Help me plan a 5 week trip!
This is a 5 week section of a 9 week trip, the other 4 weeks are accounted for already (work and family). I moved to Denver last year from the east coast so that's why the whole Utah/CO area is skipped, I'll be able to do those another time over weekends. I'm driving up to Washington to pick up a truck camper (Lone Peak, to anyone curious) and then over to visit a friend in White Salmon who will also help finish the build out inside. I'm thinking of going down to the Redwoods, and up to Whistler (hoping to do some mountain biking with a friend for a few days), and over to the Badlands to eventually make my way to New England and then back to Denver (Badlands to NE back to Denver will be a sprint, I've done it before). I'll have my dog, a 35 lb terrier mix with me and I'm planning on doing a mix of BLM land and campgrounds. Banff and Jasper National Park in CA are tempting, but I'm hoping to drive up to Alaska at some point in the next few years so I can see those then. I really want to spend some time on the Oregon coast, maybe Crater Lake? Also Olympic National Park.
Since I'll have my dog with me I don't plan on spending much time in national parks, but I would like to try to visit the ones mentioned above. I'll need to work remotely one of the five weeks, and I'll have plenty more driving on both sides of this part of the trip so I'm thinking it makes sense to move fairly slowly for this chunk? Given this rough itinerary, what would you do? What can't I miss? Any recommendations or not to miss spots are welcome!