Ed,
That's quite an aggressive travel schedule as mentioned by others already. Is there a reason for flying in to Vegas? Business perhaps? It might be too late to change, but Fresno, Oakland or San Jose are considerably closer.
Just driving alone could take about 8 hours from Vegas to Yosemite. Being a photographer, you KNOW you can't just drive straight through and will probably stop for some photos along the way. If you stop in Sequoia, you won't get to the Yosemite View lodge until the wee hours of the morning.
Great lodging choice btw. Since you're staying on 140 there in El Portal, it's my opinion that the Merced River canyon is a photo destination all by itself. See some pics on my
site. The Redbud should be in good bloom and perhaps the poppies may be out. The moss will be prime and you could easily spend a day wandering up and down the 16mile stretch from Bryceburg to the YV lodge. I would extend your stay there at least another night.
I can't not recommend the Big Sur coast, but getting to Monterey from Yosemite is another big drive, a good 4 hours. Monterey to SLO is another day figuring you won't drive straight through. And consider at least another 6-8 hours back to Vegas depending on where you end up. Cut over from SLO (San Luis Ob) and do some Googling for the
Carrizo Plain. The drives through the central coast there will beat anything will see driving through Bakersfield. There is also the Tejon area at the base of the Tehachapi mountains and pass. Check out this
wildflower link.
Although the there's lots to be seen around Antelope Valley is always a crap shoot and honestly not the best destination considering your time constraints. It's almost ALWAYS windy.
If it were me. Drive directly to YOsemite, stay 3 nights. Night 4 in Monterey/Carmel/Pacific Grove. Speaking of Pacific Grove, I highly recommend driving from Monterey to Pacific Grove along Ocean View and Sunset Drives. A beautiful, classically Monterey/Pacific Coast scenics and rugged coast. Start in Monterey, drive through Cannery row and make a big loop.
Anyway, should be enough to chew on. There are just too many possible destinations - even if you blindly picked a route from Yosemite to the coast and back to Vegas you would do ok.
Have a great trip.
Lon