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Not sure what you mean by "ring the changes."

Out of curiosity, I did a Mapquest plugging in the Donner Pass route, and
it's a bit longer, both time and distance than the route through Yosemite.
Then, I simply plugged in San Francisco to Lee Vining, and Mapquest routed
me over Sonora Pass.  About an hour less than the route through Yosemite.
Never taken that route before.  Do you know it?

Right you are about the flies at Mono Lake.  We encountered Gazillions of
them, but they were really only a minor annoyance.  Would have been worse if
we were barefoot, or wanting to wade into the lake.

EQR

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Thanks Bob,

Do know how to spell it, but I have heavy fingers and a cheap keyboard that
sometimes add a letter or two, here and there.

EQR

Grand Canyon is, without a doubt, way cool, but it's a serious drive
and once you're there you'll want to spend time there.  I'd plan a
separate trip - maybe even consider a rafting trip down the Colorado.

I visited Death Valley last summer (late July) for a day and my kids
are STILL annoyed with me.  Daytime temperatures were around 115 and
nightime cooled down to 85 just before dawn.  The heat will kill you
if you're stupid.  But I had fun.

During the summer there are often climbers on El Capitan, but you need
at least binoculars and preferably a telescope to see them.  People
just get lost on the scale of the mountains.

The psuedo-sophisticated wine country types tend toward "too-ul-um-nay" .
The same sort of the thing as turning the fine Dutch artist Van Gogh (
"Vun Gogg" with the gutteral GH, unachievable by the American tongue
without some Germanic language education) into an affected Frenchman
named Van Go!

Ok, ok. So aah moments, driving (or other travel methods), $4+/Gal gas
prices time available and a blissful future are the real issues here.
This is the promise of Zion NP;
http://www.travelwest.net/parks/zion/photo_gallery.html ;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion_national_park ;
http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/us_national_park/ut_zion.htm

If GC is on the list and you are driving from California, good route
planning will let you avoid Las Vegas, or not.
Get out your map and trace a route across Tioga Pass, down US395 to
South of Lone Pine. Head East on 136 & 190 through DV with an over
night at Furnace Creek, there are 2 choices here, Furnace Creek Inn
$$$$$ or the more motelish Furnace Creek Ranch $$, I think of them as
nothing more than necessary evil travel stop oases, lodging is limited.

Then drive into Nevada and here you can bypass Vegas if you choose and
drive into Utah and see Zion. From Zion  you can go the North rim of
the Grand Canyon and take that in. It is a very different aspect to the
well trodden South rim.
From the North rim head East past the Vermillion Cliffs & Marble Canyon
(you can always take that Colorado raft trip from here) and re-enter
Grand Canyon NP from the East to the South Rim. You will see much more
than the average South rim day tripper.

Then thoroughly exhaused, you can curse me for ever suggesting you put
yourself through driving this route and find some way to fly home from
Flagstaff or Las Vegas.