That is a lot of bus.

kb is dead on here... the buses in the USA are really terrible. They are almost never on time, they usually smell terrible and are not well kept. If you're lucky and get on a nicer, newer bus, it will still be filled with typical bus clientele - which at the risk of sounding like a dick... means you'll be traveling with the unbathed poor. I've taken the bus from Detroit to SLC twice, and from LA to SLC once. Those are different stories for different days - but I'll just say, speaking from experience, it's not an easy experience. I worry about your NYC to chicago leg.

And when I say - not running on time.... they might leave on time, but they almost never arrive on time. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that whatever they tell you for duration - double it and subtract 25%. If they say it's a 10 hour trip? that realistically means 17.5 hours. But you're right about one thing - they're cheap.

The rail trip from Denver to SF will be gorgeous. One word of warning - that time problem on the buses? it's as bad or worse for the train. I have an uncle who retired from Amtrak. It's a standing family joke that if Uncle Larry tells you he's showing up on Thursday at 2pm, just plan on midnight or later. In the world before mobile phones... I kind of hated Uncle Larry, because it meant sitting in some scary parking lot for hours and hours and hours just waiting for the train to arrive. Now it's not so bad - I just wait for him to call (I only live about 10 minutes from the main station downtown.

Salt Lake City... ok - it's been heavily trashed by others already... but I'll give you a slightly different spin: SLC is "fine". It's a clean, lovely city that's EASY to get around in via the public light rail system (free in many parts of downtown). BUT... unless you're A)Mormon, B) Have friends there, or C) Really into Mormon history... SLC isn't a place to burn more than a day layover. And you're going in August, so I ruled out the main reason to go to SLC - SKIING. That place has the most amazing snow... but that's another story for another day.

I'm stoked you're coming to Denver. We'll have some fun.