Touring holiday to Nevada, California & Arizona

jackieblack

blindman wrote: »

The other road in Yosemite that will be closed is Glacier Point

It all depends on what you are intending doing whilst in Yosemite but to miss Glacier point and its views and trails would be a shame (IMHO).
TBHO Tioga road did not blow me away that much

Personally I'd miss Yosemite and do it the next time you come! !

Not an option I'm afraid - if we don't do Yosemite this time we probably won't get back to California again for many years, and certainly not with DD (this will be our second visit to California and there are 46 other states we haven't been to yet! )

jackieblack

wdyw wrote: »

Me thinks you have miscalculated daylight hours! Sun sets after 7:00pm in April in Yosemite!

:T Yes, that fits with what I have read (and with what we experienced this April in LA & San Diego)

blindman

jackieblack wrote: »

:T Yes, that fits with what I have read (and with what we experienced this April in LA & San Diego)

Yes

I got it wrong :eek:

We went to CA in November a while back and sunset was 4pm ish due to the daylight saving etc.

blindman

jackieblack wrote: »

Not an option I'm afraid - if we don't do Yosemite this time we probably won't get back to California again for many years, and certainly not with DD (this will be our second visit to California and there are 46 other states we haven't been to yet! )

IMHO
If you do not experience Glacier Point with Taft Point and Sentinel Dome then you haven't seen the half of Yosemite.

However it's your holiday

Whatever you do, have fun.

Murphy_The_Cat

malid wrote: »

Great. At the moment, I've looked at a two bedroom room at the BW Arroyo Roble - $629 for two nights. We'd have to have two rooms at BW Inn of Sedona and that would be more expensive. Waiting for response from Sedona Tourist Information (emailed this morning) re a deal with one night at BW Inn of Sedona and Pink Jeep Tour (which we intend doing as we had to cancel in 2007 becasue of bad weather) with 20% off. We would also have discounted second night. Ob the site, it comes up as $711.60 for 5 adults - which would be really good as Pink Jeep is $75 each - but I'm not sure about the room; wait and see. Also looked at Southwest Inn of Sedona which appears to have mostly good reviews; that would cost £451.82 for two rooms.

Shall keep an eye out for your post. I remember exchanging posts in 2007! :beer:

I remember that as well :beer:

When we were planning our trip, we wanted to stay in Sedona, but we found that the cost of the hotels was a touch, 'ahem' steep. We were travelling with 2 small childrean and a 2 bedroomed room was a must.
In the end, we stayed 20 miles down the road at Cottonwood, in the BestWestern Cottonwood Inn. IIRC, some of Sedonas attractions are closer to Cottonwood that Sedona as well, which is a real Brucie.It was described as a 'family room' and had 2 seperate bedrooms. Price wise, it was $180 per night - not particularly cheap, but between 4 people and including a breakfast, much, much better value than we could find in Sedona. If you are interested in the family room, it can only be booked over the phone, not online.
If you decide that Cottonwood is for you, we went on the Verde Canyon Railroad that was a relaxing few hours, visited the nearby town of Jerome,
which is a small mining town that just wouldn't die & ate at Blazin Ms Chuckwagon which was more fun than you could imagine (think cowboy comedy cabaret, with a meal thrown in).
With the money that you save by staying in Cottonwood, think about taking a tour of Sedona from the air in a biplane - it is absolutely stunning. Plus, the drive to/from Sedona from Cottonwood is as scenic that it gets.
When you are driving from Las V to Sedona/Cottonwood, be sure to take the Scenic Route 89A, rather than the Interstate from Flagstaff. The scenary can be simply stunning in places. Its a gorgeous way to enter Sedona.

Re : Scottsdale. Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale didn't do a lot for us, but Goldfield Ghost Town was a fun stop off (check out doing a vintage photo - they provide the costumes/guns and do a period sepia picture for you). If you do head out that way and you carry on for another 20 minutes, you'll come across Canyon Lake, which has a steamboat operating on it (& a lovely restaurant at the pier).

Hope I've helped

mich_city

Hi folks..

