Looks like several people are headed the same direction I am Heading. Wife and I are planning 18 days beginning and ending in Denver. Planning in works now. Goals--- Mt. Rushmore, Little Big Horn or just over to Cody Wyoming, still not sure there, then Yellowstone for a couple of days, Teton NP, down to Zion and Bryce Canyon, up to Canyon lands and Arches NP and then return to Denver. I have a Nikon D7000 and some lenses, but am considering renting some I do not have such as a 24-70 f/2.8 and a telephoto, perhaps a 400mm or 500mm. I have the 70-200 f/2.8 already. For those of you who have traveled and photographed the West, which lenses would you suggest. Also does MTShooter rent lenses? Don't know how to contact him directly, so hopefully will get ahold of him through UHH. Thank you all for your suggestions and guidance. Also anything in that circle route that I should not miss? I know I could spend months out west and not see everything that is available, but only have 18 days and then back home to Alaska for a week (50th HS Reunion) before returning to PA.

Looks like several people are headed the same direction I am Heading. Wife and I are planning 18 days beginning and ending in Denver. Planning in works now. Goals--- Mt. Rushmore, Little Big Horn or just over to Cody Wyoming, still not sure there, then Yellowstone for a couple of days, Teton NP, down to Zion and Bryce Canyon, up to Canyon lands and Arches NP and then return to Denver. I have a Nikon D7000 and some lenses, but am considering renting some I do not have such as a 24-70 f/2.8 and a telephoto, perhaps a 400mm or 500mm. I have the 70-200 f/2.8 already. For those of you who have traveled and photographed the West, which lenses would you suggest. .

Looks like several people are headed the same direction I am Heading. Wife and I are planning 18 days beginning and ending in Denver. Planning in works now. Goals--- Mt. Rushmore, Little Big Horn or just over to Cody Wyoming, still not sure there, then Yellowstone for a couple of days, Teton NP, down to Zion and Bryce Canyon, up to Canyon lands and Arches NP and then return to Denver. I have a Nikon D7000 and some lenses, but am considering renting some I do not have such as a 24-70 f/2.8 and a telephoto, perhaps a 400mm or 500mm. I have the 70-200 f/2.8 already. For those of you who have traveled and photographed the West, which lenses would you suggest. Also does MTShooter rent lenses? Don't know how to contact him directly, so hopefully will get ahold of him through UHH. Thank you all for your suggestions and guidance. Also anything in that circle route that I should not miss? I know I could spend months out west and not see everything that is available, but only have 18 days and then back home to Alaska for a week (50th HS Reunion) before returning to PA.

Your planned itinerary is going to be a "quick look-see" to pick areas you want to come back to. I have two suggestions which may, or may not, fit into your plan. From Denver head west and visit the "Black Canyon of the Gunnison". To my mind it rivals the Grand Canyon for spectacular and beats it for accessible. Second, if possible spend a night at the Best Western in Bryce. That will allow you to get the sunrise and the sunset pictures. You need to be on site well before sunrise as well as at and after sunset for the best light. One of the big problems with an ambitious plan like yours is being at the sites you want to photograph when the light is good. Many of them are some distance from the nearest accommodation.

D7000 is an APS-C ("DX" in Nikonese) camera, isn't it?

As such, I don't know about a 24-70/2.8. It really isn't very wide on a crop camera. Actually I use one on my crop cameras for portraiture, but not very much for landscapes. For that with those cameras I use 10-22mm and 12-24mm lenses (I shoot Canon, so look to see what's available in ultrawides for Nikon... I think the Nikkors are pricey, but there are some excellent Tokina, Sigma and Tamron at considerably better price).

Now, I do use a "walk-around" lens with my crop cameras. For use on their croppers, Canon offers 18-135, 15-85, 18-55 and 17-55... plus there are similar third party lenses. I happen to use 28-135 as a lightweight, versatile walk-around lens much of the time, but I always have the wider lenses to complement it.

Where you're going, you will likely want wide angle lenses. I'd recommend least 18mm and preferably 15mm, 12mm or 10mm.

For wildlife, you're likely to want a longer telephoto. Some of your more affordable options are Nikon 200-500 or Tamron or Sigma 150-600mm. You could instead get a teleconverter to use with your 70-200mm... but a 1.4X really only gets you to 280mm... and a 2X typically causes a pretty heavy hit in image quality when used on a zoom lens.

I think MTShooter offers some rentals, but can't say if he can meet your specific needs. His website is http://www.cameracottage.com/ Get in touch and ask.

I'd also be a little concerned about waiting until I arrived to rent gear. When I rent, if it's a piece of gear that I'm unfamiliar with, I prefer to get it at least a couple days in advance so I have some time to get accustomed to it.

Used gear might be an alternative... and if it's something you're unlikely to want to use again anytime soon, you could probably turn around and sell it after the trip, recouping much of what you spent.

If traveling by car and not too limited for space, I'd also take at least one macro lens, a flash and a tripod. (Even if flying in to Denver, then renting a car... It's possible to ship gear ahead so you don't have to deal with it during your flight.)

If you are still in the planning stages, you also might want to plan a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, which is about an hour and a half drive from Denver. Wonderful mountain vistas, wildlife and the town of Estes Park is historic and scenic. Can be pretty well "done" in one day. It's a bit of a side trip, though, from what you've described.