Cross-Country Family Trip (input requested!) (1 Viewer)

[desmocruiser]

Ordering window squigee now! What other car wash gear did you take? I have llumar paint protection on front end and ceramic on the rest of the car... but want to be able to wash when possible.

It was one of the things I didn’t pack, however a quick stop at an auto parts store remedied that!

I keep it fairly basic:
Car wash, I typically use Griot’s or Mequirs
Wash Mitt
small squeegee
Window cleaner
Interior Wipes
Leather Wipes
Brush for interior crumbs
Small bucket
Chamois or towel to dry.

I really can’t stand a dirty car, so I swept crumbs from seats and dumped out my weather techs frequently at gas stops!

 

[BigBlueTLC]

• There are 4x4 trails to access via Ouray than from Telluride. Ouray has become a tourist trap, sad to say. It's usually over-crowded in the summer. Camping spots in/near town are limited. You can always park your rv outside a campground most anywhere in CO as long as you don't see posted signs to not camp overnight (I'm sure there are other rules but most people don't pay attention to them).
• If you are going over Monarch Pass (Between Gunnison and Salida), you will definitely want a brake controller. Again, get the best you can afford. The locals call Gunnison "the Gunny" and Crested Butte "the CB". So you can be hip while you're in the area and use those terms .
• The valley next to the Sand Dunes (again, imho) can be disappointing emotionally, and it's very dry. There is a state park near there with a lake....that doesn't have a single drop of water in it. There is a falls a bit south of the Sand Dunes that is a very popular spot. The access road is VERY bumpy - not advised for towing a trailer. Though we've been there before a few years ago, we tried it last year in our Cruiser. It was so bumpy we gave up and turned around. There are 4x4 roads near the dunes in the Sangre de Cristo mountains, but not suited for towing. After all the 4x4 roads I've done here in CO, the best are indeed in the Ouray/Lake City/Telluride area.
• I sound like trying to sell you something, but Lake City is one of the most beautiful places in CO. 4x4 access roads, big lake, very quiet town, camping sites, and very low key.
• If I can be of help over the phone, just message me and let's chat. I'll even tell you where the LEO's hang out on the roads! (Don't speed between Alamosa and Walsenburg, near the Sand Dunes.)

• Ditto again on the high winds. Twice we had to change our route in KS due to high winds. It really is exhausting and sucks on the gas. The Cruiser will be a big sail in high winds. You're gonna feel it.
• I can't tell you how many times we've stopped so our son (and wife) can put their feet on solid ground. It's affirming to hear what @desmocruiser said. Sigh.... it's going to happen. Be flexible. On our next trip from Denver to Dauphin Island in a few weeks, I'm driving and they are flying (2,880 miles round trip).

I don't think you're crazy at all for doing this. Take the opportunity and enjoy it. The memories, photos, pain, setbacks, surprises, planning, souvenirs, dinosaur-size poopy diapers, highway boredom, camping joys, exploration, hot days and cold nights, and all that and then some will be more than worth it.

Super helpful. Thank you for this! Lake city is now on the list. I maybe reaching out with more questions. Cheers!

 

[BigBlueTLC]

Picked up the camper in Grand Rapids. 24 hours of driving but somewhat relaxing. Picked up KO2s all around based on the feedback to get rid of the China bombs. Picture from discount tire today!

 

[radman]

.... patiently waiting for the "after" pic

 

[rusty87]

I thought I clicked on the wheel-lock thread for a moment.

 

[BigBlueTLC]

Getting closer. Got a few things done to the rig:
1) added llumar paint protection to front end
2) ceramic coating
3) rock warriors with the KO2s
4) wired a yeti goal zero charger to the alternator for fast charging during drives

Also received my first cancellation notice due to covid. Mesa Verde has officially cancelled overnight camping reservations. This means a long stay in telluride/ouray/lake area (5-6 nights).

 

[radman]

diggin the laces out! Same setup on the trailer?

 

[tabraha]

The link in my sig for my 200 has some spots from a trip out west. We do 5000-7000 mi trips out west pretty routinely. The Land Cruiser is hard to beat for that. My youngest just turned 8 last week and he’s been to 47 states, most of those in a 100 or 200. He turned 1 in the rain on Black Bear Pass at Hundreds in the Hills many moons ago.

Biggest advice I have is go early and hard day one. Pushing hard on day one is much easier than day fourteen!

 

[BigBlueTLC]

diggin the laces out! Same setup on the trailer?

