Ok, here's the setup: My wife and I have been doing a weeklong (give or take a few days) road trip from the Chicago area to a few destinations out west on a yearly basis for nearly a decade now. We love the places we've hit, but we're looking for a few diversions and lesser-known areas to hike and hit on our way through.

We typically camp the whole week - we bring a tent and either sleep in our car between spots, or set up tent on BLM land, in parks, or backwoods when hiking.

Standards that we've hit:

In Colorado: RMNP (most of the hikes around Bear Lake, but primarily, Bear Lake to Fern Lake loop), Hanging Lake, Grizzly Creek, Colorado National Monument, Mesa Verde

In Utah: Canyonlands (both Island in the Sky and Needles), Arches (primitive trail hike, delicate arch hike, as well as pretty much everything reachable by car), Capitol Reef (Cave Spring and, I believe, confluence overlook), La Sal Mountains (we've just camped here).

Arizona: Slot canyons, Horseshoe bend, Lone Rock Beach (although this place sucks now, because it's overrun by RVs) Northern Rim of the Grand Canyon (but just barely we did not get to hike).

I'm looking for any hidden gems at these spots, or any hidden gems within reasonable driving distance from these spots. We very loosely plan - we just get in the car and drive whichever direction pulls us, so alternative spots are welcome. I'm down for hikes to cool points of interest, scenic drives, great camping - you name it. I prefer to get away from the crowds, if possible.

Bonus points if there's a decent amount of BLM land for camping out of our car nearby.

Related - I've been wanting to take the trip a bit further west for Zion, but I'm always a bit nervous that the crowds will bother me too much - what's the best way to get away from the rabble in Zion? There's nothing more I hate than a National Park experience that feels like an amusement park - I want to be semi-alone with my thoughts, my wife, and my camera.

A million questions, I know, but I figure if anyone would know the answers, it'd be my fellow National Parks lovers.