive from Broken Arrow, OK to Salina, KS
Wednesday, June 6th
Drive to Colorado Springs, CO
Visit Garden of the Gods
Thursday, June 7th
Visit Pikes Peak - Take the cog railway up it.
Visit Royal Gorge
Drive to Denver
Friday, June 8th
US Mint Tours are full :-(
Visit Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Eat at the Downtown Aquarium
Shop at 16th Street Mall Shopping in the evening
Saturday, June 9th
Elitch Gardens Amusement Park
Maybe stop by Ikea?
Maybe eat at Casa Bonita?
Sunday, June 10th
Go on Georgetown Loop train
Visit Estes Park, CO - What should we do here? Canoe? Rent a boat?
Drive to Cheyenne, WY
Monday, June 11th
Drive to Salt Lake City, UT
Tuesday, June 12th
Visit Temple Square
See the organ recitals at noon
Visit Olympic Park (not Oval) and go on Alpine slide
Shop at the Gateway in the evening including free part of Clark Planetarium
Wednesday, June 13th
Visit the Leonardo
See the lake?
Thursday, June 14th
Drive to Jackson Hole, WY
Swim/soak at Granite Hot Springs on the way
Visit town center in the evening
Friday, June 15th
Visit Grand Teton National Park - What should we do here?
Drive to Yellowstone
See Lake Village Attractions
Stay at Lake Hotel Annex (booked)
Saturday, June 16th
See most of the lower half of the figure 8 (going to skip the top half)
Stay in Grant Village Lodge (booked)
Sunday, June 17th
Finish Yellowstone on the way out of the east exit
Eat lunch at Irma’s in Cody, WY
Drive to Gillette, WY and sightsee along the way
Monday, June 18th
Visit Devils Tower and walk around 1.3 mile paved trail
Visit Deadwood - What is there to see here?
Visit Mount Rushmore in the evening - They light it up around 9pm
Stay in Rapid City, SD
Tuesday, June 19th
Drive to Wall Drug for breakfast and to look around for an hour
Drive to Sioux City, IA
Wednesday, June 20th
Drive to Omaha, NE - What is there to do here?
Drive to Kansas City, MO
Thursday, June 21st
Visit Kansas City Aquarium and/or LegoLand
Drive home

So, what advice do you have? What should we cut? Where else should we visit? Where should we eat? Where should we stay? What discounts are available? What are some backups if there's bad weather?

That is a very ambitious trip but lots of great sights.

A few comments.
-I would skip Elitches in Denver and instead do Water World.
http://www.waterworldcolorado.com/

-The mint is surprising not that good of a tour so don't feel bad about not getting in.

-Since you will be in Georgetown I would continue west on I-70 stopping somewhere in Summit County for the mountain town experience (instead of Estes.) You can then continue to SLC with a MUCH more scenic drive.

-In the Black Hills I would cut out Deadwood and spend time in Custer State Park. The Needles Highway is one of my favorite drive on earth.

-If you are interested in the Cold War the Minuteman Missile National Historical Site is very cool.
http://www.nps.gov/mimi/index.htm

- Just an FYI on the date you have for Omaha. The College World Series will be going on and the swimming Olympic Trials will be just a few days from starting so it will be nuts. I would not plan on spending the night there.

If you are going to Estes Park, you might as well drive a little bit further and see Rocky Mountain National Park.

ETA: It is obviously your trip, but some of your stops seem a little, well, odd. "Stop by Ikea"? I wouldn't drive hundreds of miles with the intent to stop by a particular Ikea (unless I was the CEO of Ikea, perhaps--which I'm not). Also, it looks like you are planning to do a lot of interstate driving. I wouldn't. Take a different route from Estes Park (or, if you must, from Cheyenne) to Salt Lake City (via, essentially, Hwy 40) and stop along the way at the Dinosaur National Monument).

And if you intend to hit up a lot of National Parks/Monuments, get a parks pass. It will likely pay for itself.

Regarding SLC:

Since you mention shopping at the Gateway, you may be interested in the brand new City Creek mall adjacent to Temple Square. It's the only mall opening in 2012 in the US, and is quite a site! Also, near Temple Square is the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art.

I've never been the the Leonardo because I don't know a lot that is going on there. If you do, take a look at the Downtown Library that is next door. Also, perhaps you're interested in the new Museum of Natural History? It's a fun walk through the museum for kids, the architecture is great, and the views of the valley are amazing.

If you're good with directions and want a more scenic drive to Park City, look at going through Emigration Canyon. It's totally safe and absolutely beautiful for those who aren't used to mountains. If you go this way, I would suggest a quick stop by the Gilgal Sculpture Garden before you enter the Canyon. It's a quiet, tiny, not-well-known SLC gem.

Since you're going to Park City to go to the Olympic Park you should at least walk down historic Main Street. That is the home to the Sundance Film Festival and some good shops (ice cream for the kids!) and restaurants. My fav is High West Distillery.