I'm back from my hols.. suffering from post holiday blues and a disrupted body clock still!

anyway, heres a bit of a TR.. apologies if I ramble on..

western treasures: cosmos tourama, 18 days

day 1:
non stop travelling really.. flew from manchester to newark with continental, cant complain.. non stop drinks and food (so it seemed) watched a film to pass the time..

arrived newark ontime and had 2 hours till connecting flight.. by the time we got thru the rigorous security checks there we were on minutes.. they had started boarding as we got to gate... phew!

arrived in san francisco weary but still a bit giddy met rep and was dropped to hotel carlton on sutter st. nice hotel, not a lot to do around it tho.. that wasn't a problem as we were told it was an 8am start the next day.. grabbed something to eat and went to bed!

day 2:
8.30 start heading for monterey, we spent time at fishermans wharf.. bit cold and gloomy initially.. then onto cannery row, we went in the aquarium.. good but a little bit busy. nice to watch the sealions basking in the sun which had now come out!

after something to eat we were taken for a drive down the 17 mile drive.. nice if you like to look at posh houses and golf courses obligatory stop at the lone cypress for photos before stopping again at pebble beach, very swish.. even had rolex clocks on the street!

later drove to carmel, nice stroll around the shops.. again some a bit posh looking.. back to monterey to check into hotel (days inn, abrego st) we were shattered but got a second wind after something to eat in denny's next door.. walked down to fishermans wharf again had a mooch around the gift shops before heading back for bed!

day 3:
another early start.. we quickly realised this was going to be a regular occurance!

complimentary breakfast at hotel then on the road again to san louis obispo .. beautiful place, could live there easily. walked around the shops, had lunch, a look at the mission then on the move again to solvang..
very pretty but weird place, done out danish style.. quaint shops and buildings.. and windmills! had a pastry and coffee sat in the glorious sunshine. OH (into architecture) spent a bit of time studying, knocking and tapping and declared it all fake.. :rolleyes:

next stop was lompoc (quality inn and suites) nice room.. few outlet shops nearby so had a bit of a shop, something to eat and back for bed..

day 4:
we heard the news about michael jackson, everyone shocked..

1st stop today was the old mission in santa barbara, not enough time to go in tho unfortunately!.. down to the beach area for a longer stop.. paddled for a short while, it was freezing cold!..

lunch on the pier, fish and chips (which looked like crisps) watched people fishing on the end of the peir, sealions and pelicans taking an interest too.
long drive to LA from here, stopped off at ventura beach which was packed with body beautiful types of all ages carried on to downtown LA, guide pointing out places of interest en route.

checked in at the marriott (downtown) very nice but not a lot to do as slap bang in the middle of the financial district. went for something to eat, caught up on the MJ news (wasn't much else to watch for the whole stay)

day 5:
drove down wiltshire blvd, beverly hills, rodeo drive.. gawped at the posh shops.. tiffany, cartier etc.. we star spotted.. well a glimpse and the back of larry king if that counts.. on thru hollywood, tour guide pointed out houses of the stars

next stop the kodak theatre.. as you can imagine the place was madness, news crews on the street.. loads of people around MJ's star.. I noticed chancers had already made up t-shirts and were flogging them for $10.. pity we couldnt walk around the front of the chinese theatre.. this was closed off due to all the MJ crowds.

went around the corner to were you can see the hollywood sign, went up as far as we could to take photos.. thru the hazy mist.. had something to eat whilst people watching then went for our tour of the kodak theatre..
looks like its been there since the 30's, very art deco in style.. you wouldnt think it was a new building. interesting to hear the oscars info.

free afternoon, we decided to get the bus down to santa monica and walk to venice beach. what an experience.. the bus was packed, had a mad driver and took an age to get there.. had a walk around, looked at muscle beach.. not many muscles on show.. got shouted at for taking a photo of OH with beach in background.. scary looking dude so hastily walked on!

venice didnt look to far away, but flipping heck.. our feet certainly knew it was!.. what a place.. full of the weird and wonderful selling tat, artwork and more tat.. dodgy characters with signs saying 'in need of weed' - felt a bit intimidated with camera out now so put that away, most of the street sellers had signs saying no photos etc..

