Nevada to Kentucky road trip
 

I'm taking my family on a road trip from Nevada to Kentucky this summer. I would love suggestions for things to see, places to eat, and fun things to do. I'm leaning toward the southern route, but I'm also thinking about going north to see Mt. Rushmore. So any suggestions for the I-80 or I-40 route, or a more northern route through S. Dak and Yellowstone would be greatly appreciated. My kids are teenagers, so we don't need to have kid friendly things necessarily.

South Dakota has a lot of neat sights. I really did enjoy it.

How many days and are you coming back to Nevada? What will you see in Kentucky?
Give the kids a voice. Would you rather see the Gateway Arch in St. Louis or Mount Rushmore near Rapid City SD?

@tomfuller we are open to taking as many days as we need, probably 5 at the minimum, depending on what we decide to see. We'll be in Louisville for a few days, so we'll take in the Louisville Slugger factory and tour Churchill Downs while we're there. Maybe a bourbon distillery for the adults in the group too. We'll see the arch in St. Louis on the way out, still looking for things to see in "the middle"...Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri. Maybe a side trip to Branson? Hubby's not a fan of big cities, so even though I'd love to go way up and spend time in Chicago, that's probably not going to happen this trip.

Depending on how hot the summer is, I'd take a northern route back home. Depending on which part of Nevada you're coming from, I'd head for Green River UT for the first night.
Second day drive down to Moab and see what you can of Arches NP. Third day head for Denver with a stop in Glenwood Springs.
Fourth day head for Abilene Kansas. It has the Eisenhower museum and a rock marking the end of the cattle trail.
Fifth day try to see if you can catch a baseball game at Busch Stadium and see the arch. Sixth day short trip to Louisville.
The northern trip home would be Chicago, Minneapolis, Mitchell SD (Corn Palace), Rapid City - Mt. Rushmore, Cody WY, Yellowstone NP, Salt Lake City and back home to Nevada.

I like tom fuller's routes, and you could do the trip in either direction (Green River first or Salt Lake City first depending on your interests and lodging options).

The scenic drive between Spearfish and Deadwood, SD, is one of the prettiest I've done. Deadwood is fun. Drive through the Badlands and the Black Hills, too.

You can sure take I70 through the Rockies and then up to SD and down to St. Louis.

Gretchen - it is a year old thread. Looks like it was topped by an advertiser.

OH geez. I usually look if the thread is long. Thanks.