The lake itself will be underwhelming. I would suggest visiting Antelope Island State Park, which is on the lake.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I looked into the national parks pass, but I think the only national parks we're visiting that have fees are Teton/Yellowstone and I can get a one week pass to both for $25 per carload vs $90 for the pass.

Denver
I'm not sure if the girls are old enough to really enjoy Elitches or Water World. Any other suggestions? We're kind of light on ideas for Denver (hence IKEA).
I think we will take the western route through the Summit, CO area to Salt Lake and skip Estes Park.
The Dinosaur National Monument looks neat, but even if we drive through Dinosaur, Co it's an extra hour and 45 minutes to get to the park and another hour 45 to get back. I'm not sure about adding another 3 1/2 hours of driving to that day. Is there anything else to see on the way?

Salt Lake City
I added City Creak mall to the list. Thanks, we needed some non-nature and evening activities.
We'll visit park city and go through Emigration Canyon on the way to the Olympic Park.
I'll keep the museum of art and naturaul history as backups in case of bad weather.
Is it possible to enter Antelope Island from the South instead of the North?

Black Hills
Won't we be visiting passing through part of Custer State Park on the way to Mount Rushmore? Is there something else to do here?

Any suggestions on what to do on the trip back after Mount Rushmore? I'm not set on that route. Are we allowing enough time to see Yellowstone and Tetons?

Is it possible to enter Antelope Island from the South instead of the North?


As far as I know, no. You need to enter through the causeway through Syracuse.

I'd consider skipping Georgetown and go through Estes to Rocky Mountain National Park, and take the drive all the way through to Grand Lake. Since winter was mild, the road should be open by your dates this year. This would provide a very scenic drive with lots of wildlife (mostly elk).

From Grand Lake, you could go past Winter Park resort on the way to the I-70 Corridor, or continue on US-40 towards Steamboat and past Dinosaur towards SLC. I-80 from Cheyenne to the SLC area should be avoided--you'll have plenty of time for flat scenery in Nebraska and South Dakota later!

Salt Lake City
I added City Creak mall to the list. Thanks, we needed some non-nature and evening activities.
We'll visit park city and go through Emigration Canyon on the way to the Olympic Park.
I'll keep the museum of art and naturaul history as backups in case of bad weather.
Is it possible to enter Antelope Island from the South instead of the North?


Hi! I just wanted to put my 2 cents in for the Utah portion of your trip. Every once in a while we like to grab a Salt Lake Connect Pass which allows us to see a lot of the attractions available. It also includes lunch at one of the restaurants by the temple. If you have time to make it to Thanksgiving point, they have some beautiful gardens there. I would second the suggestion to check out City Creek as it is right by the Temple and it would be convenient after your visit to see the organ recital. If you make it to antelope island, I would suggest taking the short hike up Buffalo Point and take in the amazing view of the lake from the top. I hope you enjoy your time here and on your trip as a whole. It sounds like loads of fun. Your daughters will have a blast! :)

Kansas City
either (1) stay at Crown Center (multiple hotel options) and eat dinner at Grunauer's (freight house area) and see the Science Museum at Union Station

or (2) stay at the Plaza (multiple hotel options) and eat dinner at Plaza III or similar and see Loose Park and the Nelson-Atkins and enjoy shopping on the Plaza

Welcome to FlyerTalk jzongker!!

Denver
I'm not sure if the girls are old enough to really enjoy Elitches or Water World. Any other suggestions? We're kind of light on ideas for Denver (hence IKEA).
I think we will take the western route through the Summit, CO area to Salt Lake and skip Estes Park.
The Dinosaur National Monument looks neat, but even if we drive through Dinosaur, Co it's an extra hour and 45 minutes to get to the park and another hour 45 to get back. I'm not sure about adding another 3 1/2 hours of driving to that day. Is there anything else to see on the way?

Denver has great museums! The Children's museum is lovely (although a bit young for your eldest), and the art museum has a lot of hands-on activities for the kids. The Museum of Nature and Science is also good, and is in a park with great views of the skyline. The Molly Brown house is also really interesting, but it depends how patient your 5 year-old is ;-)

Dinosaur National Monument is really interesting, but unless your kids are in to dinosaurs right now you're probably better off skipping the driving this trip and just go to the Natural History museum in Denver or at the University of Utah, or (even better) Thanksgiving Point in Provo.

I agree with zdave about skipping the long drive along I-80. There's nothing to see but snow fences, and maybe some cattle. Taking one of the southern routes (either US-40 or I-70) would be much better! You could add in a visit to Dinosaur or Arches if you wanted, but this route will be much more interesting regardless.

It would also position you at the South end of the valley if you wanted to see the caves at Timpanogas, Thanksgiving Point, or take the Heber Creeper (all really fun kid activities). You could then spend the night in Provo, Salt Lake, or Park City.

