Road trip Cali/Ariz/Cali

Mountainsandh

Any advice very welcome !
We're flying into LA, renting a car, and we have 2 weeks for a road trip.
2 kids 9 and 11, excellent travellers. We love the journey as much as the stops so mileage is very flexible. 4 hours drive a day is a nice day for us (we do that with campervan every year). Wouldn't go much over the 4 hours. (but 5/6 hrs well feasible if really worth it)

I'm looking at (roughly) heading from LA to Joshua Tree NP, then on to Grand Canyon via Flagstaff, then on to Las Vegas, and Rachel-Tonopah, finally cross back to San Francisco via Yosemite, and loop back down to LA 2 weeks later. Complete flexibility, so detours or changes no issue.

I'm looking for advice on any wacky and wonderful places to see/museums/curiosity shops along the way.

We're looping to Rachel-Tonopah for the Area 51 wackiness, and I'm planning a little detour via Lancaster back to LA for the musical road Little things like that.

Anything similar would be brilliant (gold prospecting spots/museums, abandoned villages, collectors' museums ...). Anything educational too.

We're not too keen on bigger towns, we're more into backwaters.

Thanks for any advice !

Hooked

One quick word (3 actually) of advice (as I just posted on another thread) is for the loop back from SanFran to LA...

Pacific Coast Highway

Jesus, I love that drive! All the way from San Fran to LA along the edge of the U.S. Also known as the CA1 or 101. A stop in Santa Cruz for the funfair, Carmel, Monterey (kids will love the aquarium), drive over the bixby canyon bridge, big sur... The list of stops is endless! Entering LA, you can stop in Malibu, Santa Monica, etc... Beautiful! Home from LAX.

I've driven it twice, and will be back in 2017/2018 for sure. Enjoy it... Sounds like an awesome family trip!

Ps / we found 'economycarrentals.com' great on car rental price!!!

Mountainsandh

Thanks Hooked, I'll try and block ample time for that stretch. I have looked mostly at driving through the desert so far, so I'm sure the contrast will be very welcome by then.

Mr M travels to the US a lot and loves the Monterey area too.

He doesn't really pay attention to kids friendly attractions when he's there (for work) though so any advice welcome.

Mountainsandh

Actually any recommendations for whale/sea life sightseeing boat tours along that stretch of coast would be very welcome, I'm looking online now but they all look equally great.

edit : just seeing it's mostly January to March Is it still worth a boat trip along that coast and where ? We did see whales near the Golden Gate Bridge when I went a few years ago, boat trip around the bay, that was around April I think. Might just do that instead of coastline trip.

InTheTrees

Mountainsandh wrote: »

edit : just seeing it's mostly January to March Is it still worth a boat trip along that coast and where ?

Well I think its a migratory thing.

There's a sea lion sanctuary on highway one just south of SF at Ana Nuevo state park, its worth a stop off on the way south.

And the Monterey Bay Aquarium is world class, you shuldnt miss that.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=523

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InTheTrees

Mountainsandh wrote: »

I'm looking for advice on any wacky and wonderful places to see/museums/curiosity shops along the way.

Some stuff on the california central coast

https://www.mysteryspot.com/

http://hearstcastle.org/

http://beachboardwalk.com/

http://www.computerhistory.org

https://www.montereybayaquarium.org

www.santacruzsurfingmuseum.org

http://www.mazdaraceway.com/events

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Mountainsandh

Thanks InTheTrees great links, the Mystery Spot seems exactly the kind of thing we're looking for, a little while in the woods and for a fun purpose !

Mountainsandh

Hooked wrote: »

One quick word (3 actually) of advice (as I just posted on another thread) is for the loop back from SanFran to LA...

Pacific Coast Highway

Jesus, I love that drive! All the way from San Fran to LA along the edge of the U.S. Also known as the CA1 or 101. A stop in Santa Cruz for the funfair, Carmel, Monterey (kids will love the aquarium), drive over the bixby canyon bridge, big sur... The list of stops is endless! Entering LA, you can stop in Malibu, Santa Monica, etc... Beautiful! Home from LAX.

