Las Vegas

[2020hindsight]

btw, Bryce Canyon (Utah) whilst not as big as Grand Canyon, has incredible colours and well worth a visit (also monument valley mesas side on) In some ways more impressive because of those colours. - snow in winter as well.
Incidentally the red colours indicate times during history when iron in the soil was more likely to be oxidised ( similar to rust ) (IMO, Dyor lol)
http://www.nps.gov/brca/naturescience/index.htm

Quote: Bryce is famous for its worldly unique geology, consisting of a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters carved from the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in southern Utah. The erosional force of frost-wedging and the dissolving power of rainwater have shaped the colorful limestone rock of the Claron Formation into bizarre shapes including slot canyons, windows, fins, and spires called "hoodoos." Tinted with colors too numerous and subtle to name, these whimsically arranged rocks create a wondrous landscape of mazes, offering some of the most exciting and memorable walks and hikes imaginable. Ponderosa pines, high elevation meadows, and fir-spruce forests border the rim of the plateau and abound with wildlife. This area boasts some of the world's best air quality, offering panoramic views of three states and approaching 200 miles of visibility. This, coupled with the lack of nearby large light sources, creates unparalleled opportunities for stargazing. ..... The park is not a canyon. Rather, it is a spectacular series of more than a dozen amphitheaters, each of which is carved at least 1,000 feet into the chromatic limestone. ...

[joslad]

I've been to vegas several times.

The first time we borrowed one of the brother in laws cars and drove to vegas from LA. Took about 4 or 5 hours I think from memory. I thought driving on the other side of the road would be a bit of a challenge but turned out it was easy. Once you are on the freeways its just point and go. We stayed in circus circus on the first trip. Huge hotel but disappointing and very tired looking. Considering how much you pay, you can do a lot better for a few more dollars. Now, I always stay at the monte carlo - really good hotel for kids as the pool complex is awsome.

I always book hotel accm in advance via the internet. mid week is cheaper than weekends, and some weeks cheaper than others. It all depends on how many vacant rooms they have - so if you have a choice, choose your trip dates after looking at the hotel reservation site. The monte carlo hotel has 3000 rooms, but is booked out sometimes. It is very central to the strip - ie MGM is across the road, and other big name hotels are all within walking distance. You can do a day trip to the old area of vegas by bus or taxi which is cheap.

Probably all hotels have travel desks where they arrange day trips. The dam over the colorado river is well worth a trip. The shows can be very good - don't be shy to ask for complementary tickets, especially if you are staying for a good length of time in the hotel. Golf is also very good but not so cheap.

If you have plenty of time, consider a round trip. On one of our family trips, we arrived at San Francisco, spent a couple of days in the city looking over the sites - ie Alcatraz, the Golden gate bridge etc and then drover to Lake Tahoe. Spent a few days there and then drove through to vegas and dropped the car. Flew back to LA and then home. We took our chances with accm on that trip and found plenty of cheap places to stay.

Summer is hot - 100+. Winter on the other hand can be surprisingly very cold. In december, you will need a warm jacket when outside. There will be snow on the hills around vegas. The hotel pool complexes will probably be closed, apart from the odd heated pool. Winter is not the best time for kids.

Vegas is a sleezy place (ie my kind of place), although they are trying to make it more family friendly. When you are walking on the footpaths avoid taking any handouts from touts. They will invariably be girly business cards with scantily clad hookers advertising their wares. Some of the girls pictures will be completely naked. On my first trip, our kids ranged in age from about 4 to 8, and used to run around collecting them! If you are in the casino late at night, expect to be propositioned regularly.

Its a great place to visit and I reckon you will enjoy it!!

one final bit of advice. As well as attracting lots of tourists, it attracts the low lifes all out for a quick buck of the gullible. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isnt.

