California & Nevada Road Trip September 2011

[justin78]

The basics are that we would like to spend a couple days in San Fran, then go on to Lake Tahoe (possibly), Yosemite, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Vegas, San Diego, LA then back to San Francisco for a night or so.

Hi michelle,
we went thru Death Valley..
Its true there is nothing there except for a little pool of salt..
Its a very long long road there are better things to see..
If you do drive thru it make sure your rental company allows..
(some rentals dont cover driving thru death valley because of the heat..
so check your contract..)
At least you can say you been there.. lol
Take care

[Southwest Dave]

we went thru Death Valley..

Straight thru by the sounds of things !

Its true there is nothing there except for a little pool of salt..

That couldn't be further from the truth.

We all have different tastes and some peoples idea of beauty is another persons horror and that is why we don't do 'must see' or 'best route' around here, the road trip is a very individual thing. If it's not your 'thing' that is fine, but your point of view is well off the normal to Death valley and [in my opinion] it's awesome landscape. I could also make a long list of attractions and points of interest, but nowhere on that list would be a "little pool of salt".

[glc]

(some rentals dont cover driving thru death valley because of the heat..
so check your contract..)

You are thinking about rental RV's, and that's just in July and August. There should be no issues with cars except for the unpaved road issue - and that's not just Death Valley.

[Mark Sedenquist]

And Death Valley is, according to the season, one of my top three most preferred national parks to visit and explore in the USA.

Mark

[Lifemagician]

For me too, Death Valley holds many memories. The dozens of photos I took are a constant reminder of the beauty and intrigue of this place.

What a pity you could only see a 'very long long road' and a 'little pool of sald'. The drive took ever so long, with stopping again and again, to take yet another photo.

Lifey

[Michelle Turner]

Hi all, thought I would post an update.

I have booked car hire we are picking up from San Fran airport, I had looked on many websites but I think we got an OK deal. Thanks Lifey!

This is our updated itinerary;

Day 1 - From airport drive to Half Moon Bay for the night
Day 2 - Drive down PCH, poss stay Pismo Beach
Day 3-5- LA (3 nights)
Day 6 - Stop on way to Las Vegas, poss Barstow
Day 7-8 - Las Vegas (2 nights)
Day 9 - Death Valley (staying at Furnace Creek)
Day 10-11 - Yosemite (2 nights)
Day 12-15 - San Francisco (3 nights)

I took SouthWestDave's advice and we have cut out most of the "one nighters". I think we will still be seeing a lot so quite pleased with our changes.

Basic route so far is;
from san Fran airport take the PCH all the way to LA
From LA taking the 1-10E, followed by the I-15N.
From Las Vegas take the NV-160
From Death Valley take the US-395, using the Tioga Pass travel across Yosemite to accomodation nr Hetch Hetchy
From Yosemite take the CA120W to San Fran.

Still got a few little niggly bits to organise for on the way and specifically where to stay.

As usual any ideas/ suggestions much appreciated!

thanks

Michelle

[Michelle Turner]

I hadn't seen the posts from last week! Still very interested in going Death Valley. Thanks for all the info!

[Southwest Dave]

Hi Michelle.

Good to see your plan coming together. I would recommend that you look at staying around San Simeon or Cambria along the coast. Around Big Sur is one of the most spectacular parts of the journey and you will want to be able to take your time to enjoy it. You might also still be feeling the jet lag a little on day 1, although the excitement does mask it well. If you are stopping on route to LV you could consider visiting Joshua tree NP and perhaps stopping in Lake Havasu City and visiting London bridge, yep the one they took from 'home' all those years ago. Pleased to hear you are heading through Death valley and taking a little time to explore. On the way to Furnace creek you can stop at Dantes view and Zabriske point and just south of Furnace creek is 'Badwater', the lowest point in the USA at 282ft below sea level ! Plenty more as well as this map of Death valley shows.

On the junction of 395 and 120 [Tioga pass] there is a gas station and a good place to top up your tank before heading into the park. If you stop here there is some good food to be had in 'Woah Nellies Deli' at the back of the station and if you drive up the hill a few hundred yards past the station there is a lovely view overlooking Mono Lake.

[glc]

If you are stopping on route to LV you could consider visiting Joshua tree NP and perhaps stopping in Lake Havasu City and visiting London bridge, yep the one they took from 'home' all those years ago.

I would certainly look at an option such as this - if you are simply going to take I-10 and I-15 to LV there would be no need for an overnight stop and there's not a heck of a lot to see.

[Michelle Turner]

Hi, more good ideas! Very grateful, not sure how I would have planned the trip without this site!
Im going to start planning the more intricate details now, taking into consideration your suggestions. I looked at the 'Woah Nellies Deli' website, menu looks yum!
I will probably back soon asking something else!
Thanks
Michelle