Yessir. Laces out on everything! Will get pictures up of the trailer too.

 

[BigBlueTLC]

The link in my sig for my 200 has some spots from a trip out west. We do 5000-7000 mi trips out west pretty routinely. The Land Cruiser is hard to beat for that. My youngest just turned 8 last week and he’s been to 47 states, most of those in a 100 or 200. He turned 1 in the rain on Black Bear Pass at Hundreds in the Hills many moons ago.

Biggest advice I have is go early and hard day one. Pushing hard on day one is much easier than day fourteen!

Will take a look at your route. Cheers!

 

[Bomar]

be prepared it is stupid busy in all of CO. Just got home from AZ/CO.

It was super dusty as well

 

[liv2bike]

I know you have constraints but really consider spending more time in Idaho. Yes I am partial. If you want some ideas, just let me know.

Truck looks great. Where did you score those RWs? They look new. Well done.

 

[KilaCruiser]

Loved reading this thread and stoked for someone to have a proper adventure! We just got back (month or so ago) from a 6,600 mile trip from East Coast to NW Montana and back. Great surprise of the drive was Western North Dakota. Roosevelt's old hunting grounds were AMAZING.

Few extra thoughts:

- 5 gallons of emergency fuel in a jerry can made a few longer stretches a lot less stressful - If I was towing, I'd double it. Didnt need it, but came awfully close
- Home2Suites was a great option when we wanted to stack miles through the night and skip a camp - dog friendly, cheap and easy - there was always one within a few hours and no more than 10 minutes off route - never planned ahead and it just worked
- People were exceptionally nice everywhere but mask use changes drastically every 50 miles. Carry one and err on the side of mask - made us a lot of friends and no skin off our backs
- We missed dinner almost every evening while driving - constantly waiting for the next spot or assuming my nav was incorrect . That made a jetboil and some good camping food a great alternative with way better scenery
- Have a friend with a drone? Mavic's are crazy easy to shoot and make some of the breaks in driving a lot of fun... your yeti will keep it all charged up. For a young family, you can have it hover and do your thing so everyone is in the shot.

Enjoy! We're already planning our next one

 

[RT Cruiser]

Also received my first cancellation notice due to covid. Mesa Verde has officially cancelled overnight camping reservations. This means a long stay in telluride/ouray/lake area (5-6 nights).

If it were me, I'd be very happy to hear this . We did a bunch of trails in July and are returning to Lake City in Oct.

 

[linuxgod]

I'm late to the party (we were traveling in CO when you first posted) but we've done NP trips the last 5 years so I'll throw out some of my lessons learned (in no particular order).

1. Throw a 4.5 gallon rotopax on your roof or trailer tongue and strap it down with some kayak straps. It's peace of mind. There are stretches where you might go 100+ miles (like through Utah) with no fuel, and you'll get *maybe* 150 miles on a tank. I've had the GPS tell me there's a gas station more than once which was no longer operating. Closest call I had was putting 23.9 gallons into the 24.6 gallon tank driving through Texas.
2. Where you can be flexible with your dates. Our first year we didn't spend near enough time in the parks (I could've spent a week in Yellowstone easily, whereas we had maybe 3 days and left really wanting more). OTOH I've had times where we left a day early because we felt like we'd seen everything.
3. Does your trailer have solar? If not get some flexible solar panels and an inexpensive charge controller that you can hook up as needed. Lots of parks out west don't have electric and many won't allow generator use or may limit when you can run one (if you even have one). We have 350W of solar (two 175W panels) and we always have power.
4. Bring extra blankets and such, even if you intend to run the heat. I remember waking up to 38F temps outside in August in Yellowstone at 9000'.
5. Along the lines of #3, you'll find out west few campgrounds have water at your site, so you'll have to fill your tank and run the water pump almost everywhere. This is very different than the Virginia state parks we used to stay at which had water at your site.
6. Keep some water in your fresh tank when traveling between locations so you can wash hands, flush the toilet, etc.
7. It's worth $0.99 to buy RV Dumps or another similar app. You'll appreciate it the first time you stay at a campground a few days and have a full tank but the CG doesn't have a dump station.
8. You can boondock for the night at Walmart in the parking lot for free, so if you're driving and tired and need a place to stop, don't rule it out. Maybe flip on a fan in the trailer just for some white noise. Truck stops and rest stops generally allow free overnight stops for RVers too, but we've found at least in Nebraska and Iowa they tend to be really noisy and it's hard to get a good night's sleep. (Note: my wife found an app which told her all sorts of free places.. apparently in Iowa you can boondock at cemeteries and city parks as well, though we did not)
9. Bring a toolbox with useful stuff... screw drivers, socket set, pliers, electrical and duct tape, extra screws/nuts/bolts, superglue, caulk, etc. The number of stupid little things that break or fail on a trailer is ridiculous and you'll be glad to have a tool box of random crap at some point in your trip.
10. Grab a pair of GMRS/FRS radios off Amazon for $30. You'll really appreciate them when trying to back into a site in the dark in a remote campground with no cell service.
11. Bring a percolator (and filters!) or french press if you drink coffee and don't have an inverter to power a regular coffee pot. This goes along with #3 - you won't always have electric.
12. If you have some freezer packs keep them in the freezer when there's space available and use them in a smaller cooler in the vehicle as needed.
13. We do all of our bathroom stops in the trailer, especially right now to avoid going into public restrooms. It's an outhouse on wheels!