Salt Lake City
I added City Creak mall to the list. Thanks, we needed some non-nature and evening activities.
We'll visit park city and go through Emigration Canyon on the way to the Olympic Park.
I'll keep the museum of art and natural history as backups in case of bad weather.
Is it possible to enter Antelope Island from the South instead of the North?


I would suggest moving Park City/Olympic Park to either the beginning or end of your stay in Salt Lake and maybe even spending a night there. The town is fun to explore, there are old mine shacks and things to look at (actually, the mine tour is really fun for kids too), and the temperature and air are more pleasant than in the valley in summertime. Definitely worth more than a 1/3 of a day!

I would skip the lake. It doesn't look like anything special, doesn't always smell nice, and is pretty far out of the way for the itinerary you're planning. Instead, go up to the observation deck on the 26th floor of the LDS Church office building (free) and you'll have a great view of the lake, Antelope Island, and the surrounding mountains.

Wheeler Farm can also be a fun visit (free, but small charges for some of the activities), and the Pioneer Memorial Museum has a lot of really interesting artifacts. They also haven't released the schedule yet, but during the summer they show movies on the lawn of the State Capitol building - could be a nice evening activity.

Sounds like a fun trip!

If you are going to Estes Park, you might as well drive a little bit further and see Rocky Mountain National Park.

ETA: It is obviously your trip, but some of your stops seem a little, well, odd. "Stop by Ikea"? I wouldn't drive hundreds of miles with the intent to stop by a particular Ikea (unless I was the CEO of Ikea, perhaps--which I'm not).

Why not? If there is no Ikea nearby and you drive by one, stop in. Not odd at all.

Wednesday, June 6th
Drive to Colorado Springs, CO
Visit Garden of the Gods
Thursday, June 7th
Visit Pikes Peak - Take the cog railway up it.
Visit Royal Gorge
Drive to Denver
Friday, June 8th
US Mint Tours are full :-(
Visit Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Eat at the Downtown Aquarium
Shop at 16th Street Mall Shopping in the evening
Saturday, June 9th
Elitch Gardens Amusement Park
Maybe stop by Ikea?
Maybe eat at Casa Bonita?


While in COS, I would highly recommend visiting Cheyenne Mountain Zoo--if anything just to feed the giraffes. It has a much cozier feel compared to the Denver Zoo. (Another recommendation: skip the chairlift ride.)

I also think doing Pikes Peak and Royal Gorge on the same day is a bit ambitious.

We are members of DMNS, and my girls (4 and 7) love it. My girls also love the Downtown Aquarium. They also enjoyed Elitch Gardens, but it's nothing special (from an adult-who-loves-amusement-parks perspective).

If you miss IKEA in Denver, there is one in SLC. And do you really want to be schlepping around your purchases for almost two weeks?

I cannot comment about Casa Bonita since I've never been there (nor ever plan on it).

Dinosaur National Monument is really interesting, but unless your kids are in to dinosaurs right now you're probably better off skipping the driving this trip and just go to the Natural History museum in Denver or at the University of Utah, or (even better) Thanksgiving Point in Provo.


The University of Utah museum referred to recently moved to a new and vastly larger and better location. I now think it is one of the country's best natural history museums. I would strongly advise spending half a day there. I went there yesterday with my eight-year old daughter and three hours was NOT enough. It is VERY hands on. New York Times review (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/24/arts/design/the-natural-history-museum-of-utah-in-salt-lake-city.html?pagewanted=all)

Regarding your route map, why do you backtrack from Salt Lake City back to Evanston? You could loop up to Yellowstone through Logan and Bear Lake and stop at Antelope Island on the way. As a minor detail, you would save a little time by taking Highway 287 between Fort Collins and Laramie instead of going through Cheyenne.

My wife hails from Deadwood. The short answer to your question about what can be seen there is, IMHO, not much, if you are trying to get a sense of what Deadwood was like in its earlier days. The town has had too many fires and the recent casino makeover has repurposed many structures from what they were used for when my wife was a girl there. Your best bets would be to take a tour of the historic cemetery there, where Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok are buried. Then tour the Adams House and Adams Museum. http://www.adamsmuseumandhouse.org/ The rest of Deadwood is tourist plastic for the HBO/Kevin Costner crowd.

