mewalk707 wrote:True again.

Has anyone driven the stretch between Yosemite and Vegas? We are hoping to go over Tioga Pass (if it's open) and then down through Death Valley. There seems to be multiple options for the trip. Any thoughts?

I've done 2 of the routes a few times. Really nice drives. I'll email you the routes if you'd like. The roads are in good condition, it is slower driving because of the winding roads.

On a similar note, on Sunday or Monday we could do a drive to Valley of Fire (4-6 hours) or Death Valley (6-8 hours). mr sanity suggested we take the bikes and someone can ride with him if they want, and 6 to 8 people could use our Pilot.

sanity wrote:I've done 2 of the routes a few times. Really nice drives. I'll email you the routes if you'd like. The roads are in good condition, it is slower driving because of the winding roads.

On a similar note, on Sunday or Monday we could do a drive to Valley of Fire (4-6 hours) or Death Valley (6-8 hours). mr sanity suggested we take the bikes and someone can ride with him if they want, and 6 to 8 people could use our Pilot.

Valley of Fire is really gorgeous! I'm sure it won't be 109 degrees as it was in August!

sanity wrote:I've done 2 of the routes a few times. Really nice drives. I'll email you the routes if you'd like. The roads are in good condition, it is slower driving because of the winding roads.

On a similar note, on Sunday or Monday we could do a drive to Valley of Fire (4-6 hours) or Death Valley (6-8 hours). mr sanity suggested we take the bikes and someone can ride with him if they want, and 6 to 8 people could use our Pilot.

oh that sounds like a cool thing to do...

Ok we are looking at car rental places... Has anyone used Fox rental? Hubby just found it online and it looks reasonable..

shirts ordered!!! yea!

mommadeb1 wrote:Ok we are looking at car rental places... Has anyone used Fox rental? Hubby just found it online and it looks reasonable..

We used them once. They were decent. Which airline are you flying? We usually fly Southwest and often rent our cars through their site and also use the Entertainment Book coupons. There are a couple of links on their site that give different rates. I also usually check back a day or two before we leave and often find a better rate still! Of course, we also have the Southwest Visa card where we get Rapid Rewards points and free flights!

mommadeb1 wrote:shirts ordered!!! yea!

Good for you!

bahwm wrote:Good for you!

can't wait to explain to hubby, why we "needed" these shirts that cost a small fortune!! ha ha ha ha

mommadeb1 wrote:can't wait to explain to hubby, why we "needed" these shirts that cost a small fortune!! ha ha ha ha

Yeah, but you can wear them when you go bowling at home--make an excuse to go bowling at home.

bahwm wrote:Yeah, but you can wear them when you go bowling at home--make an excuse to go bowling at home.

there you go!! the kids are always saying we don't go bowling enough!!

bahwm wrote:Yeah, but you can wear them when you go bowling at home--make an excuse to go bowling at home.

there you go!! the kids are always saying we don't go bowling enough!!

sanity wrote:I've done 2 of the routes a few times. Really nice drives. I'll email you the routes if you'd like. The roads are in good condition, it is slower driving because of the winding roads.

On a similar note, on Sunday or Monday we could do a drive to Valley of Fire (4-6 hours) or Death Valley (6-8 hours). mr sanity suggested we take the bikes and someone can ride with him if they want, and 6 to 8 people could use our Pilot.

Would love that email, thanks.

Since the majority of our trip is already a road trip, I think we'll pass on the extra time in the car. My bf hasn't been to Vegas since he was a kid. We plan on doing a lot of in "town" sight seeing.

sanity wrote:On a similar note, on Sunday or Monday we could do a drive to Valley of Fire (4-6 hours) or Death Valley (6-8 hours). mr sanity suggested we take the bikes and someone can ride with him if they want, and 6 to 8 people could use our Pilot.

FUN!!!

HAK, can we go, please please please? I wanna ride the bike!!!

cheron98 wrote:FUN!!!

HAK, can we go, please please please? I wanna ride the bike!!!

lol, Cat has first dibs if we go. If anyone else wants to ride, maybe you all can take take turns? I don't take passengers. mr sanity has over 35 years riding experience, and has 100000 miles on his latest bike.

The Valley of Fire ride is only about 120-150 miles round trip, so plenty of time to make stops for pictures, and it's very fun on the bike (no scary roads or turns). It also ends up going around Lake Mead.

I thought it might be more comfortable for people to take our SUV for the drive. If enough people want to go, then a second vehicle can be worked out.

sanity wrote:lol, Cat has first dibs if we go. If anyone else wants to ride, maybe you all can take take turns? I don't take passengers. mr sanity has over 35 years riding experience, and has 100000 miles on his latest bike.