Also some thoughts on places to see (or skip)... also not in any particular order:

1. To #2 above, plan to spend at least 2 full days in most parks. 3 or 4 (or more) if it's a big park and you can. Yellowstone, Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, Moab area parks (combined) are ones you will easily find you wanted more time no matter how much you spend.
2. Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is worth a half day.
3. Don't miss Canyonlands when you're in the Moab, UT area. The Needles district was my favorite but Island In the Sky district was cool too. We stayed at Ken's Lake Campground which is south of Moab. There was a cool waterfall which was about a mile hike east of the campground (and was flowing in August). We swam in the pool at the bottom.
4. I really enjoyed entering Yellowstone through the Beartooth highway. It's several hours out of your way to go through Montana to enter that way and it's a lot of switchbacks heading up the mountain but it was beautiful.
5. Yellowstone is huge, and the traffic due to animals in the road can eat up several hours to get around various parts of the park.
6. Grand Teton was similarly beautiful to Yellowstone, but had 1% of the # of people. I wish I'd planned more time there.
7. There's an FCFS campground in the Badlands on the west side which generally has sites available. We should've stayed there but didn't. Bison roam through the campground.... very cool.
8. Be sure to hit Mt Rushmore as you're heading out of SD. It's a couple hour stopover on your way, no need to spend a full day. There's parking for you with the trailer still attached there.
9. If you're trying to hit as many NPs as you can, Wind Cave is in SD. I haven't been there, just noting it.
10. If you can find a way to hit the north rim of the Grand Canyon, I'd highly suggest it. Maybe leave Zion a day early or shorten Bryce and head there before Moab? Stop at the gas station in the park (it's the only one) and ask for a recommendation on a good dispersed site... they told us to turn left just after the gas station and follow the gravel road 6 miles (staying on that route #) and we'd find campsites which were right on the edge of the canyon with eastern views. Best camping site I think we've ever had.
11. Some folks who live there will disagree with me I'm sure but there's nothing in Kansas or Nebraska (except maybe carhenge).
12. Sequoia/Kings Canyon in CA was really cool. Worth visiting if Yosemite doesn't work out, but really worth visiting after Yosemite even if it does.
13. Drive through Ouray on your way from Mesa Verde to Black Canyon of the Gunnison, even if you don't do more than take the million dollar highway and maybe stop for lunch at the Ouray Brewery (they have a rooftop patio).

 

[linuxgod]

If it were me, I'd be very happy to hear this . We did a bunch of trails in July and are returning to Lake City in Oct.

We stayed in Target Tree Campground, which was about 15 minutes west of Mesa Verde, a couple years back. Try there, it was nice and pretty quiet (except for the occasional 18 wheeler downshifting on the highway far off in the distance)

 

[Chewbacca]

OP, not sure if you've left yet, but a couple notes I would add on:

1. There is a statewide fire ban in CO right now for at least the next month. We have 4 major fires burning right now, so please plan accordingly. The ban was put in place by the Governor, so it doesn't matter where you are, campfires are not allowed. We also have a statewide mask mandate.
2. If you go through Bluff, UT, you need to grab a sandwich at Comb Ridge Eat and Drink. Some of the best sandwiches I've ever had came from that place. I'd even drive out of my way for one. My 13 year old said he would drive 6 hours each way (from where we are) for another.

 

[BigBlueTLC]

I know you have constraints but really consider spending more time in Idaho. Yes I am partial. If you want some ideas, just let me know.

Truck looks great. Where did you score those RWs? They look new. Well done.

