flbronc, thanks for that. I *think* the latest idea is to drive 'through' Canyon de Chelly, en route from Santa Fe to Mon Vall - that way we get to see something at least. I didn't go down the Grand Canyon on a donkey or ride the Colorado rapids - but I sure did love the GC! (I'm glad that glass thing wasn't there then).

Supercilious, yeah, I really do understand what you're getting at. It's like when people come to Europe and do London, Paris and Rome. These cities are fine (in small doses), but they should see the westcountry of England (where I live! and ALL of France (which is almost as diverse at the USA) and Tuscany and Sorrento and Vesuvius - those would be my highlights.
BUT, we really do only have those 3 weeks and we had planned, for years, to do a cross-country (not sure why - just the challenge, I guess!) when the hub retired - but he took early retirement from his main job, but is still working elsewhere, so he cannot take too much time off work (nor our son).
I've actually looked carefully into your suggestions (see, I do take notice!). 18 hours on the train from NY to Chicago.... But 2.5 hours by plane. We thought to do that (fly) and then fly down from Chicago to San Antonio, TX (because the hub has a yearning to see the Alamo). But, working it all out, what we would save in days, driving between Chicago and Amarillo (heck, Amarillo isn't my idea - it's my son - that song, you know ....), would be spent getting the heck out of Texas - LOL! So, we're back to square one (ie, I don't have a clue!!)
One thing I have done is to book our first 3 nights in the Radio City Apartments, NY. OK, it's not til June - but they're pretty popular (albeit not all that pretty by all accounts - great price and location). What I am most worried about is the car hire from there. Alamo say to pick up from Manhattan. Won't that make it a nightmare to get out of the city? I've looked to see if they do pickups at JFK or that other a'port over on NJ - but they don't. Oh well.
We'll then have to stop somewhere between NY and Chicago - probably just before Cleveland. It will be a hard (and probably boring) day, but I will try to find a couple of places of interest to stop along the way.
Chicago - 2 nights only, I'm afraid. I'm looking at vrbo condos, which are great - but even there I'm having a problem, because my son says "NO WAY" is he sleeping up that high!!
Then St Louis (or close) to Memphis to OKC. I'm not sure about this route actually - it just seemed the most interesting - the alternatives seeming worse (Des Moines way) - but I could be wrong - and these are seriously long distances. We all really want to go to Santa Fe though and will spend 3 nights there. Then, probably, up Canyon de Chelly to MV - then, maybe Arches and somewhere in between Moab and LV. I could dump LV, but it's convenient. YES, we still have D Valley on our list!! And maybe even Palm Springs still, because, looking around, it's not too much hotter there than anywhere else in the region!! We'll end the trip with a couple of nights in San Diego. Maybe Humphreys place.
Sorry, rambling! But it is hard work trying to get things right - and I am listening to all your opinions. This will be our 3rd big trip to the USA since 2004 (when it was our first trip!). 2004, we did Phoenix-Pinetop-Petrified Forest-Meteor Crater-Sedona-Grand Canyon-Lake Powell-Bryce-Zion-Vegas-LA (Hollywood)-Santa Monica-Sequoia-Yosemite-San Francisco.
2006, we did Seattle-MtRainier-MtSt Helens-Portland-ColumbiaRiverGorge-Grand Coulee-Missoula-Yellowstone-Cody (experienced 4th July there - parade, rodeo and all!)-Great Falls-Glacier-Waterton-Banff-Kelowna-Vancouver-Seattle.
Both trips were out of this world and good planning paid off. Both are hard acts to follow though.
I came on here asking whether it was worth a quick visit to Canyon de Chelly, if we didn't have time for the tour - and my whole itinerary has been ripped to shreds - LOL!

I'll leave you in peace now. Starting my own trip into the wasteland of Nevada.

I liked your itineraries for 2004 and 2006. Great selections all.

But, I question this cross country marathon for 2007. I've done it when I was younger and don't remember much about it except the long hours on the highways. Gas was a hell of a lot cheaper then.

Take time to smell the flowers by spending more than a few hours in each park. By the way, the Alamo was a big letdown when I visited it. In fact, Texas and Oklahoma are places to avoid in June in my opinion.

Whatever you do, have a great time.

Won't Nevada be awfully hot this time of year?! Hey, it sounds great - have a wonderful time!
The odd thing is that our 04 and 06 trips were about the same mileage as the one planned for cross country! (Which, incidentally, has just perked up enormously, since I discovered Eureka Springs and the Hoe-Down - we'll head that way instead of Memphis!)
Gas in the UK is £1 a litre, btw - or approximately $7 a gallon!! Same in Portugal, where we've just been.
'Smell the flowers' - yep, hope so.
Thanks for your advice and have a great trip!