re: Best road trips out West from BTR

yeah you could take your time over to big bend - stay in austin one way and san antonio one way and still get 3-4 days in the park. Bring a passport so you can go to boquillas. You could also throw in a day or two in south padre for some beach action.

Or you could go for something like this:
Day 1 - BR to Austin
Day 2 - Austin to Big Bend
Day 3 - Big bend
Day 4 - Big Bend to Tuscon
Day 5 - Tuscon to grand canyon (stop by saguaro NP)
Day 6 - GC
Day 7 - GC to Amarillo
Day 8 - Amarillo to BR