I should have done more research... I grew in Portland OR and never even thought about Idaho. I may actually be changing the schedule some considering the fires in Cali.

RWs were from Facebook Marketplace.... $600 for the set and then powdercoated.

 

[BigBlueTLC]

Loved reading this thread and stoked for someone to have a proper adventure! We just got back (month or so ago) from a 6,600 mile trip from East Coast to NW Montana and back. Great surprise of the drive was Western North Dakota. Roosevelt's old hunting grounds were AMAZING.

Few extra thoughts:

- 5 gallons of emergency fuel in a jerry can made a few longer stretches a lot less stressful - If I was towing, I'd double it. Didnt need it, but came awfully close
- Home2Suites was a great option when we wanted to stack miles through the night and skip a camp - dog friendly, cheap and easy - there was always one within a few hours and no more than 10 minutes off route - never planned ahead and it just worked
- People were exceptionally nice everywhere but mask use changes drastically every 50 miles. Carry one and err on the side of mask - made us a lot of friends and no skin off our backs
- We missed dinner almost every evening while driving - constantly waiting for the next spot or assuming my nav was incorrect . That made a jetboil and some good camping food a great alternative with way better scenery
- Have a friend with a drone? Mavic's are crazy easy to shoot and make some of the breaks in driving a lot of fun... your yeti will keep it all charged up. For a young family, you can have it hover and do your thing so everyone is in the shot.

Enjoy! We're already planning our next one

Good stuff here... Thank you! I've seen some crazy drone footage as well... trying to find someone that has one. Want to capture a lot of this trip without going camera crazy.

 

[BigBlueTLC]

I'm late to the party (we were traveling in CO when you first posted) but we've done NP trips the last 5 years so I'll throw out some of my lessons learned (in no particular order).

1. Throw a 4.5 gallon rotopax on your roof or trailer tongue and strap it down with some kayak straps. It's peace of mind. There are stretches where you might go 100+ miles (like through Utah) with no fuel, and you'll get *maybe* 150 miles on a tank. I've had the GPS tell me there's a gas station more than once which was no longer operating. Closest call I had was putting 23.9 gallons into the 24.6 gallon tank driving through Texas.
2. Where you can be flexible with your dates. Our first year we didn't spend near enough time in the parks (I could've spent a week in Yellowstone easily, whereas we had maybe 3 days and left really wanting more). OTOH I've had times where we left a day early because we felt like we'd seen everything.
3. Does your trailer have solar? If not get some flexible solar panels and an inexpensive charge controller that you can hook up as needed. Lots of parks out west don't have electric and many won't allow generator use or may limit when you can run one (if you even have one). We have 350W of solar (two 175W panels) and we always have power.
4. Bring extra blankets and such, even if you intend to run the heat. I remember waking up to 38F temps outside in August in Yellowstone at 9000'.
5. Along the lines of #3, you'll find out west few campgrounds have water at your site, so you'll have to fill your tank and run the water pump almost everywhere. This is very different than the Virginia state parks we used to stay at which had water at your site.
6. Keep some water in your fresh tank when traveling between locations so you can wash hands, flush the toilet, etc.
7. It's worth $0.99 to buy RV Dumps or another similar app. You'll appreciate it the first time you stay at a campground a few days and have a full tank but the CG doesn't have a dump station.
8. You can boondock for the night at Walmart in the parking lot for free, so if you're driving and tired and need a place to stop, don't rule it out. Maybe flip on a fan in the trailer just for some white noise. Truck stops and rest stops generally allow free overnight stops for RVers too, but we've found at least in Nebraska and Iowa they tend to be really noisy and it's hard to get a good night's sleep. (Note: my wife found an app which told her all sorts of free places.. apparently in Iowa you can boondock at cemeteries and city parks as well, though we did not)
9. Bring a toolbox with useful stuff... screw drivers, socket set, pliers, electrical and duct tape, extra screws/nuts/bolts, superglue, caulk, etc. The number of stupid little things that break or fail on a trailer is ridiculous and you'll be glad to have a tool box of random crap at some point in your trip.
10. Grab a pair of GMRS/FRS radios off Amazon for $30. You'll really appreciate them when trying to back into a site in the dark in a remote campground with no cell service.
11. Bring a percolator (and filters!) or french press if you drink coffee and don't have an inverter to power a regular coffee pot. This goes along with #3 - you won't always have electric.
12. If you have some freezer packs keep them in the freezer when there's space available and use them in a smaller cooler in the vehicle as needed.
13. We do all of our bathroom stops in the trailer, especially right now to avoid going into public restrooms. It's an outhouse on wheels!