And a few additional thoughts to all the good stuff you've already gotten:
--Denver area: Look into (a) the Botanic Garden, which should be in full bloom and is near the Museum of Science and Nature and (b) the Butterfly Museum in Westminster.
--IKEA is on the south side of Denver, so maybe that area would be a good area to stop in for the night on the 7th, rather than bouncing back down there later if you decide to keep it in.
--Rocky Mt. National Park is also a fee area covered by the NPS pass.
--At both Pikes Peak and RMNP, you will be getting into significant elevations. If your girls haven't experienced being at elevation much, be prepared. Lots of water. Read up on the signs of altitude sickness.
--For the 9th and 10th, to combine a few ideas, start at the Botanic Gardens, head up to Boulder and walk/shop/eat on Pearl Street Mall, drive to Estes, go through RMNP (Visitor Center on the Estes side probably still keeps a log of animal spottings), upon leaving the west side of the park, you have a couple of options that others have mentioned. And it would be good if you could explain to/show your girls what the bark beetle epidemic is, as you will see a lot of beetle killed trees.
--For a few bad weather ideas: Flatirons Mall between Denver and Boulder has a lot of what most other malls do, but the design is very western. Westminster Promenade has a Dave and Busters arcade, family freindly Improv, movie theatre, indoor ice rink, "hip" bowling place, and several things I am forgetting (and a large TJMaxx) all in the immediate area. The Butterfly Museum is in that same vicinity.
--Grand Teton: look into a float trip. Should be fine for young kids too. Class I, which means almost no rapids. Good opportunity to see animals (moose, eagles, fox, elk?). The main Visitors Center is relative new and extensive. You can also eat in a tepee (Google it, you'll find it). Jackson Lake Lodge has a beautiful view of the lake from the dining room and other points.
--YNP: I think it is likely that you would enjoy staying in the Old Faithful area more than Grant. If it was booked when you did the arrangements, check online or call back. For one night, availability may open up. And if traffic and construction is not too bad, the road mileage inside YNP is not that far, so don't write off the top portion before you get there. You will probably really want much more time here than you have scheduled, and seeing animals in the wild in YNP and GTNP is much better than at even good zoos like Omaha.
--You may want everyone to have their own binoculars, even a cheap pair. The time of year you will be in YNP, you could easily run into bear jams, where you will want to get out and look at bears (from a safe distance). Rangers probably will keep people a hundred or more yards away, so having the magnification will help.
--And YNP/GTNP can still be cold. A few years ago, I was in Jackson over Memorial Day and there was a light snowfall.

Have fun.

Thank you for all the advice! Here is my updated itinerary after all the suggestions. Some days are a litle ambitious and we may need to trim back some items if there isn't enough time, but at least we have some great options. Hopefully other's will find it useful for their trips as well.

The updated map - http://g.co/maps/t8ujm

Tuesday, June 5th
Drive to Dodge City, KS
Wednesday, June 6th
Drive to Canyon City, CO
Visit Royal Gorge
Drive to Colorado Springs, CO
Thursday, June 7th
Visit Pikes Peak - Take the cog railway up it.
Visit Garden of the Gods
Drive to Denver
Stop by IKEA on the way if time permits
Eat dinner at Casa Bonita
Friday, June 8th
Visit Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Eat dinner at the Downtown Aquarium
Shop at 16th Street Mall Shopping in the evening
Saturday, June 9th
Go on Georgetown Loop train
Visit Summit, CO Towns
Drive to Grand Junction, CO
Sunday, June 10th
Drive to Timpanogos Cave
Visit Thanksgiving Point gardens and shops
Drive to SLC
Monday, June 11th
Drive through Emigration Canyon to Olympic Park
Go on the Alpine Slide and tour the grounds and museum
Visit main street in Park City
Visit THe Gateway in the evening (including free part of Clark Planetarium)
Tuesday, June 12th
Visit Temple Square
See organ recital at noon
Visit the Leonardo (check out library next door)
Shop at Creek City Center in the evening
Wednesday, June 13th
Drive to Jackson Hole, WY
Swim/soak at Granite Hot Springs on the way
Visit town center in the evening
Thursday, June 14th
Go on a float trip on Snake River
Maybe do some hiking around the Tetons
Friday, June 15th
Drive to Yellowstone
See Lake Village Attractions
Stay at Lake Hotel Annex (booked)
Check out the stars at night

Saturday, June 16th
See most of the lower half of the figure 8 (may skip the top half)
Stay in Grant Village Lodge (booked)
Sunday, June 17th
Finish Yellowstone on the way out of the east exit
Eat lunch at Irma’s in Cody, WY
Drive to Gillette, WY and sightsee along the way
Monday, June 18th
Visit Devils Tower and walk around 1.3 mile paved trail
Very short visit to Deadwood
Visit Mount Rushmore in the evening - They light it up around 9pm
Stay in Rapid City, SD
Tuesday, June 19th
Drive to Wall Drug for breakfast
Drive to Minute Man Missle Silo
Drive to The Corn Palace
Drive to Sioux City, IA
Wednesday, June 20th
Drive to Omaha, NE
Visit Omaha Zoo
Drive to Kansas City, MO
Thursday, June 21st
Visit Kansas City Aquarium and/or LegoLand
Possibly visit Union Station Science Center instead
Drive home

If we visit one natural history / dinosaur location should it be the Denver Natural History Museum, the Natural History Museum of Utah, Thanksgiving Point or Dinosaur National Monument?

