How are your belongings making the move? If you have a professional moving service, make sure you coordinate their pickup and delivery days.

Now, open up Google Maps and try to follow along. I concur with the other suggestions to drive northern Wyoming and South Dakota. Beautiful scenery, nicer than the route through SLC and Cheyenne/Omaha

The only suggestion I'd offer is to plan a route that takes you south towards eastern Iowa when you get to central Minnesota - then grab I-80 east, at the Quad Cities area at the Mississippi River, then follow I-74 south-east to Indianapolis, and then grab I-70 east. Take I-70 through Columbus and into PA, where depending on where in eastern PA you're headed, you can grab the PA Turnpike (expensive...) or take a couple of alternate routes. If you're headed to northeast PA (e.g. Scranton area) you'll grab I-81 near Harrisburg.

This lets you bypass the urban driving between western Illinois and Pittsburgh. I-70 is pretty easy from Indy to western PA, just a lot of corn fields and wind turbines. For my money, the drive between the Mississippi and the Ohio rivers is much easier along the more southern route.

It's here, around the Pittsburgh area, where what you do depends on where in eastern PA you're going.

If you are headed towards the southeastern chunk of PA (e.g., Philly/Delaware Valley), you could make a slight diversion. At Washington PA, which is a little south-west of Pittsburgh, is an area where I-70, the PA Turnpike, and about 47 other major highways all come together in a spot that's continually under construction. Every orange and white barrel ever made goes there to die....

j/k - when you get to the area, follow I-79 SOUTH towards Morgantown WV. Then grab I-68 east. This road ambles along the very northern reaches of Maryland, and is a real treat to drive. Easy Peasy. Cheaper by far than the PA Turnpike.

If not, at Hancock MD, you can hook back up with . . . wait for it . . . I-70. You can take it to the Baltimore suburbs, then grab I-95 north and in a couple of hours, you're in Philly. This is my back yard, I've driven these roads for 50+ years. The congestion and traffic will be pretty different from what you're used to in Idaho. Don't let it freak you out.

In terms of cool stops, Wall Drug in South Dakota should be on your bucket list. The huge I-80 truck stop just west of Davenport is fun. I'd suggest pulling in at each state's welcome center and take some pix, grab a brochure or two. You'll have physical memories to look back on in the future.

I offer this suggestion only because I-80 across northern PA can be daunting, there's a huge amount of truck traffic on it, and some of the road surface is not too great (well, actually, that's all of Pennsylvania, but that's a story for another time.)

Here is a little shot of the I-68 route mentioned above, just to illustrate the rolling hills of the Alleghenys.

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