The Valley of Fire ride is only about 120-150 miles round trip, so plenty of time to make stops for pictures, and it's very fun on the bike (no scary roads or turns). It also ends up going around Lake Mead.

I thought it might be more comfortable for people to take our SUV for the drive. If enough people want to go, then a second vehicle can be worked out.

We will have a car, dont know what size we will get..

Bowling shirts are in!!! I ordered just the other day and BAM they are here!!! so now I have: airline tickets, rental car, bowling shirts .... hmmmm what am I missing???? oh yea a room......!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh I am sooo funny!!

mommadeb1 wrote:Bowling shirts are in!!! I ordered just the other day and BAM they are here!!! so now I have: airline tickets, rental car, bowling shirts .... hmmmm what am I missing???? oh yea a room......!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh I am sooo funny!!

Heh, yeah, having a place to stay might be a good idea.
We still need to do the rental car. Everything else is in place for us, though Cat doesn't have a shirt. I should try to remember to look into the car stuff tomorrow.

Personally, I would prefer not to be doing a 4+ hour road trip either. Riding in a car for pretty much the whole day just doesn't really appeal all that much to me, even if it is pretty scenery. No idea right now what else I'd want to do, but I think I'd even rather just lounging at a hotel than spend over 8 hours riding around in a car. At least that way I'd get a relaxing vacation. As much as having action packed, super busy, full day trips can be fun....you end up needing a vacation to recover from your vacation after you get home.

We still going to Fogo for Sunday Dinner?

MarkDaSpark wrote:We still going to Fogo for Sunday Dinner?

I'm in ... was wondering if everyone was still interested. I also will have something for discounted dinners ($37) not sure how many dinners I can get for that price though. It's part of the yelp Elites weekend in Vegas.

HitAnyKey42 wrote:Personally, I would prefer not to be doing a 4+ hour road trip either. Riding in a car for pretty much the whole day just doesn't really appeal all that much to me, even if it is pretty scenery. No idea right now what else I'd want to do, but I think I'd even rather just lounging at a hotel than spend over 8 hours riding around in a car. At least that way I'd get a relaxing vacation. As much as having action packed, super busy, full day trips can be fun....you end up needing a vacation to recover from your vacation after you get home.

cheron98 wrote:

I mean as sad as it is, you could still take the trip (prepares for objects thrown from HAK).

MarkDaSpark wrote:We still going to Fogo for Sunday Dinner?

I plan on it!

cheron98 wrote:

You could still go while HAK lounges around the pool .....
The drive around Valley of Fire, Lake Mead and back to the strip is about 4.5 hours round trip - about 2.5 - 3 hours in the car at most (stopping every so often) and about 1 - 1.5 hours for stops along the way (at least 3 stops).

cheron98 wrote:

Well if it's gonna make her cry, I suppose I can suck it up to appease my woman. That is what we're supposed to do, right?

sanity wrote:You could still go while HAK lounges around the pool .....
The drive around Valley of Fire, Lake Mead and back to the strip is about 4.5 hours round trip - about 2.5 - 3 hours in the car at most (stopping every so often) and about 1 - 1.5 hours for stops along the way (at least 3 stops).

Ok, that's not as bad. I guess I somehow misread your original post, thinking it was gonna be 4+ hours each way. 8 hours sitting in a car while Cat has her arms wrapped around your hubby on the back of a motorcycle wasn't high on my list.

HitAnyKey42 wrote:Ok, that's not as bad. I guess I somehow misread your original post, thinking it was gonna be 4+ hours each way. 8 hours sitting in a car while Cat has her arms wrapped around your hubby on the back of a motorcycle wasn't high on my list.

Oh that's illegal. You're not ACTUALLY supposed to be clasping on to the driver if you're on the back of a bike. That's why there's rear handles. And I'd be trading off with whoever else wants to ride, so I could cuddle up with you in the car for a while

appease, he says. Sheesh. I'm going to let that slide. This time.

cheron98 wrote:Oh that's illegal. You're not ACTUALLY supposed to be clasping on to the driver if you're on the back of a bike. That's why there's rear handles. And I'd be trading off with whoever else wants to ride, so I could cuddle up with you in the car for a while

appease, he says. Sheesh. I'm going to let that slide. This time.

Really? I had no idea. Although riding the motorcycle in India doesnt count as following the rules, and there were too much traffic, for me to not hang on to my driver. Just remember HAK what happened when England tried appeasement on Germany.