we had enough walking and the light was starting to fade so we decided enough was enough.. got the bus back to santa monica and back up to hotel.. another looong bus ride stood up all the way!

we decided we should have gone with our other option of the queen mary at long beach.. might have been a bit more sedate!

day 6:
what a relief to get out of LA, wasn't my cup of tea at all..

on the road to palm springs, nice drive.. the wind farms were something else (I love wind turbines ) arrived and got out of the air conditioned coach into 105 degree heat.. was like a blast furnace hitting you! didnt have too long here so quick mooch round shops and coffee then back on the coach headed for scottsdale.

courtyard by marriott was our stop for the night, didnt see much of it tbh.. one of our optional tours was rustlers rooste, meal, line dancing and as much free booze as you could drink.. I drank too much, dont remember much of the evening it was the heat!!

anyway..

day 7:
1st stop today was in sedona, a lovely quaint town.. again, longer there would have been nice

drove thru oak creek canyon onto the grand canyon! (south rim)

dropped off those doing the IMAX show and then we were taken for helicopter rides. what an experience, you are travelling over a flat tree lined landscape then all of a sudden its there..!!

I started to feel a little queesy on way back (wasnt anything to do with rustlers rooste.. no siree! ) was glad to touchdown!

onto the park itself.. we had 3 hours.. not long enough!.. was bliss after the madness of LA.. hard to take in everything you are looking at.. spectacular.. was the fastest few hours ever.. back on the coach for next stop for the night in williams on route 66

this is a real throw back to small town america of the 50's.. drove thru the town onto hotel (days inn) shame it was on the outskirts of town.. we were too weary to walk back in later so dennys for food (only place nearby) bought a few route 66 bits for gifts and then hit the bed.. never been to bed so early.. needed it tho!

day 8:
mostly travelling today.. hit the road to vegas!

stopped en route at a huge walmart store.. bought a new large holdall, knew I should have taken my large case!!.. more outlet shops and more purchases back onto coach

vegas loomed in the distance, a sight to behold even from afar!

everyone woke up on the coach and the cameras came out!.. past the vegas sign, luxor, new york new york.. onto the flamingo were we stayed whilst coach and guide dropped our bags and booked us into the imperial palace.

we wandered around the casino, gob smacked!.. got a drink and found a quiet spot sat watching the flamingos (of course) sun was splitting the stones one minute then a freak gust of wind and rain descended scattering everyone back inside.. disappeared as quickly as it arrived!

onto the IP, bit shabby compared to some of the other hotels we'd stayed in.. but was to be our home for the next 3 nights. OH not happy as no smoking and no tea/coffee maker (our travel kettle sprung a leak!)

had a rest then headed out to explore nearby.. what a culture shock for us.. went into the forum shops looking for the cheesecake factory after reading rave reviews about it on here.. what a place.. we got lost going up and down escalators and round in circles.. eventually spotted the sign in the distance.. mecca!.. OH impressed with the 'statues' and trojan horse in there.. nothing passed the tapping test tho

hmm... was a bit disappointed, I had cajun jambalaya pasta, was ok.. bit greasy and didnt eat it all.. worst of all I didnt feel like having cheesecake... whaaaaaaa!! got 2 slices to go.. very pricey!

had a walk after went down as far as bellagio fountain, watched this then headed over the road to head back up to the IP.. took an age.. back to room feet aching and 2 wilted cheesecakes in tow.. ate mine as no fridge, but didnt really enjoy it.. white choc raspberry truffle too!!

didnt get to do the pool or slots today!

day 9:
early start as we decided to do tour of hoover dam and lake mead cruise.
did this with an external tour company, after an hour and half waiting for people to show up at various hotels we got there.. were told we had an hour and half

what they didnt tell us was they have security checks, then a short film before taking a limited number down to start the tour.. unfortunately we got stopped and had to wait for another tour to start so we didnt get the full tour we were meant to have, nor any time to mooch around outside the dam!.. very disappointed and annoyed as we were looking forward to this so much!.. did take some great photos thankfully..

onto lake mead, paddle boat cruise upto the hoover dam with a snack lunch onboard, nice and relaxing and mega hot - 110 degrees!.. good view of the dam from the bottom!

