Road Trip: Preliminary Route

I've been playing with both Yahoo Maps and Google Maps to plan out my trek through the southwestern United States. I like the graphics on Yahoo Maps better, but Google Maps seem to work much faster. The route I plan on taking will look something like this:

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I plan on spending quite a bit of time in Arizona. I have always been fascinated with the Arizona landscape and the American West. The desert with the bright red rocks, cactus, brilliant blue sky, and the Grand Canyon have fascinated me since I was a child. 

Major stops that I'd like to visit are:

1. Big Bend National Park, TX - This is one of the most isolated parks in the country. The pictures I have seen of this place is beautiful.
2. Tucson, AZ - This is a fast growing Arizona city. It is one of the cities I had considered moving to. However, I decided against moving to Arizona because of the extreme heat. However it should not be too hot this time of the year. From the pictures that I have seen, it is a beautiful city.
3. Phoenix, AZ - This is the largest city in Arizona. I plan on spending at least a few hours exploring the city and resupplying here. I've been there only once before in 1994. What I remember most about the city were the cactus and the fact that the streets are LONG! You can be on the correct street and be nowhere near where you want to be.
4. San Diego, CA - If it wasn't for the high cost of living, I would live in San Diego. The weather is perfect. There's the ocean and the mountains are near by. It's a beautiful city with beautiful people from what I hear. I've never been there, so it will be interesting to see first hand if it's true.
5. Las Vegas, NV - I only spent 3 days there over Halloween weekend. I met quite a few interesting characters. I plan on spending more time visiting the sites. I definitely want to do Hoover Dam, play some poker, and perhaps stay in a luxury hotel.
6. Monument Valley, UT - Almost every American would instantly recognize this place even if they've never been here. It has been used as a backdrop for countless TV shows. I remember this place as the backdrop for the 80's show Air Wolf.
7. Amarillo, TX - I don't want to come back down thru I10, so instead I'm going to go thru the Texas Panhandle via Albuquerque, NM. Don't know what I'll find here besides cowboys and cattle.
8. Dallas/Fort Worth, TX - I've been to Dallas a few times including a trip I did over 4th of July weekend in 2006 as well as a few trips there with my mom. I have never been to Ft. Worth, however. For this trip, I will probably spend the majority of my time exploring Fort Worth.
9. Austin, TX - Back home to Austin, TX!

According to Google Maps, this entire trip will be about 3,500 miles. I'm hoping to see new, interesting things, to meet new people, take beautiful pictures, and to come back with interesting stories.

So how much will a trip like this cost? At 18 mpg with my 2001 Nissan Pathfinder, I'm estimating I will need 200 gallons of gas. At $3.50 / gallon, that will be $700 in gasoline costs. I'm estimating it will take between 2-3 weeks to complete this trip. Three weeks of hotels at an average cost of $60/night will come out to $1,260. I shouldn't count food entirely because I need to eat regardless of whether or not I go on this trip. But it certainly does cost more to eat out than to cook at home. Plus, there is money for excursions, although I tend to do mostly free or cheap activities like museums or city tours. Anyways, I'm budgeting around $2,200-$2,500 for this trek across the south west.

It would be nice to have someone go with me both for the company and to split the cost of this trip. Unfortunately, it seems most of my friends don't seem to have the time, and/or the money for something like this. Let me know if you are someone that would be interested in doing something like this.