MarkDaSpark wrote:We still going to Fogo for Sunday Dinner?

is that the Brazilian steak house? We are in.. also, as far as the road trip..whatever the group decides....

cheron98 wrote:Oh that's illegal. You're not ACTUALLY supposed to be clasping on to the driver if you're on the back of a bike. That's why there's rear handles. And I'd be trading off with whoever else wants to ride, so I could cuddle up with you in the car for a while

appease, he says. Sheesh. I'm going to let that slide. This time.

Riding on a Goldwing is almost like riding in a small car. The rider has a nice backrest which has a pouch in the back for you to stash something small. You have a nice back rest and adjustable floor boards. Look up a 97 goldwing. I don't think you could reach your arms around him even if you wanted to. ;)

We have an extra helmet and gloves and a heavy jacket.

Don't know where HAK's post went but yes it's a really pleasant relatively short drive.

HitAnyKey42 wrote:Ok, that's not as bad. I guess I somehow misread your original post, thinking it was gonna be 4+ hours each way. 8 hours sitting in a car while Cat has her arms wrapped around your hubby on the back of a motorcycle wasn't high on my list.

Here's the link to the Valley of Fire website. And then, there are these pics on Valley of Fire Google images. It is really quite awesome when you realize that there are 3,000-year-old petroglyphs carved in sandstone and the rock formations were created during the age of the dinosaurs. The scenery is beautiful!

bahwm wrote:Here's the link to the Valley of Fire website. And then, there are these pics on Valley of Fire Google images. It is really quite awesome when you realize that there are 3,000-year-old petroglyphs carved in sandstone and the rock formations were created during the age of the dinosaurs. The scenery is beautiful!

looks cool!!

mommadeb1 wrote:looks cool!!

Nods, after seeing those pics, I'm probably in.

Have to check on when my flight out is Sunday before I know about Fogo.

tenuki wrote:Nods, after seeing those pics, I'm probably in.

Have to check on when my flight out is Sunday before I know about Fogo.

You cculd always do what you did that one time and "miss" your flight and be forced to stay the extra night

cheron98 wrote:You cculd always do what you did that one time and "miss" your flight and be forced to stay the extra night

we could help you "miss" your flight!!

cheron98 wrote:You cculd always do what you did that one time and "miss" your flight and be forced to stay the extra night

Hahaha. I'm sure there's a funny story to this. If you do "miss" and I'm there then I think I can drive you back on Monday.

CAGrl wrote:Hahaha. I'm sure there's a funny story to this. If you do "miss" and I'm there then I think I can drive you back on Monday.

haha, I don't remember if there was a good reason. Think we were just having a good dinner and my plane was leaving soon, everyone told me to stay. Then mewalk and cat offered to let me crash with them and how do you pass that up? :-)

you in for Vincent Arroyo next Saturday? J's been undecided so invited another friend as well, who's interested in checking out hot springs, which I've never been to. So after VA would be looking at maybe hot springs, probably a bubbly place, and possibly morimoto.

tenuki wrote:haha, I don't remember if there was a good reason. Think we were just having a good dinner and my plane was leaving soon, everyone told me to stay. Then mewalk and cat offered to let me crash with them and how do you pass that up? :-)

you in for Vincent Arroyo next Saturday? J's been undecided so invited another friend as well, who's interested in checking out hot springs, which I've never been to. So after VA would be looking at maybe hot springs, probably a bubbly place, and possibly morimoto.

IIRC, it was after the first crush, when we went to the restaurant by the lake (Sunset & Vines, I believe).

tenuki wrote:haha, I don't remember if there was a good reason. Think we were just having a good dinner and my plane was leaving soon, everyone told me to stay. Then mewalk and cat offered to let me crash with them and how do you pass that up? :-)

you in for Vincent Arroyo next Saturday? J's been undecided so invited another friend as well, who's interested in checking out hot springs, which I've never been to. So after VA would be looking at maybe hot springs, probably a bubbly place, and possibly morimoto.

Count me in as a maybe for now and hubby's out (he has to work). I might have to meet somebody on Saturday in SF. What do you do at a hot springs? Won't it be hot enough already?

CAGrl wrote:Count me in as a maybe for now and hubby's out (he has to work). I might have to meet somebody on Saturday in SF. What do you do at a hot springs? Won't it be hot enough already?

I have no idea, I'm guessing mineral pools would probably be cheapest option, I'm not sure we're up for mud baths anyway

CAGrl wrote:Count me in as a maybe for now and hubby's out (he has to work). I might have to meet somebody on Saturday in SF. What do you do at a hot springs? Won't it be hot enough already?

Lots of fun stuff at lots of different places. Appointments recommended.