Need help planning realistic national park road trip with kids. Yellowstone, Badlands, etc
I start an accelerated nursing program in fall so I want to do a big trip with my kids (14M, 9M) before it starts since any free time will be very limited during it. I think a road trip would be fun and a bit more economical.
We have 14 days to go, last week of July and beginning of August. We live in Chicago and I'd like to do more of the boring driving at the beginning. I'm thinking cheap motels for quick overnight stays and camping for when we stay somewhere longer than a night. Our camping experience is mostly car camping and with Cub Scouts. It's never been longer than maybe 5 nights, but we're up for adventure and have plenty of gear. I don't intend on backpacking anywhere and would prefer to stay at campgrounds with bathrooms/showers to be more comfortable. I don't have any family/friends in any of the states we'd be driving through to stay with. My car is pretty solid and comfy. 2010 Honda CRV 50k miles around 22/mpg.
I have a free pass to national parks. I asked the kids for ideas on where they'd like to go and they said Mount Rushmore, Badlands, and Yellowstone. These aren't set in stone by any means. I'd love to stop at random roadside attractions for breaks. The majority of our meals will be sandwiches and easy things to cook on the camping grill.
I'm not sure how to start the actual plans though. How long should I reasonably plan to stay at parks? Is it too late (1 month out) to even reserve campsites? Does driving all the way to Yellowstone from Chicago as the only driver sound insane? What national parks should I look into or must-see places along the way? I'm at a standstill on how to actually proceed with planning.
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