Please comment our itinerary especially regarding:
1. Are the stretches we are planning to drive unrealistic for a 28day trip?

2. Should we prioritate the amount of time we spend in the various places differently?

3. unmissable views/sights on the road/detour
4. good restaurants (any nat./reg.speciality)
(max. 100USD/pers. incl. tax/tips)

5. tips on what time of the day to be in certain places for amazing light/less crowds

We'll be me and my husband.
He has been to LA&SF, I haven't.
We're incl. them on this trip bec. of that, to get a balance between cities, driving & hiking and bec. they are convenient longer stops on the road.
We don't mind living out of a suitcase for app. half the time.

He loves driving long stretches on good road(8hrs+).
I enjoy being passenger for up to 6hrs stretches or 8-10hrs driving per day with longer sightseeing/lunch breaks and will drive max. 2hrs once a day, twice if necessary to reach an unmissable spot.
We plan to do most of the driving during daytime mainly because of the landscapes once we reach the canyon areas.

We plan on leaving Denmark Saturday April 12th and arrive there again Sunday May 12th. This leaves us app. 28 days for this huge "driving-through hopefully beautiful landscape-heavy" trip.

TIA for your input Best regards
Cecilie Thorning Jacobsen, MD.

April 13th, Sat. dep. CPH 15:35 local time
April 13th, Sat. arr. Seattle 16:35 local time

April 14th, Sun. fly Seattle - San Franscisco, arr. early afternoon,
pick up rentcar, Highway1 to Cambria

April 15th, Mon Hearst Castle early morning
Hearst Castle - Los Angeles via Highway1, arr. late afternoon

April 16th, Tue Los Angeles Disney World
April 17th, Wed Los Angeles Getty Museum, shopping
April 18th, Thu Los Angeles Universal Studio
April 19th, Fri Los Angeles shopping etc.

April 20th, Sat LA. - Grand Canyon South Rim
early morning-evening via US91, US66
April 21st, Sun 1day-hike Grand Canyon South Rim
April 22nd, Mon 1day-hike Grand Canyon South Rim

April 23rd, Tue Grand Canyon - Canyon de Chelly via ?

April 24th, Wed Canyon de Chelly South Rim drive - Monument Valley - Mesa Verde
morning-evening via US160, Kayente US163

April 25th, Thu 1day-hike Mesa Verde
April 26th, Fri Mesa Verde - Nat'l. Bridges -Bullfrog Marina
½day-hike MV, arr. BM. evening

April 27th, Sat Lake Powell, 1-day sailtrip

April 28th, Sun Bullfrog Marina - Bryce Canyon via Monticello, Blanding
April 29th, Mon 1day-hike Bryce Canyon
April 30th, Tue 1day-hike Bryce Canyon

May 1st, Wed Bryce Canyon - Zion Nat.Park - Las Vegas
early morning-late afternoon via US91/15
Hanksville, Koosharem, Antimony

May 2nd, Thu Las Vegas - Death Valley, Scottys Castle
via Pahrump, Shoshone, Furnace Creek
May 3rd, Fri Death Valley - Mariposa

May 4th, Sat Mariposa, Bodie Ghost Town
May 5th, Sun Mariposa - San Fransisco via US99

May 6th, Mon San Franscisco
May 7th, Tue San Franscisco
May 8th, Wed San Fransisco
May 9th, Thu San Fransisco

May 10th, Fri fly San Franscisco-Seattle
May 11th, Sat fly from Seattle 18:55
May 12th, Sun arrive Copenhagen 13:25

Let me comment on your Death Valley-Bodie-Mariposa leg. You must be planning to drive through Yosemite to get from Mariposa to Bodie right? And then back to Mariposa and on to SF? This is the Mariposa southwest of Yosemite?

Bodie is east of Mammoth/June Lakes, southeast of Lee Vining which is the east entrance to Yosemite or Tioga Pass.

It might make more sense to take another route to Bodie from Death Valley than to go all the way to Mariposa and back again. I know you can go up 395 through Bishop and then see Bodie after you pass by Mammoth. The road to Bodie is not paved and is quite bumpy. It is still quite cool in the eastern Sierras in May as well. It is very possible that there will be no mountain passes open over the Sierras. Tiga opens pretty late in May and will most likely be closed when you need it. If in fact there is a different Mariposa than the one I am thinking about you may correct me.

I love to long road trips, but your schedule is really pushing it! I think you can do this itinerary, but you have so many days racing from one spot to another that you may not enjoy it. For example, the trip from SF to Cambria is about a 5 hour drive. On a Sunday, Highway 1 could take much longer depending on the weather and the number of "Sunday Drivers". At Hearst castle, you buy tickets for tours and are ferried up the hill in busses. It takes a good part of the day, even if you get on one of the early short tours. Again, the drive to LA is about 5 hours.
I would only reserve hotels in places like Cambria, LA and Mesa Verde to allow yourselves some flexibility.(A note on Mesa verde- stay in the lodge in the park. That way, you can be first in line in the morning for the tickets to Cliff palace or Balcony house. In addition, the food at the lodge is great).
You can eliminate some things- Bryce and Zion are essentially the same sort of place, and since you're going to Disneyland, I would not waste a day in Universal Studios. I'd use the extra day to allow more time for leisurly drives with time to stop for lunches, or to allow for weather or unxpected events.
There is a great series of books called "2 to 22 days in _____" by John Muir Publications...You might try to get a copy of 2-22 days in the American Southwest. they are pretty accurate on Drive times and have good recommendations for places to stop, sleep, and eat along the way.
Have fun!

We are going to the Mariposa southeast of Yosemite to visit relatives, so that's an unmissable stop for us.
However, your tips makes me consider going directly to Bodie, then to Mariposa before SF.

Also, We need to make reservations in both Grand Canyon and Bryce if we want the Bright Angel Lodge and the "in park" lodge in Bryce. They are pretty much fully booked for May.

Finally, How about reversing the route by going SF-Death Valley-LV-Bryce-Mesa Verde-Chelley-Grand Canyon-LA-Cambria-SF?
That will ensure that the paths in Grand Canyon at least are more accesible.
TIA and thanks for your comments
Cecilie

Going to Bodie while you are still on the eastern side of the Sierras is a good idea but how did you plan to get either to or from Bodie to Mariposa in early May? Typically travel between these two would mean going over Tioga pass, however it is usually not open until Memorial Day which is the end of May. The average opening date is May 30th, the earliest it has ever opened is April 8 in 1977 which was the middle of many drought years and the latest was July 8, 1933. The average date during the last decade was June 4th. The earliest openings were all in the 1970s during what was a severe drought in CA. Far less snow fell during those years. All this is meant to point out that in early May it would be hard to count on traveling over Tioga Pass to get to Mariposa. Will you drive up to Tahoe and down either 50 or 80 and then south to Mariposa?

Actually I'd skip Bodie and move on to Mariposa from Death Valley and see Yosemite. I went to Bodie last summer and while historically it's interesting it is a bunch of old buildings in a desert environment. Not worth the extra driving to get to Bodie as a destination.

Even if Tioga was open I can't imagine driving from Mariposa to Bodie and back to Mariposa in one day. I do not see you staying anywhere on May 4th but May 5th you are in Mariposa so I assumed you'd be returning there after seeing Bodie. If I did that drive and I got to Bodie as my destination I'd be saying to myself, "This is it?"