Holy Roller,
My sympathy for your loss, my best wishes for a successful tour.
I second the idea of using the
Adventure Cycling Routes. You can stitch together much of your ride from AC routes. The AC routes don't just represent a set of directions. The maps have lots of local information that should prove useful on your journey.
You'll need to figure out what equipment to bring. Searching here on Bike Forums you can find other people's equipment lists. Another useful site is
crazyguyonabike. They have a link that will lead you to other people's equipment lists, and reading some of the tour journals will give you an idea of what to expect, and probably some inspiration as well.
Good luck!
Speedo