One of these days, I'd like to do an epic road trip like this with my kids. Have fun!

Sunday, June 10th
Drive to Timpanogos Cave
Visit Thanksgiving Point gardens and shops
Drive to SLC
Monday, June 11th
Drive through Emigration Canyon to Olympic Park
Go on the Alpine Slide and tour the grounds and museum
Visit main street in Park City
Visit THe Gateway in the evening (including free part of Clark Planetarium)
Tuesday, June 12th
Visit Temple Square
See organ recital at noon
Visit the Leonardo (check out library next door)
Shop at Creek City Center in the evening


I'll give you some feedback on the Utah portion of your revised itinerary.

You plan to visit the Thanksgiving Point gardens. Great idea. They are fabulous. But they are closed on Sundays. Consider swapping your Sunday and Monday plans. http://www.thanksgivingpoint.org/visit/gardens/about/location_and_hours.html

Timpanogas Cave is small compared with Wind Cave and Jewel Cave in South Dakota. So if you only want to see one cave during your trip, I recommend seeing Wind Cave instead of Timpanogas Cave.

Regarding whether you should see your dinosaur bones in a museum vs. seeing them in the ground at Dinosaur National Monument -- could you do both? They are such different experiences that, really, comparing them is apples and oranges. For one thing, there is more at Dinosaur National Monument than just dinosaur bones. Lots of scenic hikes as well. And the Salt Lake and Denver natural history museums focus on a lot more than just the Jurassic period of natural history. Of the museums, call me a homer, but I think the new Salt Lake museum is better than the Denver museum. Disclaimer: it has been several years since I have last been at the Denver museum. I have not been to the Thanksgiving Point Museum of Ancient Life so I cannot comment on that.

The Leonardo is an interesting museum, well worth a visit. But if you have time for only one museum in SLC, the new Natural History Museum is the one you should see. Too bad you don't have time in SLC for several museums. There is a really good living history pioneer village (http://www.thisistheplace.org/), several excellent art and history museums, and the planetarium's star shows are definitely worth paying to see.

When I first looked at this plan, I thought it would be too much to do in one day. When I looked closer, I find this is very doable.

Be aware, the Pikes Peak Cog Railway is best in the morning, as it tends to get cloudy with the heat of day. Of course, if you plan to get the Cog Railway in along with Garden of the Gods, a drive to Denver, Ikea, and Casa Bonita, you'll need an early start.

The first train of the day is 8 AM, then 9:20, etc. You'd be well advised to be on one of these first 2. Allow about 4 hours for the trip. And bring warm clothing. There's still snow on top, and June 7 will still be quite cold over 14k feet. Also allow an extra half hour to get there! Really! Manitou Blvd. seems endless at 20 mph, and the turn off (to your left) is easy to miss. Plus, they like to see you there a bit early, and will leave on time whether or not you make it.

Ikea is fun, I guess, if you've never been to one. You follow a meandering path through every section of the store, and lots of things may catch your interest. You'll either be bored or spend way too much time stopping to look at stuff.

I first went to Casa Bonita about 35 years ago, took my wife there 2 years ago. Hadn't changed much, except for the prices. The food is mediocre and nearly twice the price you should have to pay for that type fare. But, of course, Casa Bonita sells atmosphere and entertainment. IMHO, I'm fine with the prices if, and only if, I'm at a table with a view of the cliff divers. Strolling mariachi bands and trinkets for sale can be found with a meal for lots less elsewhere.

Please allow time for more than just a drive through Garden of the Gods. It can be awe inspiring if you walk among the rocks, or if you see it at sunrise or sunset.

Also, you'll be there when there are lots of hummingbirds, if that interests you. The visitor center at Garden of the Gods has some feeders on both ends of the 2nd floor porch. A bit of patience and timing (morning or late afternoon may be best) will allow you to see several hummers. The Starsmore Discovery Center, near the entrance to Seven Falls (avoid this), is also free, and has a huge back porch with multiple hummingbird feeders and benches to sit on and watch.

Do not be tempted by the outlet mall at Castle Rock on the way to Denver. Much less impressive than most I've been to.

So here's how the day might work:

Leave hotel by 7 (7:15 if you stayed the night before in Manitou Springs area), take the 8 AM Cog.

Down from the Peak by noon, time for lunch. Adams Mountain Cafe in Manitou is decent. Other Manitou restaurants are either pricey or iffy, and there are no chain fast food joints unless you go 20 minutes down the hill toward the interstate. Before you go that far, you could try one of my favorites, La Baguette, for a great French onion soup and sandwich combo (your choice of croissant or baguette for the sandwich) - it's between 24th & 25th on Colorado (Manitou Blvd. turns into Colorado as you head downhill). The farther uphill you eat, the quicker it is to get to Garden of the Gods, as there is a Manitou Springs entrance. If you aren't starving, you might hold off eating until after Garden of the Gods. Actually, this might be the best plan, as fast food places are abundant if you head toward the interstate via Garden of the Gods Road.

