IS THERE A BETTER ROUTE TO GOLD CANYON AZ from Vancouver?

We are on the road now doing that trip.
We left friday morning and went as far a as Tulalep Casino at Marysville and dry camped in their lot for free. We do all the shopping for groceries that we need.
Sat morning we head out through Seattle and Portland to avoid the weekday traffic and go to 7 Feathers casino at Canyonville Or. We fuel up and dry camp again for free.
Sun. morning we head out and and get over the mountains and stop at Corning Ca.At the Rolling hills casino. Nice place $28./ night.
Monday we headed out and are now in Bakersfield. Today was about 8 hrs and the longest day we have put in.
I5 after Stockton is pretty rough in places.
Your first 2 days are doable but will be longer than 6 hrs. The third day would be a very long day from Redding to Indio.
I hope that helps, and enjoy your trip.
Also you can check the road conditions by going to the state dot road conditions. I just goggle them. It can get iffy over the mountain passes if the weather is bad. That said they keep the roads in pretty good shape.

My itinerary has evolved from many years of going south early January from Vancouver, and past few years now Van Isle.
Watch for weather window with no storms forecast for I-5 corridor Oregon & N Calif for next 2or 3 days before leaving home.

Day 1. Van to Eugene....take hwy 205 around Portland...in evening get next day tv & internet weather for Sexton Summit and Siskiyou Pass.

Day 2. Eugene to Corning CA. .....hills & curves driving day today..you will be in Medford by noon, and over the Siskiyou Summit/ Mt. Shasta high country in less than 3 hrs....past Redding is flat and no more snow concerns.

Day 3. Corning to Bakersfield.....traffic driving thru Sacramento until south of Stockton...choice of hwy 99 or I-5 at Stockton....I usually take I-5 for steadier pace on cruise, but time not much different either way.

Day 4. Bakersfield to ? ....take Hwy 58 east out of Bakersfield to junction of 395.....2 or 3 choices from here.....395 to I-15 to 215 to I10......or stay on 58 to Barstow, 40 to CA 95 south to 62 to Parker then AZ 95 south to I10 at Quartzsite.

I spend approx 8 hrs on the road per day....if you are towing, just keep pace with the trucks in the right hand lane....you will find 59 mph seems to be the flow most times...

Ka Ron means Highway *58* east to Barstow.

Going through L.A......from I-5 get on 210 around the northeast edge of the L.A. area, to I-10.

In January that is the best route from Vancouver.
We stay on I5 and then over to Bakersfield and Highway 50 east to Barstow, then south to I10.

Avoid LA that way

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That is likely the best route to avoid weather this time of year although Siskayou pass in southern Oregon can be iffy. Listen to the road reports and plan accordingly.
6 hours to Salem is a bit of a stretch. You can easily lose an hour or more waiting in line at U.S. customs then you have to deal with heavy traffic from Everett to Olympia. Same through Portland. Ugh!!! We drove to Palm Springs, don't plan to do it again. Not very scenic for the most part, it gets pretty monotonous especially in the fog.

If you can push it a little 7 feathers in Canyonville is good. If traffic is the pits stop at Champoeg state park a bit south of Portland.

I think you have a good plan. I don't remember the route (others will know), but i would stay away from driving through LA if possible. I would also keep a close eye on the weather when traveling through southern OR (Ashland area) and into northern CA. Once you get to Redding, you are good to go. Also, CA laws put a max speed at 55 MPH for vehicle with more than 3 axles or towing anything. The CHP loves those of us in the NW.