Also some thoughts on places to see (or skip)... also not in any particular order:

1. To #2 above, plan to spend at least 2 full days in most parks. 3 or 4 (or more) if it's a big park and you can. Yellowstone, Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, Moab area parks (combined) are ones you will easily find you wanted more time no matter how much you spend.
2. Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is worth a half day.
3. Don't miss Canyonlands when you're in the Moab, UT area. The Needles district was my favorite but Island In the Sky district was cool too. We stayed at Ken's Lake Campground which is south of Moab. There was a cool waterfall which was about a mile hike east of the campground (and was flowing in August). We swam in the pool at the bottom.
4. I really enjoyed entering Yellowstone through the Beartooth highway. It's several hours out of your way to go through Montana to enter that way and it's a lot of switchbacks heading up the mountain but it was beautiful.
5. Yellowstone is huge, and the traffic due to animals in the road can eat up several hours to get around various parts of the park.
6. Grand Teton was similarly beautiful to Yellowstone, but had 1% of the # of people. I wish I'd planned more time there.
7. There's an FCFS campground in the Badlands on the west side which generally has sites available. We should've stayed there but didn't. Bison roam through the campground.... very cool.
8. Be sure to hit Mt Rushmore as you're heading out of SD. It's a couple hour stopover on your way, no need to spend a full day. There's parking for you with the trailer still attached there.
9. If you're trying to hit as many NPs as you can, Wind Cave is in SD. I haven't been there, just noting it.
10. If you can find a way to hit the north rim of the Grand Canyon, I'd highly suggest it. Maybe leave Zion a day early or shorten Bryce and head there before Moab? Stop at the gas station in the park (it's the only one) and ask for a recommendation on a good dispersed site... they told us to turn left just after the gas station and follow the gravel road 6 miles (staying on that route #) and we'd find campsites which were right on the edge of the canyon with eastern views. Best camping site I think we've ever had.
11. Some folks who live there will disagree with me I'm sure but there's nothing in Kansas or Nebraska (except maybe carhenge).
12. Sequoia/Kings Canyon in CA was really cool. Worth visiting if Yosemite doesn't work out, but really worth visiting after Yosemite even if it does.
13. Drive through Ouray on your way from Mesa Verde to Black Canyon of the Gunnison, even if you don't do more than take the million dollar highway and maybe stop for lunch at the Ouray Brewery (they have a rooftop patio).

Super helpful!

1. Throw a 4.5 gallon rotopax on your roof or trailer tongue and strap it down with some kayak straps. It's peace of mind. There are stretches where you might go 100+ miles (like through Utah) with no fuel, and you'll get *maybe* 150 miles on a tank. I've had the GPS tell me there's a gas station more than once which was no longer operating. Closest call I had was putting 23.9 gallons into the 24.6 gallon tank driving through Texas. Agree with this. Going to carry 10 Gallons in jerry cans also for the generator.
2. Where you can be flexible with your dates. Our first year we didn't spend near enough time in the parks (I could've spent a week in Yellowstone easily, whereas we had maybe 3 days and left really wanting more). OTOH I've had times where we left a day early because we felt like we'd seen everything. Looks like I may have more flexibility in which case I would like to add on to Yellowstone and Idaho...
3. Does your trailer have solar? If not get some flexible solar panels and an inexpensive charge controller that you can hook up as needed. Lots of parks out west don't have electric and many won't allow generator use or may limit when you can run one (if you even have one). We have 350W of solar (two 175W panels) and we always have power. I have two 100W panels and a Yeti Goal Zero 1000... hoping that will be enough.
4. Bring extra blankets and such, even if you intend to run the heat. I remember waking up to 38F temps outside in August in Yellowstone at 9000'. Good call... I keep thinking we are going to be hot. But towards to the second half coming back we might actually get chilly weather in UT and CO.
5. Along the lines of #3, you'll find out west few campgrounds have water at your site, so you'll have to fill your tank and run the water pump almost everywhere. This is very different than the Virginia state parks we used to stay at which had water at your site. Noted!
6. Keep some water in your fresh tank when traveling between locations so you can wash hands, flush the toilet, etc. Noted!
7. It's worth $0.99 to buy RV Dumps or another similar app. You'll appreciate it the first time you stay at a campground a few days and have a full tank but the CG doesn't have a dump station. Just downloaded!
8. You can boondock for the night at Walmart in the parking lot for free, so if you're driving and tired and need a place to stop, don't rule it out. Maybe flip on a fan in the trailer just for some white noise. Truck stops and rest stops generally allow free overnight stops for RVers too, but we've found at least in Nebraska and Iowa they tend to be really noisy and it's hard to get a good night's sleep. (Note: my wife found an app which told her all sorts of free places.. apparently in Iowa you can boondock at cemeteries and city parks as well, though we did not) Would love to avoid this but definitely a good last minute option!
9. Bring a toolbox with useful stuff... screw drivers, socket set, pliers, electrical and duct tape, extra screws/nuts/bolts, superglue, caulk, etc. The number of stupid little things that break or fail on a trailer is ridiculous and you'll be glad to have a tool box of random crap at some point in your trip. I've been working on the camper. Between the propride hitch and camper, crazy how many tools I have used... Need to narrow down the tools so I'm not carrying too much weight!
10. Grab a pair of GMRS/FRS radios off Amazon for $30. You'll really appreciate them when trying to back into a site in the dark in a remote campground with no cell service. Agreed, just picked some up. Also fun since we are caravaning with some family between sites.
11. Bring a percolator (and filters!) or french press if you drink coffee and don't have an inverter to power a regular coffee pot. This goes along with #3 - you won't always have electric. I'm big into my french press... now trying to find a hand grinder (another rabbit hole)
12. If you have some freezer packs keep them in the freezer when there's space available and use them in a smaller cooler in the vehicle as needed. Good call. Just order that Massimo e-cooler from Costco for the car since my wife will have breast milk to keep cold.
13. We do all of our bathroom stops in the trailer, especially right now to avoid going into public restrooms. It's an outhouse on wheels! Yes, we plan to do this. I like it.