I've driven it twice, and will be back in 2017/2018 for sure. Enjoy it... Sounds like an awesome family trip!

Ps / we found 'economycarrentals.com' great on car rental price!!!

Hey Hooked, thanks for advice, was just planning and wondering : I've got 3/4 nights there for going down that road, is that too much ? I have 2 nights in San Fran before that, and 2 nights in Los Angeles after that.

But that stretch can also be shortened and we could spend more time around LV/Nevada. I've cut out Grand Canyon out of our trip because Mr M loves the coast area a lot too, and Grand Canyon was adding a lot of drive for just a look (we don't do sports/hiking and it's only the kids haven't seen GC). So as it stands we're doing a bit of desert, then Las Vegas, desert (ET Highway), cross Yosemite, then San Fran and return down coast road.

Wondering now should I stick Grand Canyon back in and take a day or two less on that drive down.

Accommodation is a bit rubbish near Grand Canyon so that's not very enticing either.

jme2010

One of the greatest detours I've ever taken was to Oatman Arizona leaving from Flagstaff.

Can you say 'spaghetti western'? It's an old gold mining town that was abandoned during the war but has been revived by tourism. The burro's that used to drag the carts out of the mines where abandoned too so the just repopulated and know wander the streets.

There's also mock gun fights at high noon and 'side walk egg frying competition' on those days where it gets over 100 F.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oatman,_Arizona

It's 2 hours outside Flagstaff but the drive up through the arid mountains is breath taking.

jme2010

Mountainsandh wrote: »

I've cut out Grand Canyon out of our trip

It is spectacular but to drive there from Flagstaff leaves you a bit stranded and with a lot more miles to double back on.

Use that time to get to Vegas faster then you could get the helicopter ride out. Takes only couple of hours but pricey.

tricky D

jme2010 wrote: »

Use that time to get to Vegas faster then you could get the helicopter ride out. Takes only couple of hours but pricey.

Most of the affordable heli tour options run out of Boulder City Airport which is a good hour each way and the shuttle bus often visits a few hotels for pickups so the whole trip could last 6 hours. It did for me but it is a spectacular ride and while it's pricey at $250, it's such a Bucket List item that it's worth it. I'd easily trade a day for the GC over a day for LA.

Mountainsandh

jme I'll look into that, no idea where Oatman is. I did watch a youtube video on Bodie and that is more on our way, since we want to go up to ET Highway from LV, stop in Tonopah for the night, then cross West onto Yosemite area. (going by a lake in Mono county I think ?)
Tonopah looks nice actually, historical mining museum there has got good reviews on Trip Advisor, the Mizpah hotel looks cool, and I'm expecting a bit of stone shopping since I've seen that there's a turquoise mine a bit further down. Pity the turquoise mining is 100$ a head, and looks a bit hard going, but just having a look at the shops would be nice.

We'll be coming up from Joshua Tree NP.
We arrive in LA, so the plan the next day is to drive via Palm Springs towards the South Entrance to Joshua Tree NP, and drive up through it, then spend the night in 29 Palms.

To go to Grand Canyon from there we'd be heading towards Kingsman, Seligman, and then up. I've ruled out Flagstaff, no need to go that far. The old 66 route has a little bit of appeal, but that'd be a good bit of a drive to get closer to GC then a night somewhere bland like Williams or something, then after seeing GC retracing our steps via Kingman to LV.

Don't know...

I've ruled out the Sky walk as it seems a money grabbing only average experience. I saw GC from the GC village and it was lovely (went via Sedona from Phoenix).

The helicopter trip would be fantastic, not sure we have the budget for it
I'm expecting LV to be a costly stop already.

Mountainsandh

Just checked out Oatman, it looks brilliant ! Rocks ! Rocks ! Myself and the daughter love 5$ semi-precious treasures
Now the plan if we weren't going to GC was just to drive up 29 Palms via Highway/Road 95, I see it runs along Bullhead city so depending on time, that's definitely something we could do instead, take our time with that journey.