Go to Garden of the Gods. Entering from the Manitou side, you'll want to loop 1.5 times and exit on the main entrance toward the visitor center. If you haven't eaten lunch yet, you can be in the Garden before 12:30 (it's only 15 minutes from Cog Railway to the Garden). Spend half an hour out of your car walking around. Stop briefly at the visitor center (not the Trading Post), you can exit north on 30th to Garden of the Gods Rd about 2 PM, and be eating fast food by 2:15 PM.

This puts you on the road by 2:45 at the latest, at the IKEA in Centennial about 3:45, 4 at the very latest (it's on the south side of Denver, only 50 miles, and you're going before the worst traffic). You can spend up to 2 hours there, and it may take much of that, without hurting your dinner plans.

Dinner at Casa Bonita about 6:30, allow at least 1 hour, maybe 1.5.

You'll be tired, but you can easily get this all in, and even allow yourself some time to watch the hummingbird feeders at the GofG Visitor Center.

I am originally from Tulsa and have done a trip similar to this trip. No kids on the trip, just two adults so I can't speak to the kids exhibits. My trip was looped quite different, we did a Oklahoma-Colorado-Wyoming-South Dakota-Wyoming-Montana-Idaho-Utah-Colorado-Kansas-Oklahoma loop. While I did not take any children on this trip, I have raised kids and gone on road trips with them. As a Mother who has road tripped before with kids I wonder if you have enough down time/stopping time.

I have a few comments/questions/suggestions.

Questions
Are you changing hotels every night?
What does your spouse/SO think about this itinerary?
Have you considered cutting out the Iowa/Nebraska/Kansas loop and cutting back through Wyoming, Colorado and Kansas on the way back? You could do Cheyenne, more Colorado parks. Rocky Mountain National Park has some great hiking trails and Estes Park is right at the base.

Comments/Suggestions
If Kansas City portion is important, you know KC is easy striking distance from Tulsa and you can knock out all of the Kansas City attractions in a weekend.
The Black Hills of South Dakota are beautiful, allow time to enjoy driving through them.
The Passes are beautiful highways when you can work them in usually, I have been on both Bear Tooth and Saw Tooth passes. I highly recommend Bear Tooth and it's beauty.
The Badlands are mysteriously ugly beautiful and you just won't see anything else like it. If you are going to Wall/Rapid City area a drive to the Badlands is not far. They have a couple of hiking trails geared toward kids there.
Consider changing the trip slightly to allow for two overnights where you can, maybe Yellowstone and Colorado and strike out from the two night base to do the attractions you have mentioned. It is a difficult thing to have to be packed and loading up the car every single morning on a road trip for me anyway. I may have completely misread your trip on the overnights, if I did disregard this suggestion.

Don't get me wrong, you have a great trip/itinerary planned. You will find Yellowstone, Montana, Colorado and South Dakota to be just beautiful. There is a lot in all of those places to do and you don't want to short change your time in that area.

Casa Bonita, really? Okay I am just kidding, being from Tulsa I COMPLETELY understand that stop.

You plan to visit the Thanksgiving Point gardens. Great idea. They are fabulous. But they are closed on Sundays.
Thanks. You saved my bacon with that one. I'm going to shuffle the other days around to fit it in, but we're going to have to cut the cave. No big deal, we just added it because it was 20 minutes away. I really wanted to check out the Leonardo, but I'm afraid they're going to be closed on the days we're in Salt Lake now (Sunday night, Monday and Tuesday).

The first train of the day is 8 AM, then 9:20, etc. You'd be well advised to be on one of these first 2
Crud, we booked the 10:40am. Hopefully the weather cooperates. I guess that means we'll be done around 2:40. We might get the box lunch or just snack and have a late lunch. I figured 2 hours for Garden of the Gods which puts us at IKEA by 6pm. We've been before and mainly just want to get a part and quickly look around. Hopefully 30-45 min there and then Casa Bonita around 7-7:30pm.

Are you changing hotels every night?
We're spending multiple nights in Denver, Salt Lake, Jackson Hole and Yellowstone, but the rest are single night stops.

What does your spouse/SO think about this itinerary?
Just as clueless as I am, but fully on board.

The Badlands are mysteriously ugly beautiful and you just won't see anything else like it. If you are going to Wall/Rapid City area a drive to the Badlands is not far. They have a couple of hiking trails geared toward kids there.
Thanks. We're technically driving through it already. I'll make sure we allow some time to check it out.