on way back to vegas they took us on unscheduled stop to a chocolate factory and m+ms world.. guide and drivers of various coaches got nice goody bag bag handers for taking us there!.. cheeky sods could have let us have more time at the hoover dam rather than have their palms greased! :mad:

back to the IP, recharged our batteries then got the deuce down to watch the fremont show.. saw the queen and kiss shows, really enjoyed it and liked the vibe down that end of town.. far less hustle and bustle, even tho it was crowded.. looked around the gift shops bought more tat then another long deuce trip back up the strip!

we were tired and hungry so just grabbed a McD's and headed back.. we vowed we would make the pool and have a go on the slots... tomorrow!

threw OH's cheesecake away.. *sob*

mich_city

day 10:
we decided to head down to the outlet mall dowtown, got the deuce and bus, wasn't too long today thank god!.. had to visit the disney store, no handy manny for grandson so he got cars and mickey stuff instead.. onto converse to buy new boots and t-shirts for daughter.. went in a few others, hilfiger, nike etc.. all shopped out we got a sandwich and headed back.. we called in at bill's to catch the big elvis show.. very cheesy but great stuff.. OH made me get photo taken with him afterwards.. hmm.. :cool: lol

later on we went down to the vegas sign for more photos.. then never ending journey back up the strip.. this really tires you out!.. meant to stop and have photo taken at one of the wedding chapels for the craic but decided no more deuce trips!.. went to watch the sirens show at TI - very corny took some photos around the venetian.. nice reflections with the lights, OH did some more tapping of walls and columns etc!..

called in dennys for something to eat, I decided I hate dennys..
back to pack as leaving vegas in the morning, was nice not to worry about bags for a few days! - still never made it to the pool.. but did LOSE $20 on the slots.. last of the big spenders

didnt do as much as we intended to do, its hard work travelling around and walking anywhere.. meant to go down to MGM and the titanic exhibition at luxor.. wanted to see the fountains again as didnt have right camera with me when we went the 1st night.. didnt make it to any!

verdict on vegas.. glad i've been.. and glad to get out of it..

day 11:
left vegas to all our relief!.. again, back to mostly travelling.. couple of stops along the way thru the mojave dessert.. left this behind and hit lush green fields of california.. arrived in tulare (best western town & country).. nice room.. went to a quaint little restaurant called apple annies, had a minature train running around it.. food ok, had a salad

hit another outlet mall, bought a bit in GAP, luckily we went a bit late and they started closing up so that put a hault on the spending.. back to room and flaked out.. after packing of course!

day 12:
nice complimentary cooked breakfast then on the road early.. stop off for picnic supplies as visiting yosemite today..

again, this was bliss after the madness of vegas.. same gripe.. not enough time there the fire dept were doing controlled burning so there was a lot of smoke making the views a bit misty, still saw the stunnning scenenry, waterfalls.. had a paddle amongst the rocks then walked thru the trails for a nice spot to eat our lunch. met an auld one who said she had connections going back to william the conquerer.. she was in her 90's and a great character!.. could have listened to her all day..

on the way back to the coach we spotted some deer and a bear!.. plus umpteen squirrels.. we were the only ones on the bus to see a bear, had them all asking to see my photos.. loved it here, was sad to leave.
drove to our next hotel stop in sonora (inns of california) bit of a one harse town, nothing going on and not the nicest hotel.. very loud air con on all night around us.. didnt sleep well..

day 13:
made our way back to san francisco

stopped on the way in old sacramento, what a nice place this is.. old railway and museum amongst other things to keep you busy for a few hours..

arrived back where we started in san francisco.. we were taken on a tour of the city, up to the golden gate bridge and dropped at union square for a while whilst they checked us and bags back in at the hotel carlton. (think I prefer the bay bridge out of the two)

out tonight for cable car ride and banquet in china town.. OH had been waiting to get on a cable car and somehow knew we'd be spending quite a bit of time on them!.. had a walk around the shops in china town, bought more tat.. lucky waving cat a must have purchase

next morning was alcatraz!.. at last.. :j

day 14:
early start.. we did want to try and do the night tour, but they didnt coincide with our days there.. good job really as we were there for 6 hours!.. I think we explored it well and truly, listened to various talks. luckily we had a lovely day with nice blue skies.. the weather is unreal in san francisco.. one minute blazing sun, next minute rolling fog and grey skies.. anyway enjoyed it there, quite eerie still, even packed with tourists.