We were going to stop at Hoover Dam that day before going in to LV, but that can be kept for next day or something.

Two and a half hours to Oatman, lunch there and look around, and another 2 and a bit hours to LV later, perfect. The kind of day trips we like. Thanks jme !

siobhan08

I wouldn't cut out the Grand Canyon. It's amazing view.
I did it last year and I'm so glad I did. Pictures really don't do it justice.

I landed in Vegas arriving at 1am picked up an hire car and stayed in Vegas for the night and got up and drove out towards the GC stopping at Hoover Dam. Tried to make it to the GC for sunset but as we got nearer it stated pouring down and getting dark. We didn't realise it was monsoon season.

We stayed in Flagstaff for the night, which was only 1 hr 20 from the GC and then when back to the GC the next day before heading back to Vegas.

If your route took you via Flagstaff before Vegas you could easily do the GC before heading to Vegas and it would only add about 3 hours to your drive. I would recommend a stop at the Hoover Dame on the way back to Vegas. It’s only about 45-55 minutes outside Vegas.

When you get to Vegas a visit to Fremont Street is a must. It's the old strip where you can do a zip line over the streets. I'm not sure if the kids would be only enough for it though.

When you do get to LA just be aware that if you do go to Hollywood Boulevard. It’s not all that great. It’s literally just a street with the stars on the football and the famous theatre. Make sure you keep you wits about you around there.

As you have a car so can get around easy, stay out towards Venice Beach/ Santa Monica direction. Much nicer out around there as opposed to downtown LA.

Mountainsandh

Thanks for the tips Siobhan.
We're landing in LA, and heading West to Joshua Tree NP first, but it's not quite West enough for the GC.

InTheTrees

siobhan08 wrote: »

As you have a car so can get around easy, stay out towards Venice Beach/ Santa Monica direction. Much nicer out around there as opposed to downtown LA.

Yes. Santa Monica or Venice Beach. Further south just east of the airport and even around the airport can be very dodgy so dont be tempted by bargain hotels.

No reason to go to Downtown LA. Its like The City Of London, its really just the financial centre.

siobhan08

Mountainsandh wrote: »

Thanks for the tips Siobhan.
We're landing in LA, and heading West to Joshua Tree NP first, but it's not quite West enough for the GC.

Yeah I noticed in one of your post that via Flagstaff to GC was an option.
I would really recommend the GC. Defo a once in a lifetime trip to see it

Mountainsandh

I was there once before, and Mr M was there multiple times. It would really just be for the kids.

I'm just planning for fun really, we're going to mostly motel it, so we're not going to book much, except maybe for the biggest towns.
Meaning that we can change things around if we change our minds even closer to the time.

I suppose in LA we'll have to do one or two really touristy things for the youngsters, but like that, we're not pushed either.

Mr M would be pretty comfortable with driving us around for a bit even in bigger towns, and stopping us as close to an interesting point as possible, he travels to the US quite a bit for work. He's a musician, so would be familiar with town centers where the venues often are, but doesn't get to do the touristy things that much. Often they just go in, do the gig, get a bite to eat, and off somewhere else the next day.

So a practical knowledge of places but not much touristy experience of same, that's why your experiences are so helpful.

siobhan08

Mountainsandh wrote: »

I was there once before, and Mr M was there multiple times. It would really just be for the kids.

I'm just planning for fun really, we're going to mostly motel it, so we're not going to book much, except maybe for the biggest towns.
Meaning that we can change things around if we change our minds even closer to the time.

I suppose in LA we'll have to do one or two really touristy things for the youngsters, but like that, we're not pushed either.

Mr M would be pretty comfortable with driving us around for a bit even in bigger towns, and stopping us as close to an interesting point as possible, he travels to the US quite a bit for work. He's a musician, so would be familiar with town centers where the venues often are, but doesn't get to do the touristy things that much. Often they just go in, do the gig, get a bite to eat, and off somewhere else the next day.