The Black Hills of South Dakota are beautiful, allow time to enjoy driving through them.
We should have a few hours to spare here. I think we may wait until sunset to see Mount Rushmore and drive around a bit. Maybe see the Crazy Horse monument.

If Kansas City portion is important, you know KC is easy striking distance from Tulsa and you can knock out all of the Kansas City attractions in a weekend.
Nothing after Mount Rushmore is really high on our list. We're taking the Omaha/KC route to break up the solid drive back home with some small activities. It's only about 45 minutes longer than the direct route home according to Google.

Casa Bonita, really? Okay I am just kidding, being from Tulsa I COMPLETELY understand that stop.
Ha, yeah. There's definitely some nostalgia involved. I want the kids to get a chance to experience it. They turned ours into a night club.

We're spending multiple nights in Denver, Salt Lake, Jackson Hole and Yellowstone, but the rest are single night stops.


Just as clueless as I am, but fully on board.



That is fantastic, you will have a great time. I love Montana in the summer, you will find the weather is much more pleasant than an Oklahoma summer. At the risk of sounding cheesy it is true what they say about Big Sky Montana, it is a big sky when you are there with the mountains as backdrops.

Be sure to post a trip report when you return.

Sunday, June 17th
Finish Yellowstone on the way out of the east exit
Eat lunch at Irma’s in Cody, WY
Drive to Gillette, WY and sightsee along the way
Monday, June 18th
Visit Devils Tower and walk around 1.3 mile paved trail
Very short visit to Deadwood
Visit Mount Rushmore in the evening - They light it up around 9pm
Stay in Rapid City, SD
Tuesday, June 19th
Drive to Wall Drug for breakfast
Drive to Minute Man Missle Silo
Drive to The Corn Palace
Drive to Sioux City, IA


6/17 to 6/18
* There is VERY little to see between Sheridan, WY and the Black Hills (except Devils Tower). The countryside looks exactly like the Clint Eastwood movie "High Plains Drifter", but without the lake. You will NOT be impressed with Gillette. I would spend the night in Sheridan.
* Make sure you stop at the "Crazy Women Creek Road" exit sign on I-90 (get your picture taken while standing under the sign). It is Exit #73.

6/19
* Wall Drug is a tourist trap; but the kids will like it. Lots of cheap toys for sale.
* I would forgo the Missile Site, and get off the Interstate and take the "Loop" and go through the Badlands National Monument. "Dances With Wolves" was filmed nearby and the countryside is geat. The kids will love the prairie dog town.
* The kids will be bored after 5 minutes at the Corn Palace. A better stop might be the Sioux Falls Zoo. It is impressive for a small city zoo.

Thanks again for all the advice everyone. We just got back last night and it was a great, albeit long, trip. I wanted to leave a final follow up for anyone else who finds this thread and is planning a similar trip.

Colorado Springs
Royal Gorge was very impressive, but very overprices IMO. We really just wanted to walk out on the bridge, but they force you to buy an all inclusive day pass that was $72 for a family of 4 even after the $20 off discount we found online. You do get quite a bit for the price though including parking, bridge access, gondella ride, escalator down to the bottom of the canyon. The hummingbirds are neat too.

Garden of the Gods was very pretty, but smaller than I expected. We spent about 90 minutes here walking around the path mostly. I have a hard time seeing how others can make a day of it. It was free and right outside of Colorado Springs, so I'd definitely recommend it.

We had a great time at Pike's Peak. I was worried 10:40 was going to be too late, but it worked out perfectly in our case. There was a heavy blanket of rain clouds early in the morning that cleared out just as our trip started. The cog railway is kind of expensive, but I'd still recommend it. You can relax and enjoy the sites on the way up instead of being stressed over the drive. We saw some marmot and elk on the way up along with several beautiful lakes and cloud filled valleys. It was quite cold and windy at the top.

The Penny Arcade in Manitou Springs was a great find for the kids (and us). Tons of old arcade games and rides spread across half a dozen small buildings and sidewalks. They're all pretty cheap between a nickle and quarter per game.


Denver
The Natural History museum was great and very large. There's definitely a full day's worth of stuff to do there, considering they close at 5pm.

The 16th street mall was nothing special and it was hot out. We rode the free shuttle up and down the strip and left once we saw there was nothing really to see there.

The Downtown Aquarium was nice and the kids loved the mermaid show. We thought it was primarily a restraunt before going and made the mistake of eating there. The food was very overpriced. The aquarium itself was worthwhile though.

Grand Junction Drive
Thank you for the suggestion to take I-70! The drive was beautiful and no problem at all for a car in the summer. Silverthorne is probably the most gorgeous town I've ever seen and the drive around the Dillon Reservoir dam was amazing.

The Georgetown Loop was a lot of fun for the kids who love trains and was a great ride with the perfect weather we had.

Salt Lake City
Staying in Park City instead of SLC was a great call! The weather is SO much better up there and we got an amazing ski resort hotel for very cheap since it was summer.

