Hiya! I’m looking for any and all tips people have to help me show my boyfriend and our dog the most amazing road trip from Chicago to Colorado and back in 10 days in October, trying to avoid any and all boring/flat stretches (...Nebraska). Here’s the bones of the itinerary I’m laying out - my general style is to make a master list of all the places that might be awesome, then see how we’re feeling day by day and cut it down as we go. GIVE ME YOUR KNOWLEDGE, REDDIT!

Looking for:

• good local places to eat w/solid carry out or outdoor dog friendly seating
• very short easy hikes, our dog is a little older (but very energetic) and my boyfriend and I aren’t the fittest, plus I just dropped the pointy end of a kayak on my boyfriend’s foot :(
• favorite camping spots
• favorite fishing spots
• most scenic drives. We’re renting a big 4 wheel drive vehicle, would love to get off the beaten path!
• weather tips for this season - I know in some places/elevations it’ll be snowing already
• anything else we should know!

POSSIBLE ITINERARY

• Day 1, Friday Oct 6: Chicago - Minnesota on I90

• Day 2, Saturday Oct 7: Minnesota - camping in Custer State Park on I90

• • On route: badlands national park, mt rushmore, wildlife loop drive

• Day 3, Sunday Oct 8: Minnesota - airbnb near Red Rocks

• • On route: wildlife loop drive again, cache la poudre scenic byway OR trail ridge rd, check out a couple dispensaries in Boulder?
• • Question: I’m seriously considering canceling this first night in the airbnb and finding somewhere to camp north of denver so we can spend more time on the scenic areas in Wyoming / north of Denver. It’s that or head back out of the state in this direction on the way home; if we don’t head home this way I think we’ll go southeast, detour south through the Ozarks heading home. WHAT DO?!

• Day 4, Monday Oct 9: day of exploring Denver

• • Dispensaries to check out: Ascend Cannabis Co, Botanico, Sweet Leaf, The Health Center, The Herbal Cure, High Level Health
• • Where else has top notch stuff / most exciting deals?
• • Best places for carry out / outdoor patios we can bring the dog to?

• Day 5, Tuesday Oct 10: run our dog around so she sleeps at the airbnb while we see Queens of the Stone Age at Red Rocks!!

• • Castlewood Canyon State Park for the morning, then the show in the evening? Is this too far/ambitious?
• • How’s the hiking at red rocks? Should we just do this with the dog, check out the dinosaur trail? Enough to get her tired?

• Day 6, Wednesday Oct 11: SOUTH from Denver, this is where I need to really start cutting down!

• • Potential stops (What is actually worth doing if we won’t be hiking much and have the dog?):
• • *Pike’s Peak, Garden of the Gods, Rainbow Falls, Skyline Drive, Royal Gorge Bridge, lunch with a friend who lives in Colorado Springs
• • Sleeping: Zapata Falls Campground at the Great Sand Dunes? OR Rincon Campground on the Arkansas River OR Palisade Campground on the Rio Grande*

• Day 7, Thursday Oct 12: San Juan Scenic Byway

• • This is really high on my list, but I can’t decide if it’s worth doing the whole loop or just taking the stretch north from Durango to Montrose. I’ve heard the views are better driving north to south, but also that it’s scarier because you’re on the cliff edge - that’s why I’m leaning toward south to north, since it could snow etc
• • Potential stops: Mesa Verde National Park, Black Canyon of the Gunnison
• • Sleeping is SUPER up in the air, since I don’t know how much road/what route to do! Scouted out: Molas Lake, Ridgeway State Park (dutch charlie area campground), south rim campground Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Avalanche Campground or McClure campground near Penny Hot Springs

• Day 8, Friday Oct 13: Maroon Bells - Snowmass Wilderness

• • Are there easy hikes here? Not sure how much time we’ll actually have for this, it depends on how much we try to do the day before/how much spills into this day. Is it worth checking out if we just drive in, look around, and drive out?
• • Sleeping: very much up in the air, haven’t scouted out camping options yet, may want a break from camping and find a reasonable airbnb or hotel, don’t know how much farther we should plan to push this day

• Day 9, Saturday Oct 14: heading home to Chicago - head northeast to badlands or southeast to ozarks:

• • I can drive pretty comfortably for a whole day, not worried about that
• • Just want to maximize the beauty for the end of the trip

• Day 10, Sunday Oct 15: back home in Chicago

Ok, Reddit, sorry for the wall of text! Tear it apart!

TL;DR: what do for 10 days between Chicago and Colorado?