So a practical knowledge of places but not much touristy experience of same, that's why your experiences are so helpful.

Check out the website hotwire. Could book as you travel.you can get hotels pretty cheaper. You dont know what the hotel is until you book it. You can save a bit a money. Can books cars on it as well
https://www.hotwire.com

Mountainsandh

Thanks !
Mr M uses Priceline, it seems to be the same in principle, but I'll check out yours. He seems convinced he's getting brilliant deals sometimes, but I can see very similar prices elsewhere, and Priceline seem to take a very hefty "fee" on some spots that negate the benefits imo.
Like Las Vegas, where their "fee" (on top of the hotel/resort fee + taxes + room) can be up to 75 $ ! What's the point ??? you end up with the same price as booking.com, and at this stage there's still availability.

siobhan08

Mountainsandh wrote: »

Thanks !
Mr M uses Priceline, it seems to be the same in principle, but I'll check out yours. He seems convinced he's getting brilliant deals sometimes, but I can see very similar prices elsewhere, and Priceline seem to take a very hefty "fee" on some spots that negate the benefits imo.
Like Las Vegas, where their "fee" (on top of the hotel/resort fee + taxes + room) can be up to 75 $ ! What's the point ??? you end up with the same price as booking.com, and at this stage there's still availability.

yeah it is similar to Priceline. Think they do have some fees.
When you do hit Vegas try and keep to weekdays its much cheaper that weekends. I got two nights at the https://www.excalibur.com/en.html for $120. I was staying with another girl so it ended up being €30 for each per night. This was September. Booked it on booking.com a few days before I arrived

Mountainsandh

From what I see Hotwire seem to take way less charges than Priceline. Not sure I can convince Mr M about it but it's worth a try

How did you find the Excalibur ? Would it be ok with kids ? Like, it's not too seedy ?

Any recommendations for resorts in LV are very welcome. I thought the Circus place looked good for a while, but the reviews are dreadful, the Luxor looks like a 20 something paradise, but not so family oriented ...

So far I've retained the Excalibur, or another one that looks great actually is Planet Hollywood, but a bit pricier.

I have no idea of their situation(s), haven't looked into that at all yet.

At the end of the day, we don't need the all fancy experience either, but if we can have something like that for a reasonable price we might as well.

It looks like we'd be there a Wednesday and Thursday night.

edit : it seems easy enough to figure out what hotel you're getting with the marked down price, or so Mr M thinks...

nungesser

A word of advice is to check that the Tioga Pass is open, That is the mountain pass on route 120 that goes from the town of Lee Vining up into the Sierra Mountains into Yosemite. It is often closed in the winter early spring due to snow. Not sure when your going on your trip but should be easy enough to look up.
At Lee Vining is Mono Lake which is a really cool spot on the south shore is a place to look at the Tufas which are towering mineral deposits real alien looking type landscape. The turn off is along hwy 120
North of Mono Lake on Hwy 395 the road the town of Lee Vining is on is an amazing ghost town called Bodie. Old mining town with lots of buildings and old shops still intact and you can look in the windows and see the old furniture and gambling tables in the saloon, Its well worth the small diversion from hwy 120 that takes you Yosemite. The turn off is on the east side of the road just north of Mono Lake after the road climbs up a switchback out of the valley. It's about twenty minutes drive north of Lee Vining.
In San Francisco at Fishermans Wharf at the western end is a cool place called Musee Mecanique that is full of old 1900's penny acrade machines that all still work admission is free but got to spend coins to put in the old machines. Down at that same end of the wharf is a Submarine you can tour as well as a small maritime museum with about six boats including one of the old ferries that used to cross the bay before the Golden Gate Bridge was built.

Mountainsandh

nungesser thanks ! We're going in June/July, so hoping the Tioga Pass will definitely be open.

That Mono lake looks interesting, I didn't know about the Tufas, will look into that.

