The G&P June 2011 US/Mexico Road Trip
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We are so excited, our June trip has become increasingly amazing. We get to party in Los Angeles, we get to party in Mexico, we get to party in San Francisco and now we also get to party at Doug's wedding in Las Vegas. AND if that wasn't exciting enough, we are roadtripping between San Francisco and Las Vegas, travelling through incredible places we've only ever seen in photos and have always dreamed of visiting.
So purpose of this is not to brag about how incredibly lucky we are (although we know we are), but because we need advice on planning the roadtrip, and can't think of a better crowd to call upon for help.
Our tentative plan is to leave San Francisco on Wednesday 22nd June, probably late afternoon, and drive (approx 4 hours I think?) to stay overnight just before entrance to Yosemite (somewhere cheap and cheerful - I can research). Any suggestions on which town we should head for? (BTW, I already checked the Yosemite accommodations, they are almost all completely booked, and those that have availability are way above our budget!)
Thursday 23rd head into Yosemite National Park as early as poss and spend most of the day, leaving mid/late afternoon and driving to/close to Death Valley, again any suggestions on what a good stopover point would be?
Friday 24th drive through/visit Death Valley and then head on to Las Vegas. Would like to reach Vegas by 3pm latest.
As well as advice on towns/accommodation we might stay in, I just want to sanity-check this rough itinerary - if anyone has better ideas then all suggestions most welcomed!
Many thanks
MB
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MB, I have a few friends who have made this trip and will consult them regarding your road trip. If you're
looking for hotels on the cheap you can check Travel Lodge, Motel 6, Best Western or Days Inn to name a
few. If you need a route mapped out I can help you with this since some of the highways are small with no
amenities for miles.
Death Valley will be HOT so be ready for that, I'll see if I can dig up a good spot in that area for you. Just make
sure you have plenty of water and don't run the air conditioning the car too long or it will over heat.
I'm off work all next week so I'll be able to work on it with DS and my good friend John who's made that trip
countless times.
Please PM me if have any questions or need any help!
-BH
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Thank you so much, BH - mapping out the route and getting some understanding of distances/times between points is exactly the sort of help we need. Giles didn't believe me when I told him that whilst we'll be passing through Yosemite at great time of year, the recommendation is to visit Death Valley in winter because of the heat (he didn't realise the two places are separate). Really appreciate your offer of help - but please don't spend too much time on it!
MVB, thanks, I visited Las Vegas on business twice in 2005 (first time took G) and both times did the Grand Canyon trip via helicopter - agree it is SPECTACULAR. Would love to go back, but will focus first on all the stuff we haven't seen yet, and there is plenty of that!
Very, very excited about the whole trip in June.
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i would recommend spending the night not so much outside of yosemite, but perhaps a town or two away. it is quite pricey to shack up anywhere close to the national parks (stanislaus, Inyo, Yosemite) but perhaps near the 108 freeway and Jamestown/Sonora would be perfect. i cant remember exactly as its been a couple of years since i last went camping, but it would be better on the pocket to stay outside of the park the night before and drive in early morning to see the parks. and here is another tip of mine, Tuolomne Meadows is pretty expensive and hectic as all hell to go and see, but the sights, sounds and pizza are totally worth it! they even have a little tour drive. also cool.
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At 07:30 tomorrow morning, a taxi picks us up to take us to London Heathrow.
It will be the start of the The G&P June 2011 US/Mexico Road (with a little help from some planes on the way) Trip
We will hit Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cabo, San Francisco (again…yawn) and Las Vegas.
Updates and pics will be posted here..............
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Probably completely unrelated, but I just read that the Department of Homeland Security is preparing for a "major terrorist assault" on the west coast, probably centering on bars, clothing retail centers, or other places where denim nerds might gather…
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Have tons of fun, I know you will
