we all had a talk and decided to scrap driving out there completely. We will fly to Vegas and begin our trip there, probably spending our first day there. From there we can go to the grand canyon and camp/stay there for possibly a few days, that way we can have an epic hike in the grand canyon. Then we will probably go up to Moab and spend a night or 2 there, exploring Arches National Park and Canyonlands. Then we will probably go see Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef before heading to Zion, where we will spend at least a couple days, and then it's Back to Vegas to fly back.

This way is still kind of a road trip due to the multiple destinations and large amount of travel, but it is cheaper, and we get to do a lot more cool stuff while we are there, like the grand canyon for example.