Didn't mean to imply Isle Royale isn't great - it is! My recommendation to drop it was because it seemed to eat up a lot of your time, and would be easier to visit than the western parks, if you settle down in the Midwest. Don't take it off your life list; just take it off this list. Isle Royale deserves to be a destination all to itself, and have time lavished on it - it shouldn't just be a stop along the way. If you can afford the time this year, by all means go - but don't scrimp on the time you spend there.

IR definitely sounds like an awesome way to end the trip. I'm hoping to spend about four days hiking the spine of the island. I could easily decide to take a week in July or August solely for IR. After planning this out for a couple weeks, the focus of my trip is definitely going to be the Rockies, as hard as that might even be to do in six weeks.

This is the part of GR's excellent post that really stands out for me. It is true of IR,as well as the other parks and localities you will be visiting. Of course, if you haven't visited this part of the planet before, a rapid survey is probably a good thing - you have time to come back and cultivate the places that appeal to you.

Mulling this over, I reflected on my first visit to the Grand Canyon - just out of high school, traveling with Mom and Dad, and hitting all the "must see" places. We peered over the South Rim, and went on. I honestly wasn't all that impressed - after all, GC is basically jsut a big hole in the ground. But later on, I was privileged to return many more times, as an NPS employee, as a volunteer, and as a visitor. Grand Canyon is deep, wide, profound, and very subtle, with all kinds of odd values and resources. Just as an example - which probably has more miles of cave passage - Grand Canyon or Mammoth Cave NP?

Enjoy you trip - let us know how it comes out!

That shouldn't be a problem. You won't spend a lot of time at some places (Bryce & Arches for example) but could spend several days at others. That's up to you to decide since you know what does and doesn't interest you as much.

We crammed in a lot on our trip last summer but had a blast. I purposely left out a couple potential spots so we'd have more time at the others.

This summer has more destinations (and more time) but some like Arches, Bryce, Hoover Dam and Death valley won't take much time.

One other tip is to plan your gas stops using gasbuddy.com. You can save a fair bit on gas doing that and making sure you don't run low in the middle of nowhere. I only had to make one unplanned stop last year because of additional driving I hadn't expected (needing to drive a significant distance back to a visitor center because they'd changed the permitting process the week we arrived). Sometimes I'd fill back up after only half tank just to not be forced to buy where it was 20+ cents more.

"some like Arches, Bryce, Hoover Dam and Death valley won't take much time." No area need take more time than anyone wishes to spend there, but each of these parks can profitably absorb lots andlots of your time. For instance, if by Hoover Dam, you are refering to Lake Mead Nat'l Recreation Area, there is a lot of gorund to cover. In addition to a large reservoir, there is significant (de facto, at least) wilderness in the upland areas of the NRA. Death Valley is wide and sprawling, with a hugely diverse landscape. I did my deepest cave dive in that park (and there are significant mou tains and canyons. You can be sure, however, that DV will be the low point of your trip.....

I guess I will have to admit to being an avid fan of NPs (and similar areas). Please understand that they have been a significant part of my life....

Groan. DV will be too hot to explore extensively. Lake Mead is really big, but nothing around it interests us (compared to all the other places we'll be). As they say, to each his own (aka HYOH).