DougS Loc: Central Arkansas

I would recommend making a pass through Rocky Mountain NP. Then head north to Cheyenne (a side trip just to the west of Cheyenne if possible is Vedauwoo, it is RIGHT on interstate 80 between Cheyenne and Jackson), north to Casper then on north to Sheridan. Cross over the Bighorn Mts (quite scenic and less traveled) Head west to Cody, (yeah, I know you did not say anything about Yellowstone, but since it is next door to Grand Tetons/Jackson...) up to and across the Beartooth Mts (they are wow!). Loop thru thru Yellowstone down to Jackson, WY.
An alternate route is go north to Sioux Falls, then west to Badlands NP, Mt. Rushmore, Custer SP, Spearfish Canyon, Devils Tower (there are 2 or 3 more smaller versions in that area, old volcano cores), west to Sheridan Wy and the route thru the Bighorn Mts.
Avoid rush hour in Salt Lake City!.
In Missouri, there is Elephant Rocks SP, southwest of St. Louis.

kensantafe Loc: Santa Fe, NM

I live in Santa Fe, PM me if you would like some help when you get some arrival dates
Ken

Richard Ross

Here are some lesser known sites in the Utah/Arizona areas. Go to Vernal, UT. From there go to Flaming George. Go to the dam as well as to several beautiful lookout points. Also in the Vernal area is Fantastic Canyon for incredibly odd rock formations; not colorful but really, really odd. McConkie Ranch has some wonderful petroglyphs. You can also take in Dinosaur National Monument. You can google all four of these. In Salt Lake City take in a 20 minute organ recital at noon at the LDS Church Tabernacle on Temple Square. Take a shot or two of the organ. Afterwards go one block east to the Church Office Building and take a tour to the observation floor. You can take pictures of Temple Square, Utah State Capitol Bldg., University of Utah, and many other sights from 30 floors up. To see the Great Salt Lake, go to Antelope Island. Hike numerous trails to the top of the hills. Lots of bison on the island.
After leaving Salt Lake, head south to Highway 92 and then east. This will eventually get you to American Fork Canyon and the Alpine Scenic Loop, and it is scenic. Great photo opportunities at Tibble Fork Dam, Cascade Springs (both a few miles off the road but well worth it). Next stop is at Robert Redford's Sundance Resort. You could spend an entire day there taking photos, riding the ski lift to the top of the ski run, and hiking. Fall colors should be turning at this time. Mt. Timpanogos is spectacular. Then down to Provo Canyon. Be sure to catch a few shots of Bridal Veil Falls on your way to Provo. You can even hike to the base of the falls if you desire. If you go to Arizona go to Seligman, home for all the Route 66 memorabilia (google it). Ken Rockwell did a black and white set of pictures from Seligman. I would use color myself.
Enjoy.

bobsisk Loc: Chandler, Arizona

When you get to Yellowstone, of course you must see Old Faithful do its semi-regular thing. Before or after that just get yourself lost and don't worry about finding your way out. If you're into national parks Glacier in northern Montana is a good one too.

I was born and raised on the Texas side of the Texas/Oklahoma panhandle area. I agree with someone in these missives that's a good place to make some quick miles getting back to Indiana. However, if you have an interest in old dry-land farm implements take some side road trips (off of I-40) to small farming towns anywhere in Texas and Oklahoma. When you get passed Joplin there will be some mountainous scenery. Onondaga Cave and Meramec Caverns are impressive even if they are tourist traps. Two State parks are near Meramec Caverns if that's more to your liking. St. Louis used to have a really good zoo, but I haven't been there in a number of years. A trip up in the Golden Arch is worth the stop if you have the time. Then it's across Illinois and back home again in Indiana.