The Olympic Park was more impressive than I expected. Even though we were there on a Monday afternoon, there were several athletes practicing on the ski jump ramps and doing flips into the pool. It was very entertaining to watch. We walked around the complex which was amazingly unrestricted and unwatched. There really wasn't anything stopping us from going down the ski jump or bobsled track ourselves (if we were morons). The alpine slide was incredibly fun. We all went down twice.

The Thanksgiving Point gardens were very impressive, but the size, hot weather and their weird photography policy (no portrait photography, even amateur) sucked a lot of the joy out of it. We still took a lot of pictures but were nervous about it the whole time.

We went to an organ recital at temple square maily because we felt like it was a must-do thing. It was impressive, but the kids got bored well before the 30 minutes was up. There were at least half a dozen wedding parties taking pictures at the temple and I felt kind of bad squeezing between them in our shorts and tshirts.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but City Creek and the Gateway were both fairly lame. I think it was just a hot day and I wanted to get back to Park City.

Jackson Hole
The hot springs weren't worth going to. The drive back to the springs was great. Lots of wildlife and scenic landscapes along the dirt road there, but the spring it self was just a swimming pool fed by a hot spring. It seems they could have kept it a lot more natural looking.

We went on a 3 hour float trip here which was a lot of fun for the adults, but the kids got bored after 2 hours. We saw at least a dozen bald eagles and tons of other animals along the way. It was very relaxing and comfortable weather and the guide didn't pull that "I work on tips" nonsense at the end after you have already paid a heafty price for the trip.

The town square is a must see of course. There were several meadow voles who had made their time there and weren't too scared of people. The girls enjoyed "playing" with them. All the nearby restraunts were very expensive though other than e-leaven. We had lunch there and went out of the main square for dinner.

Teton and Yellowstone
These two parks are a bargain at $25/carload/week. Even though we went to several national parks it was cheaper to pay for them individually than get the annual pass.

The hotels are pretty bad here. I get it that they're historic and in the wilderness, but I think the lack of competition from having all the hotels being operated by the same company has caused upkeep to really suffer. They use the tradition and historic integrity line to justify not having Internet access or even TVs, but have no problem with electricity, ice machines, Dyson blades, etc. The rooms were pretty bad, I think we'll stay just outside of the park to the west if we go again. Around $100 a night for a hotel that doesn't measure up to Motel 6 or Super 8's standards is pretty bad IMO.

The park itself is amazing of course. We did the full loop in a single day which is do-able but very tiring. We saw a moose, 4 adult black bears and 2 cubs, chipmunks, pikas and tons of elk and bison. We went counter-clockwise starting at lake village, which was probably a mistake. I'd do the Old Faithful area first to see the better sites before wearing down.

Wyoming and South Dakota
There was a lot of driving in these states without much to see.

Devil's Tower was worth the hour detour I think. It makes for nice pictures at least. I didn't get a chance to show the girls Close Encounters before seeing it, but that's probably for the best anyways. There were a lot of Prarie Dogs here which they loved.

As expected, there wasn't much to do in Deadwood. We were heading through it anyways though and it was nice to get out and do anything.

I wasn't all that impressed with the drive through the Black Hills. Possibly because we'd been doing so much driving already and it wasn't anything we hadn't already seen.

Mount Rushmore was another one of those mandatory stops. The short trail they have around it was pretty nice and the sculpter's shed where they have a model of what the mountain was originally suppose to look like was really neat.

Wall Drug is an interesting shop with lots of cheap nick nacks for the kids. We would have spent longer there if we didn't have so much driving to do that day.

I regret going to the Badlands. I didn't know there was an admission fee. The landscape was neat, but they had excessive amount of road construction in the park and the little detour that was suppose to add 30 minutes to our day added about 3 hours.

The minute man missle silo looked like it would be interesting, but you have to book tours in advance to go down to the control room. We didn't know this and the tours were booked for that day.

The Corn Palace is worth the 10 minute drive to it. There isn't much to do here, but it's an interesting 30 minute stop during a part of SD were we despirately wanted a stop. I thought it was pretty neat that they rebuild the place every few years.

Omaha
All we did here was go to the zoo. It was a decent zoo in my opinion, but it was absolutely flooded with day cares on the day we went. It seemed everytime we'd get to an exhibit a group of 30 unsupervised kids would rush up behind us and completely crowd us out while cursing like sailors.

Kansas City
We decided to go to Science City at Union Station here. It was a little on the small side for a science center, but we had the place more or less to ourselves for at least half the time which made for a nice day.


Thanks again to everyone for all the advice. It made for a much better trip.

Thanks for giving an update on your trip. Many times, people get a lot of advice and fail to report back on what was worth the visit and what wasn't. Sounds like, all things considered, you had a nice trip.

Bobette