Planning a western USA road trip

What a great adventure this is. I'd be using a book to plan this journey, the National Geographic Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways. This is the ideal guide for tailoring a trip through the US in the slow lane, with lots of photographs and maps that will help you plan a sensational journey through the American West. The book is available through Angus and Robertson's online bookstore, angusrobertson.com.au,  priced at $45.99, with a delivery time of 1-2 weeks. 

My own preference would be a wandering journey to take in the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone,  Grand Teton National Park, Zion National Park, Santa Fe and Bryce Canyon National Park. 

August is going to be very busy and you can expect big crowds at the scenic spectaculars such as the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. September will be quieter, especially once the school holidays finish early in the month, but you need to book accommodation and vehicle hire as soon as possible. If you have any flexibility in your travel dates you might consider starting your journey at the end of August or early September to avoid the worst of the peak season. 

On the Rocky Mountaineer, your most likely starting points are either Banff or Jasper, finishing in Vancouver. You're likely to incur a heavy one-way charge for your hire vehicle if you pick it up in the US and return it in Canada but this might not be too much of a problem if you're travelling aboard a single vehicle and the charge is shared between six. If not, what you might do is drop it at a city airport in one of the western US states and fly to Calgary, from where it's just a short trip to Banff, which would be my preferred starting point for your journey aboard the Rocky Mountaineer.