[arbezc]

Thanks for the advice Craig,
Coming from Canada we won't be acclimatized to the heat. I may bring a cooling vest.
Good advice on avoiding weekends at least at popular sites. I think YouTube & Instagram have radically changed travel. Even Mesa Verde & Canyon de Chelly look over run. Paved roads have made these places accessible to everyone. We've started to avoid most tourist sites even in Europe. Less is often more when you're older.

Once the planning is done, I'm looking forward to some wandering in the southwest. I have a 3 day slog on freeways to get into the region. Once there I intend to slow down & avoid crowds. The route from Bryce to Mexican Hat on UT-12 & 95 is on our preliminary list. Can you recommend a few less travelled roads like CO-141?