Final Route

East Coast to Minneapolis (July 30 - August 5)

Minneapolis to Yellowstone (August 5 - August 10)

So the route for the first two parts of our road trip is pretty much set in stone now. Looks great, not too much driving and lots of great places along the way.

For the final part of our trip I've made two alternatives: the first one is more straightforward as it is 549 miles shorter. But I think at some point we might become a bit exhausted of mountains and hikes and maybe after Badlands, Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, Devil's Tower, Yellowstone, Utah and so on, we might want to skip Idaho and do something entirely different for that final week.

The alternative route would give us the chance to see the Grand Canyon, Zion, and spend some time in Vegas and/or Reno. The only downside is the final stage from Reno to Portland, which would be almost entirely driving for a day, watching Dancing Groot doing his thing on the dashboard. But we could also avoid this by adding another stop inbetween and arriving in Portland on Saturday noon/early afternoon instead of Friday night, staying the night somewhere on the Pacific coast. Then it should be more fun.

Yellowstone to Portland (August 10 - August 14)

ALTERNATIVE ROUTE (August 10 - August 14/15)