The most direct route would be I-10 to I-17N to Flagstaff and then I-40 and I-44 all the way home. However, if you want to avoid the long climb to Flagstaff you can add about 100 miles to the trip and continue on I-10 to the Las Cruces area and take I-25 to Albuquerque.
If you are planning a sightseeing trip there are many things to do along the way but there are also longer versions of the same trip that will have interesting stops along the way. It's just a matter of adding time and mileage to see things you might be interested in.
As mentioned above, I highly recommend Google Maps to plan your trip. If you are concerned about elevation changes then you can plan the trip in Google Earth. Once you have the trip laid out you can right click on the route and select "elevation map" to view the elevation changes along the way.