U2 in Vegas - Tips for booking hotels, flights and other Vegasy type things.

[rosephile]

Maybe flying if it's just for one...but I'd check into prices of flights vs rental cars 'cause both seem more unpredictable now. You'll have to do the LA-tree-Vegas part driving, of course.

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Originally Posted by cobl04

Let's say I wanted to do something like this. Gonna go for maybe just under two weeks.

Melbourne > LA
LA > the tree > Vegas
And then I'd also like to visit, let's say, Salt Lake City, or something a bit more off-script like Idaho or something, and then Seattle, Portland, Sacramento (try and see the Beam), then LAX and home again.

Would flying or driving be cheaper? If I was gonna do big distances, like Vegas to Seattle, I'd fly. But it could be cool to drive some places.

Obviously going to the tree and then on to Vegas would require driving.

My only advice there is to give yourself plenty of time and don't do it in the day you are also seeing a show.

The tree is a solid 4 hours outside of Vegas, and LA to Vegas traffic can be brutal, especially on a Friday or Saturday afternoon/evening.

There's also apparently zero cell signal out there, so download your Google maps in advance to avoid an issue. Oh, and have gas.

Vegas to SLC is a very doable drive, and I hear it's beautiful. Never done it but it's on my list to fly into SLC one time and do the drive rather than going direct to LAS.

Driving from SLC to the Pacific Northwest is probably not a great idea as it'll be very time consuming. A flight from SLC shouldn't be that bad from a price standpoint. It's a Delta hub, so plenty of flights.

Seattle and Portland are close enough to drive between and do it in a day. Sacramento probably not.

If you really want to do Sacramento, perhaps instead of Portland/Seattle you fly to Sacramento from SLC, rent another car, and drive from Sac to San Francisco. Flight from SF to LAX is easy enough and should be plentiful.

[Chizip]

Am I the only one that has no desire to drive into the middle of the desert to see a tree that has fallen over and is decaying? I mean if it was still standing and you could get a pic under the Joshua tree or something that might be cool, but now just seems like a long, kinda dangerous trip for not much reward.

[rosephile]

It's only dangerous if your car breaks down!

IDK, I like the desert landscape so it's worth it for the scenery too for me.

[Miroslava]

Originally Posted by Chizip

Am I the only one that has no desire to drive into the middle of the desert to see a tree that has fallen over and is decaying? I mean if it was still standing and you could get a pic under the Joshua tree or something that might be cool, but now just seems like a long, kinda dangerous trip for not much reward.

I like the desert, so if i was within an hour or two anyway, I would make it a point of stopping by. But no, I am not spending 6-8 hours to drive to see the dead tree and all the junk people have left behind. The plaque is fine. Perhaps the hard case with notes (not my thing, but whatever). It just seems like people have turned it into a curated landfill.

[Hewson]

Originally Posted by Chizip

Am I the only one that has no desire to drive into the middle of the desert to see a tree that has fallen over and is decaying? I mean if it was still standing and you could get a pic under the Joshua tree or something that might be cool, but now just seems like a long, kinda dangerous trip for not much reward.

It has no appeal to me.
No need to drive 4 hours to see some firewood.

[TinKnight]

I wouldn't go specifically to see it, but if it's not causing too much trouble to my iternerary, i'd probably do it.

[DeVaul]

Originally Posted by Hewson

It has no appeal to me.

No need to drive 4 hours to see some firewood.

You wanna see some wood, I can tell you where to go

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Originally Posted by Chizip

Am I the only one that has no desire to drive into the middle of the desert to see a tree that has fallen over and is decaying? I mean if it was still standing and you could get a pic under the Joshua tree or something that might be cool, but now just seems like a long, kinda dangerous trip for not much reward.

You are not.

As others have said - if it were an hour away? Heck, I probably would have done it already.

When I went to a wedding in Palm Springs I gave it consideration, but once I realized it was still a solid 2-3 hours away? Yeaaaa I'll just look at some of the lovely Joshua Trees that are everywhere instead.

I did visit the UF castle when I was in Ireland... but it was, like, a 45 minute drive from Dublin, and it was an excuse to see the countryside. It wasn't dead smack in the middle of the Mojave with no cell service and no gas stations for miles.

If you really want to see a Joshua Tree in the flesh, there are plenty of them in and around Vegas.

[Hewson]

Originally Posted by DeVaul

You wanna see some wood, I can tell you where to go

Especially in the morning?

[Irvine511]

Probably no need to see the tree, but JT national park is incredible. See that first.

[rosephile]

I saw several quail in JT, in case you wondered where such birds live. Cute lil guys. Saw a roadrunner at a gas station. That looked more like a teeny dinosaur.

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Great place to watch the migratory patterns of the great spotter pecker, as well as a variety of species of tits.

[Hewson]

Originally Posted by rosephile

I Saw a roadrunner at a gas station.

Acme gas station and anvil supply presumably.

[DaveC]

Originally Posted by Irvine511

Probably no need to see the tree, but JT national park is incredible. See that first.

this. i've done both the drive from LA -> the tree and Vegas -> JTNP -> LA. if you want to go off the beaten path a bit to see some beautiful desert go through JT national park and skip "the" joshua tree.

the actual tree itself is in the middle of absolutely nowhere and it's just some dead logs and old dusty crap people left behind. not remotely worth the time it takes to get out there. you WILL be disappointed. the scenery in the national park is orders of magnitude more beautiful than going to the far side of death valley. and joshua trees are much nicer when they're standing. trust me on this one.

[DeVaul]

Originally Posted by Headache in a Suitcase

Great place to watch the migratory patterns of the great spotter pecker, as well as a variety of species of tits.

For legume aficionados, also easy to find deez nuts

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Originally Posted by DeVaul

For legume aficionados, also easy to find deez nuts

The southwest nuts can be a little tangy, what with the arid climate and all

[rosephile]

Originally Posted by Hewson

Acme gas station and anvil supply presumably.

Oh, it was probably up to something.

[rosephile]

Originally Posted by Headache in a Suitcase

spotter pecker

The (assumed) typo makes it a pecker that has a skill.

[cobl04]

Thanks all. You've successfully convinced me to not go and see the tree, but I might still drive to Vegas from LA and hopefully see some of the park on the way? Maybe I'll do Melbourne <fly> LA <drive> Vegas <drive> SLC <fly> Seattle <drive> Portland. And then fly to Sacramento (if there'll be a game on? If not then I'll skip it). I'll probably stay in hostels in LA and Portland, hopefully I can stay with Cori in Seattle and Mofo in SLC? Maybe I'll visit Laz again in LA. What are car hire prices and petrol like over yonder? I'm a little nervous driving in a different country with different rules but I'm sure I'll be fine and it'll be a nice way to see parts of the country.