[2020hindsight]

spot on jos - at least meshes with my experience of the place.
Lol youve reminded me of our experiences driving Anaheim (LA) to Flagstaff.

our family (minus dog ) set off from Anaheim / Disneyland /LA to drive east , first stop planned Flagstaff - bludy gas tank said half full after 10 km, and 1/4 full after another 5 lol - so I thought shinbone...leaking tank - driving into desert, resembling a scene from National Lampoon - (mainly because my kids soo resemble Chevvy Chase's kids ) trying to laugh bravely about this bludy crisis lol - desert and cacti all round, absolutely noone to ask questions like "how far to the nearest gas station?" i.e. should I go back or forward?

then I saw a cop car on the other side tucked away in an otherwise deserted truck parking area, and , having a 4 wheel drive, I just drove over the 30m median, rocks and all - and then parked as close to him as I could - then ran towards his car - oops - mistake !

pistols out - YOU ! STOP! - spread eagled against his car, frisking, the works. I'm saying " hell I only want to know where the nearest gas station is !"

Long story short, the gauge was faulty, we carried a spare petrol jerrycan for remainder of journey - through Seduna, Montezuma and other Nat Parks in there somewhere, Grand C, Boulder, Vegas, back to Venice Beach and Hollywood (LA) - up the coast, Monterey , over to Tauho, Reno , Yosemite - SanFran, - all good

[2020hindsight]

speaking of Lake Tahoe - I just figured out where the Ponderosa is
just down the road from Reno lol - plenty of girlie bars for those Cartwright boys

I make the Ponderosa about 30km x 20 km - big deal lol!!

[2020hindsight]

heaps of locations used for the filming of Bonanza http://www.ponderosascenery.homestead.com/
http://www.ponderosascenery.homestead.com/locales.html
many sites not too far from Hollywood, and most in California.

[2020hindsight]

dum da da dum da da dum da da dum da da dum dAAAAHHH
dum da da dum da da dum da da daHH, dum da da dum dum dAAAAHHH
something to ponder - assuming you've got absolutely nothing to do for a 5 minutes

Incidentlally not too far north from there are the Grand Titons . ! -
isn't French a classy language .
I mean , imagine if they'd left it to Hoss Cartwright to name them ..

"Hey Pop, Ah Called them mountains the Big Tits - ..."

[2020hindsight]

Quote: Originally Posted by 2020hindsight Incidentlally not too far north from there are the Grand Titons . ! - I mean , imagine if they'd left it to Hoss Cartwright to name them .."Hey Pop, Ah Called them mountains the Big Tits - ..."

[spottygoose]

To compare accomodation and find suggestion about what to do I always check www.tripadvisor.com it is an awesome sight where joe public rates accomodation and suggests things to do. More often than not locals will answer your queries about things to see and do.

Have been to Vegas and we booked our accomodation while travelling though the US - they have specials all the time as they are trying to get you in so they can fleece you on the machines. If you feel more comfortable booking before you leave try some US websites. Last minute accomodation sites etc I bet you find a great deal. Also, the food in the casino hotels is full on and cheap and chips. AND, most importantly, if you are sitting at a machine or table and look like you are playing - drinks are free. "cocktails, cocktails" oh how those words still echo in my ears.

I remember a hot, hot place.. walking the strip at night and watching some of the casino light shows etc (free) was great and the in-house shows are good. Takes its toll after a while though so make sure you do some tripping about. Grand Canyon is awesome! Not to be missed - breathtaking.

Re a stop over - definately have them! The only way I can fly straight through is in business class (hello airpoints upgrade) otherwise you can fly the first leg straight through at a pinch but I wouldnt' recommend it. You could stop singapore or hong Kong or Hawaii.

Whatever you do , I really recommend tripadvisor it is a really helpful site I use with all my trips.

Cheers and have fun, Spotty

[spottygoose]

Quote: Originally Posted by 2020hindsight speaking of Lake Tahoe - I just figured out where the Ponderosa is just down the road from Reno lol - plenty of girlie bars for those Cartwright boys I make the Ponderosa about 30km x 20 km - big deal lol!!

[2020hindsight]

Quote: Originally Posted by spottygoose 1. Ponderosa 2. I would really recommend the drive through the Sierra Nevada - was one of the highlights for us. 3, Give Reno a swerve though.... poor mans vegas!

[Bobby]

Quote: Originally Posted by tech/a Was there in 2003 Dont know if your single but if you are then your in for one hell of a ride!! Definately do the Coyotee Ugly Bar if its still operative. Was better in real life than the movies. Enjoy--I'm envious!

[stargazer]

Again thankyou all for your great contributions to this and it has been a great help.

Cheers
SG