Osh?

On a whim I decided that I should go to Oshkosh this summer for the annual EAA Airventure event.  Like the swallows returning to Capistrano or the pilgrimage that every faithful Muslim is supposed to make to Mecca (or was that bomb making school? - I always get those confused); Osh is something that every pilot should do at least once or so I've been told.
So I pitched the idea to my Uncle Jim, who must have suffered a mental lapse because now I have a co-pilot or additional body count in the wreckage.  Now comes the hard part - how do we get from point A to point B?  Or is it a zen and motorcycle maintenance thing where the destination isn't important it's the journey?  Regardless, there is flight planning to do and it's a little difficult to forecast precise weather and winds 3 months away.  Here are the basic constraints or guidelines that I'm working with - 1) we want to arrive relatively early in the AM to avoid the air traffic; this can get a little hairy at times with all sorts of planes, some without radios, trying to get to the same place, 2) unlike Jim, I've got a job to get back to; I've blocked out vacation days from Thursday, July 21st through Monday, August 1st - this needs to be enough to fly from LA to Smith Valley to pick up Jim and his gear, get from Nevada to Wisconsin, see the sights, and get back, 3) we're both VFR only so clouds at low altitudes (let alone really nasty weather) could hold us on the ground, 4) significant convective activity (that's thunderstorms to the great unwashed) generally build in the afternoon and seem to really be popular in the middle reaches of the continent. and 5) we're both at or approaching geezer status and the bladder endurance ain't what it used to be (not insignificant).

At present the general idea is:
July 21 - LA to Smith Valley (solo by your charming blogger)
July 22 - Smith Valley to somewhere in Wyoming (the charts indicate that there are some really big mounds of earth on this leg, so we'll probably take it pretty high and flip on the oxygen)
July 24 - Somewhere, WY to Somewhere Minnesota or Wisconsin
July 25 - get off the ground and into Oshkosh right after first light
July 26-27 - see the sights, kick the tires, ogle the planes
July 28 - get the hell out of Dodge early and head west young man - probably end up in South Dakota
July 29 - check out Mt. Rushmore from the air on the way to Smith Valley (this is gonna be a looooong day)
July 30 - Smith Valley to good ol' Whiteman Airport in Pacoima
July 31 - tip back a few cold ones with the love of my life and recount how I cheated death once again.
(this gives me some flexibility for weather or mechanical issues so I can get back to work to pay for this jaunt).

Anyone out there with any suggestions or "not to be missed" spots along the way?

Blue skies and tailwinds
Matt