Southwest - time constraint and sightseeing advice

Hi!
My family and I are planning a roadtrip this summer, about two weeks long. We were originally planning to start in New Orleans, drive through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and finally California. Some things we would like to see along the way are Las Vegas, Gran Canyon, Yosemite, an indian reservation, San Francisco and/or Los Angeles. What do you guys think about the distances? We are starting to feel like it might be better to choose a shorter route (like start in Denver instead and go down to New Mexico from there) in order to not have to drive all day and only be able to stay a short amount of time in every place, but I would feel a bit sad to miss out on Texas and Louisiana. Would also love some advice on what to see along the way since we're not from the US and some of you might know of great gems. Thanks for any advice!

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

With 2 weeks, I would recommend just doing a loop of San Francisco - down the coast - LA - Grand Canyon - Monument Valley and/or Bryce or Zion NPs - Vegas - Death Valley - Yosemite - San Francisco. That's really going to give you the most bang for your buck in terms of what you want to see.

You could do a one way trip too where you start in New Orleans. In that case, I'd probably skip LA and the coast to save some time and miles. There are some downsides. New Orleans to Monument Valley or the Grand Canyon is 3 full days of driving, plus whatever time you want for siteseeing or detours. A one way trip is also going to cost quite a bit more - both with increase airfare and several hundred dollars for a one way car rental fees.

If you've got your heart set on seeing New Orleans and Texas, then that could be worth it to you - but really only you can decide that.

Thank you for the advice, Michael! We've spent some time in California and the west before which is why we wanted to explore the other states a bit as well, but you are probably right about the loop route being better for the sights we prioritize. If we were to drive through Texas and New Mexico though, are there any places or cities people generally like to visit that you know of (I realize it must be difficult to give people advice like that, but some cities might be more interesting than others Austin, Houston, San Antonio etc)? We definitely have some thinking to do!