I knew about Bodie (thanks to the kids' never ending interest in Youtubers, Explore with Josh is one...) but other than google mapping it, I can't get a feel for how far it is, and whether it's worth the stop, if we're after checking out Oatman, AR already.

It's brilliant to have all these places in my head though, as I said we can play it by ear to an extent when we're there.

For myself I'd like lots of time to get down that Tioga Pass as I take photos as a hobby and I'll probably want to stop every few miles.

siobhan08

Mountainsandh wrote: »

From what I see Hotwire seem to take way less charges than Priceline. Not sure I can convince Mr M about it but it's worth a try

How did you find the Excalibur ? Would it be ok with kids ? Like, it's not too seedy ?

I remember seeing a good few kids around the place and I don't remember much noise around the place at night. Like it's not a 5 star hotel but it was perfect for me and my friend. Especially after a few weeks travelling and staying in hostels :D We had a room over looking the the hotel pool and out onto the mountains.
I like the fact the it looked like a castle and was just off the strip. Don't know if you looked it up put here is some pics.

It has a little tram that goes between the Mandalay Bay - Luxor - Excalibur. Which I found very useful. Mandalay Bay has a good Irish bar called Rí Rá. I ate there and it was good. Was good to get good food that wasn't burger and chips and a couple of weeks of living of burger an chips because they were cheap. i was working in a summer camp for the summer and then spent time travelling so I was doing everything on a tight budget :D

tricky D

Good points nungesser^

Many roads are closed in winter and places like Lee Vinning go into winter mode before the end of Oct til spring depending on weather. In off season in Lee Vinning the bar and store close at 9pm and the gas station iirc at midnight. Many establishments are shut completely. Ed: have seen the dates now so that doesn't apply to you but will leave in for the benefit of others.

The road up to Tioga Pass is impressive as in 'wait, we're going all the way up there' (to almost 10,000ft). StreetView doesn't do the steepness justice.

It can also get very cold in the Sierras at night even during good weather.

If you are around Lee V and visit the surreal Mono Lake (recommended for your rocks kids) be sure to check out the Panum Crater which is off 120 on the way to Mono Lake visitors center (parking, info and amenities are a few bucks*). It's a volcano that's only 600/700 years extinct and has obsidian scattered all over which you are not allowed remove. Access is by dirt track road but go slow and your hire car should be safe from scratches. Mono Lake and Panum would be an hour min, two max.

If you haven't yet booked a place in Yosemite you will be too late for value as it is booked up well in advance. Lee V and Mariposa to the west of Yosemite can be used for staging but from either side the spectacular drive into the centre of Yosemite is a good few hours and you pay for each re-entry iirc. Directions on Google Maps is helpful for working routes and timings out though consider adding 30 mins to journeys as you can run into roadworks which have time-consuming contraflows. I hit 2 on my round trip for a total delay of about 45 mins on separate days.

Also on the east side are the June and Mammoth Lakes loops which are nice scenic drives.

+1 on Musee Mecanique. It's down beside the unmissable Liberty Ship and submarine which should be back from recent refurbishment. It wasn't there 3 months ago. The rest of Fisherman's Wharf is touristy.

*If you plan on visiting a good few of the magnificent National Parks, look at getting a NP card which gives various discounts.

Enjoy!

Mountainsandh

Thanks Tricky D.

Are you talking about accommodation around Yosemite as in, the main area with the Dome and all that ?

We don't need to stop there. The drive through the mountains will be enough for me. Ansel Adams images are enough for the rest of it, and I'm not hung up in seeing them in real life, or having my own mediocre versions .
I was thinking of spending the night in Groveland or further on if our driver doesn't mind. Hoping these wouldn't be all booked up !

Mountainsandh

siobhan08 wrote: »

I remember seeing a good few kids around the place and I don't remember much noise around the place at night. Like it's not a 5 star hotel but it was perfect for me and my friend. Especially after a few weeks travelling and staying in hostels :D We had a room over looking the the hotel pool and out onto the mountains.
I like the fact the it looked like a castle and was just off the strip. Don't know if you looked it up put here is some pics.

