Planning Our Summer 2012 Road Trip

The realities of our long-anticipated, nearly 5,000 mile road trip are starting to sink in, and I'm taking these laid-back summer days to start planning. 10 more days and counting! I'm going to need every one to figure out the logistics of not only packing for 5 kiddos, a dog, and myself, but also packing up the rest of our rental home here in Michigan to (hopefully!!) be ready for soon moving into our newly built home when we finish those 5,000 miles or so.

Here is the general itinerary:

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Michigan --> The Dells, Wisconsin. 8 hours. Camping, and hoping the kids don't notice the water parks.
Wisconsin -->  Minneapolis, Minnesota. 4 hours. Visiting a dear friend.
Minneapolis --> Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota. 9 hours. Camping.
North Dakota --> Missoula, Montana. 9 1/2 hours. Resting and stocking up.
Missoula --> Sandpoint, Idaho. 3 1/2 hours. Back with old friends and meeting up with Clint!
Sandpoint --> Boise, Idaho. 9 hours. Visiting family all along the way.
Boise --> Salt Lake City, Utah. 5 1/2 hours. Visiting grandparents.
Salt Lake --> Idaho Falls, Idaho area. 3-5 hours. Meeting up with Dax and Addy and family there.
Idaho --> Yellowstone National Park. 1 1/2 hours. Seeing if the kiddos won't hold their noses this time!
Yellowstone --> Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming. 5 hours. Camping and looking for bighorn sheep.
Wyoming --> Mount Rushmore National Memorial. 4 hours. Taking in the scenery.
Mount Rushmore --> Badlands National Park. 2 hours. Camping and celebrating Addy's birthday.
Badlands --> Mississippi River, Davenport, Iowa. 11 hours. We get to see the mighty Mississippi!
Iowa --> Our New Home. 6 1/2 hours. Tackling Clint with some big hugs.

4,926 miles * 83 hours of drive time * we'll soon see just how much real time....