My boyfriend and I are planning a road trip to visit his mother in Sedona over Spring Break (March 21st to March 31st). We are on a fairly tight budget so will be trying to do as much camping as possible.

Currently my biggest question is where is a good spot to stop along the way from Ashland, OR to Vegas... the chances are fairly good that we won't be able to leave Ashland till at the earliest 4 pm.. I am willing to put in about 4-5 hours max driving time on Friday. I know Google Maps prefers the route through Reno but I am not so sure this route is really faster or better in any way so I haven't actually decided whether to go that way or through Sacramento. I suppose staying overnight in San Fransisco/Sacramento area could work.. we are also both very experienced campers so anyplace that would be a great spot to wake up Sat morning would work for us that isn't too far of a drive from Vegas. We would like to spend a couple nights in Vegas either on the way there or on the way back..

There is a whole ton of stuff we would both love to see along the way so we are only planning on spending a couple days in Sedona so any places that are must sees while there?? (maybe going to Oak Creek Canyon, Bell Rock Montezuma Castle/Well, and Red Rock State Park while in Sedona)...

We of course want to visit the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Grand Staircase, Escalante and maybe Lake Powell/Glen Canyon???? I am thinking maybe staying somewhere near Kanab for a couple of days would be the easiest way to get around in Southern Utah.. My boyfriend is an avid climber and loves bouldering so we will likely be doing a lot of that in Utah.

Anyhow.. how realistic a plan is this and any suggestions on other ideas etc. Is there enough time to do all this or am I being overly optimistic.