It has a little tram that goes between the Mandalay Bay - Luxor - Excalibur. Which I found very useful. Mandalay Bay has a good Irish bar called Rí Rá. I ate there and it was good. Was good to get good food that wasn't burger and chips and a couple of weeks of living of burger an chips because they were cheap. i was working in a summer camp for the summer and then spent time travelling so I was doing everything on a tight budget :D

Brilliant tips thanks.
We're not full blown adventurers, but we're not high maintenance at all, so a bit of noise and bustle wouldn't be too much of a hassle.

My kids think Bewley's hotel at the airport is a "luxury hotel"

I'd say we'll have a burger and chips sort of budget alright, when I went there I lived on spring omelette from Ihop and Denny's sort of places with the hubby. Then I really wanted a dinner after a while so we went to a Cracker Barrell, but all I can remember is the corn muffin that I swore I'd try to make myself at home and never did.

tricky D

Yosemite Village in the centre is where I'm talking about and accomm will be very pricey for this summer for what is left of it.

Groveland looks good from Lee Vinning at not much over 2 hours with no stops.

Driving via Yosemite Village would take much longer but it takes in the better sights like Half Dome El Capitan, the waterfall to name a few.

When I passed through I made no plans to stay a while in Yosemite. That was a massive mistake or would have been as in the end had I planned to stay, my plans would have been ruined due to a Federal shutdown which would have meant losing any bookings anyway and having to find accomm outside at short notice. So I could only drive through and not get to the Village. That in mind I would strongly advise taking as much of the day as possible and visiting the centre which you will miss if you drive straight to Groveland. You might well end up regretting doing just a quick drive. It's just so spectacularly beautiful in there. Next time I go that way I'm making sure to spend a good few days if not a full week and I'm not the hiking type and acrophobic (fear of heights) too to boot.

siobhan08

Mountainsandh wrote: »

Brilliant tips thanks.
We're not full blown adventurers, but we're not high maintenance at all, so a bit of noise and bustle wouldn't be too much of a hassle.

My kids think Bewley's hotel at the airport is a "luxury hotel"

I'd say we'll have a burger and chips sort of budget alright, when I went there I lived on spring omelette from Ihop and Denny's sort of places with the hubby. Then I really wanted a dinner after a while so we went to a Cracker Barrell, but all I can remember is the corn muffin that I swore I'd try to make myself at home and never did.

just realised I never attached the pics.so here ya go.

Just Outside the Excalibur there is a footbridge over the main road to the strip and it can lead you into the New York hotel. You will get a load of people on trying to sell you stuff on the strip like CD's etc just say no or keep your head down and they will move onto the next person. There is a walkway from the excalibur reception that leads to the footbridge but you need to go down steps to go back up and over. before you come to the steps that go down there is a place where you can buy discounted show tickets. We were offered some really good deals but the shows where the day after we had planned to leave Vegas and were booked on a flight to San Fran so couldn't change our plans :(

Mountainsandh

It looks brilliant Siobhan, thanks.

Tricky D I know what you mean. I might regret it, but look, we're pretty flexible anyway, provided we're at the spot for what hotel we will need to book like LV, we can take last minute decisions.

I guess maybe I'm a bit used to slashing things out of our trips because we normally travel in a campervan in France, and like that, we have itchy feet and tend to want to move on in the most unexpected places. We don't like the over-touristy spots. We do miss some of the most famous views but they're so accessible online.

I had a bit of a discussion with my 11 yo daughter this evening, showed her GC on Youtube and asked her would she prefer to give a day there and 5 hours there/6hrs back to LV, or get an extra day on the West Coast below San Fran where it's more ... "civilised". She reckoned she'd like to see GC, if the drive is ok with our chauffeur. I think the young fella will be the same. I guess they want to be able to say they saw it, and that's fair enough.

So provided Mr M is ok with the drive, the GC day might be back on the cards, with Oatman detour on the way back to LV anyway, because it looks too good to miss (donkeys !!! eek !)