David,
Welcome to the club. As a "former" 150/150 owner, I agree with Dale and David, the 150/150 will do as much with two people as a 182, but just not as fast.
If you feel that a 110-115 mph cruise speed (ok, so mine was maybe not as fast as some, but this is a good average) then it is a good choice for your mission as it is economical and they can be had pretty cheap right now.
Another good choice and also very cheap is what my current airplane is. A Cherokee 180....I just got back to KEAT (Wenatchee, WA) from a round trip that took me through BMC, down to Cottonwood, AZ (near Sedona) and back up through Reno area to home. Much of the trip was at or over 14,500 on very non-standard days and my cruise (1963 model) was 130 mph. At altitude, my burn was about 8.4 gph.
The 150/150 brings better short field performance, but flying along side a passel of 150/150's a few years ago out of Page AZ showed the old Cherokee to be a pretty comparable bird...albeit with a bigger motor.