Also some thoughts on places to see (or skip)... also not in any particular order:

1. To #2 above, plan to spend at least 2 full days in most parks. 3 or 4 (or more) if it's a big park and you can. Yellowstone, Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, Moab area parks (combined) are ones you will easily find you wanted more time no matter how much you spend. I am bummed about missing Sequoia and Kings but we'll see what happens depending no the Cali fires.
2. Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is worth a half day. Couldn't get reservations here so staying at Natural bridges... we'll see if we can swing by.
3. Don't miss Canyonlands when you're in the Moab, UT area. The Needles district was my favorite but Island In the Sky district was cool too. We stayed at Ken's Lake Campground which is south of Moab. There was a cool waterfall which was about a mile hike east of the campground (and was flowing in August). We swam in the pool at the bottom. This sounds amazing.
4. I really enjoyed entering Yellowstone through the Beartooth highway. It's several hours out of your way to go through Montana to enter that way and it's a lot of switchbacks heading up the mountain but it was beautiful. Noted!
5. Yellowstone is huge, and the traffic due to animals in the road can eat up several hours to get around various parts of the park.
6. Grand Teton was similarly beautiful to Yellowstone, but had 1% of the # of people. I wish I'd planned more time there. Got it.
7. There's an FCFS campground in the Badlands on the west side which generally has sites available. We should've stayed there but didn't. Bison roam through the campground.... very cool. I may need to change our reservation there.
8. Be sure to hit Mt Rushmore as you're heading out of SD. It's a couple hour stopover on your way, no need to spend a full day. There's parking for you with the trailer still attached there. Will do.
9. If you're trying to hit as many NPs as you can, Wind Cave is in SD. I haven't been there, just noting it.
10. If you can find a way to hit the north rim of the Grand Canyon, I'd highly suggest it. Maybe leave Zion a day early or shorten Bryce and head there before Moab? Stop at the gas station in the park (it's the only one) and ask for a recommendation on a good dispersed site... they told us to turn left just after the gas station and follow the gravel road 6 miles (staying on that route #) and we'd find campsites which were right on the edge of the canyon with eastern views. Best camping site I think we've ever had.
11. Some folks who live there will disagree with me I'm sure but there's nothing in Kansas or Nebraska (except maybe carhenge). I am feeling the same.
12. Sequoia/Kings Canyon in CA was really cool. Worth visiting if Yosemite doesn't work out, but really worth visiting after Yosemite even if it does.
13. Drive through Ouray on your way from Mesa Verde to Black Canyon of the Gunnison, even if you don't do more than take the million dollar highway and maybe stop for lunch at the Ouray Brewery (they have a rooftop patio). going to spend quite a big of time around here.

THank you!!