we should have done the bay cruise today but think we over-ran slightly walked around pier 39, watched the sealions and mooched in shops, left handed shop, over priced irish gifts and the usual - oh, we had the famous clam chowder in a sour dough bread bowl.. very nice

meant to get the cable car back but the queue was heaving, so bus back to the hotel.. out later and ate in mels diner, very kitsch with red, white and blue stuff everywhere, booths and juke boxes.. food was great value, waitress was a bit surly

after this we went to the cinema to watch public enemies, johnny depp new film.. I nodded off!

day 15:
another early start as was going to muir woods and sausilito today.. said goodbye to our tour guide, he was a really nice guy.

the giant redwoods in muir woods are very imposing, walked the trails.. a very relaxing + peaceful spot.. didnt spot any bears today, but OH bought me a little wooden one in the gift shop!

on to sausilito.. didnt have long there, so got fish and chips and sat in the sun by the sea eating them.. joined by an ever increasing number of seagulls.. lovely place. short walk then..

back to pier 39 again afterwards, had an hour to kill before doing the bay cruise we missed yesterday. we had tickets for the basic bay cruise but I asked if we could upgrade them to the 'escape from the rock' one that goes around alcatraz too.. didnt charge us extra.. the weather turned again and it was very choppy on the way to the golden gate bridge.. no wonder no one every managed to swim from alcatraz, the boat was rolling.. calmed a litte as we went around alcatraz.. chance for more photos!.. went round twice with interesting commentary.

cable queue heaving again so got the bus back with every intention of going out to eat later, but I fell asleep!

day 16:
a lie in.. woo hoo..

cable car fest once we headed out.. went down to hyde pier to see the old ships, nice and quiet up that end.. went on a tour around the submarine uss pampanito on pier 45.. dont know how they coped in there for such long periods, I felt claustraphobic just walking around it.. was glad to get out!.. last run around the gift shops then back up on the bus..
rode the cable cars one last time, end to end on the california line and back up again..

called into walgreens for a supply of chocs and gherkin pringles as requested by the kids! then had something to eat in mels diner again then back to pack.. we managed to accumulate 20kgs of extra luggage! :rolleyes:

day 17:
picked up at 8am for transfer to the airport.. very sad to be going home and not looking forward to the 2 six hour flights!.. at least we didnt have to mess about reclaiming bags on connection at newark.

day 18:
bit of a gyp calling it day 18 of our tour.. but anyway, we landed back in manchester 10am.. back to reality

we had a blast, met some lovely people.. brits, irish, aussie, welsh, new zealanders all a bit older than us but put us to shame at times with their late nights drinking then bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to go the next day!

other than LA and vegas, I loved it all.. was hard going at times, we covered 2,500 miles.. we saw some sights tho.. spent too long in some places and not enough time in others.. thats how it goes keeping to a schedule I suppose. we definately couldnt have done it ourselves.. i'd do it all again tomorrow if I could!

sorry its a bit long.. hope I didnt bore you all too much

some photos.. slowly adding and getting thru them.. there are lots!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21425581@N06/collections/72157621605766758/

wdyw

fish and chips (which looked like crisps)

That will be because they were crisps!

You definitely packed in a lot. More miles than we would like to do in 1 trip and still Utah to discover next trip!

mich_city

wdyw wrote: »

fish and chips (which looked like crisps)

That will be because they were crisps!

You definitely packed in a lot. More miles than we would like to do in 1 trip and still Utah to discover next trip!

we had fish and chips elsewhere where they were chips!

they were nice tho so wasn't complaining.. :rotfl:

was a lot to pack in now I look back on it, we were thinking of just doing the national parks and canyons if we go again.. preferred the quieter places.

Bennifred

Great trip report, mich_city!:beer:
You must be shattered, lol! Thanks for sharing!:T