Utah, Nevada & California

photome

niknak wrote: »

Hi All, Me, the Wife, and her Son (21) are off to the USA for 12 days. We land at LAX on the 31st and hope to drive through Death Valley to Las Vegas, where we will have 4 days.
For the next 8 days we are at a bit of an impasse. I'm keen to go to Yosemite and make our way back to LA from there. My wife is keen to do the coast road.
Secondly, I'm keen for an SUV ( ford explorer), the wife would like a convertible does anyone know what models are available as 21 yr old son is pretty lanky.

Any advice on must do's and must avoids would be much appreciated

Cheers
Mark

why not do the coast rd up to SF then yosemite then death valley then Vegas (I think that works from memory,)

As for type, you do not want a convertible if there are 3 of you, not much luggage room and not much rear seat room for a tall person.

Any SUV would be ok, no one can tell you exact models avaialable as they are always changing, even emailing the renter doesnt help

jackieblack

niknak wrote: »

For the next 8 days we are at a bit of an impasse. I'm keen to go to Yosemite and make our way back to LA from there. My wife is keen to do the coast road.

I would definitely recommend Yosemite - simply stunning.
From there you can drive across to the coast (we drove to Monterey) and then south on Highway 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway) back to LAX.

niknak wrote: »

Secondly, I'm keen for an SUV ( ford explorer), the wife would like a convertible does anyone know what models are available as 21 yr old son is pretty lanky.

Generally, convertibles are miserable for back seat passengers (unless they enjoy being constantly buffeted by the wind and are fans of the 'dragged backwards through a hedge' look)

You don't say when you're going but, depending on the time of year, you may be grateful to be able to get out of the sun and into a climate-controlled environment.

jackieblack

photome wrote: »

why not do the coast rd up to SF then yosemite then death valley then Vegas (I think that works from memory,)

Or in reverse?

My preference would always be to drive the PCH north-south and have clear views of the coastline and you're on the right side of the road to easily pull in to Vista Points, south-north your view is often impeded by the traffic travelling in the opposite direction and you'd have to keep crossing oncoming traffic to pull in/out of viewing points.

If time is short, or San Fran doesn't interest you, you can easily cut across to Yosemite from around Montery.

zagfles

photome wrote: »

why not do the coast rd up to SF then yosemite then death valley then Vegas (I think that works from memory,)

If the PP was talking about this month - the Tioga pass will probably be closed. We went in June and there were worries about it being closed then!

blindman

zagfles wrote: »

If the PP was talking about this month - the Tioga pass will probably be closed. We went in June and there were worries about it being closed then!

Average opening time for Tioga pass is late May

It's at 10,000 ft (IIRC) so the snow stays for a while and then they have to spend a month or so to clear the road of snow and trees etc.

Murphy_The_Cat

scottishminnie wrote: »

I'm guessing you are planning to make a trip to Zion National Park from Cedar City? I would also suggest you stop by Cedar Breaks National Monument. We kind of happened on it by chance as it only had a passing mention in the guidebook however it was quite a sight and worth a visit.

If your plans are around Zion then it may be worth spending your 2 nights in Springdale instead. From memory I think it's somewhere like 50 miles from Cedar City and was one of the most memorable places I've stayed - have a look at the Desert Pearl Inn. The views from the pool were simply stunning and there were quite a few neat little shops and restaurants

Cedar Breaks website.

we prossibly aren't going to visit Zion NP, We'll need to decide nearer the time is the children would fully apprecaite it.

Murphy_The_Cat

ferf1223 wrote: »

while I agree that the Sirens show is a lot less kid friendly than it used to be, it can't be much more shocking for a kid than the Hot Babes trucks driving down the Strip (at one point we nearly had my MIL convinced the Hot Babes were IN the truck)? Then again, I don't have kids so I have no idea what I am talking about, but at 6 and 9 I think they would be busy being over stimulated by all the lights and oooh, sparkly than the seedier side of things.

We're not seeing a show and the seedy side of LV isn't something that I'm actively looking forward to seeing.
But, its just for one night and its going to be an experience letting the children pick which 'novelty' hotel we stay in !

Murphy_The_Cat

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

We're not seeing a show and the seedy side of LV isn't something that I'm actively looking forward to seeing.
But, its just for one night and its going to be an experience letting the children pick which 'novelty' hotel we stay in !

Thats it done and dusted now - I've just booked the hotel in Vegas and we're now all set. All accommodation booed in advance, luvverly, jubberly :beer:

Happy times ahead

blindman

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

Thats it done and dusted now - I've just booked the hotel in Vegas and we're now all set. All accommodation booed in advance, luvverly, jubberly :beer:

Happy times ahead

BTW
Did you see the recent (ends 31st May :eek:) promo for the American Airlines AMEX CC from MBNA?

35,000 miles up for grabs :cool: which I'm sure you could utilise sometime.

I've got one and Mrs B has just been accepted for hers

jackieblack

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

Thats it done and dusted now - I've just booked the hotel in Vegas and we're now all set.

Which hotel did the kittens pick Murphy?