Can you help with my road trip planning

vbold · Post by **vbold** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 6:25 am

Hello,

Well finally after 2 years i've managed to get myself together and have BM 2007 in my sights !! :-) butI could do with some help in my planning if any one could be so kind.

Myself and my girlfiend are travelling from Ireland and we have booked an RV from LA which we will be dropping back in Vegas after BM. I was planning to take 3 days to get to BM - stopping off in Mono lake/Pyramid lake area for a night or so and maybe somewhere in the Sierras area as well. 3/4 days at BM. Then take 2 days to get from BM to Vegas. But now it looks like we may have a little more time than we expected.

Does anyone have any ideas on some places we could visit in the Nevada area (or somewhere along our route) which we shouldn't miss if we have a few more days?

Thanks for your help :D

Zhust · Post by **Zhust** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:08 am

Given your schedule, you will not find time to be bored. In fact, you'll be lucky to do all the things you want to.

pinemom · Post by **pinemom** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:13 am

3/4 days at BM?????
WTF...
Man I would just plan on using as much of your extra time allowance for BM...there just so much to see and do.

That would be like saying..."Were going to Disney World for one day...so we will have 3 days to explore the local grocerie stores"

vbold · Post by **vbold** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:20 am

Hey,

The extra time I have will probably be after BM not before it. We can only fly out on the 28th at the earliest - get the RV on the 29th so work out the numbers!!! . It will take 1 or 2 days to drive there so I need a place 2 stop off on the way there and the extra time we have will be after BM....

helitack · Post by **helitack** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:27 am

It's way less than a days drive from LV to BRC. If you are flying Virgin Atlantic, if I remember correctly the plane gets to LV about 2:00 or 3:00, go get your rig and start North.

pinemom · Post by **pinemom** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:30 am

woops.

Ok fun stops in this area...
Lake Tahoe! Gorgeous! fresh water lake! can see the bottom 100 ft down.Kinda out of way in wrong direction but beautiful!
Virginia City! A fun little Gold/Silver Rush town.Lots of Western American History, just outside of Reno...techiniquely just off your track to Vegas...provided your taking hwy 395
Yosemitee is a little out of way, and bad road for lg RV.
Make sure you fill those tanks up in Bishop,NV...for your gonna have to endure huge time on open desert with no PETRO!!!!

vbold · Post by **vbold** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:36 am

Hi, i'm going from Dublin so no Virgin and LA is the only stop on the west Coast with Aer Lingus.

vbold · Post by **vbold** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:44 am

Thanks pinemom, sorry didn't mean to be snappy!!!!! :-) of course i'd love to spend a week or a month at BM, i've been trying to get to it for 2 years !!!!
I'm so looking forward to it and this little road trip. Would love to head to Yosemitee but might be miles out of the way - what about Joshua tree?? I'm looking to get to see some really cool places as well as BM, i've been to the states a good few times but only to the cities so it's a chance to see what else there is to offer...................... although for all this talk the chances are that i'm go mental for 4 days in BM and be in a complete state so will have to hit a hotel for some serious R&R !!!!!!

Anyone know what the music scene is like at BM - i don't see a lot about it on the site - are there music camps with DJ etc.. like the big tents i'd be used to from european festivals???

Post by **AntiM** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 8:09 am

The music camps tend to be more open air than tented. Not my scene so much, so maybe I'm not the best person to ask about the music, I have noticed it isn't what I call rock and roll (that's a joke).

If I read it right, you're coming up from La then down to Vegas after? Yeah, that's 395 northbound into BM, then 95 southbound to Vegas. As far as I remember, Joshua Tree is way out of your way, down on I-10 in the Mojave.

Once you're at Pyramid Lake, you're so close to Burning Man you can taste the playadust; for the life of me I could not stop there unless I knew I was too early to get through the gates.

vbold · Post by **vbold** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 8:16 am

Okey Dokey - anyone know how long the drive would be from LA to Reno? I was hopeing to avoid all the highways and cement and head up through Bishop to Reno, I'll be doing all the driving myself - possible without a stop off?

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 8:20 am

Vbold...

I'm sending you a kinda long PM with some info about some route ideas for your trip.

bb

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 8:44 am

Does the AAA website do this sort of thing, or do you have to be a member?

You could probably buy an American road atlas that would have charts to figure out distance and time, but I'm sure that info's on line somewhere.

Post by **AntiM** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:30 am

Each state has a tourist info board which will send you maps and info.

http://www.ca.gov/Tourism.html

http://www.travelnevada.com/

Also, Sunset magazine has some good info about touring the West.

http://www.sunset.com/sunset/travel/california

I have an AAA RV+ membership, so if nothing else, I can get my hands on maps and advice from them too if I went to the office.

StevenGoodman · Post by **StevenGoodman** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:12 am

Since you are "coming in late", i.e. after the start of Burning Man I would:

1) Get your RV in LA.
2) Blast straight up I-5 to I-80 to Reno/Sparks. Yes, this is the boring, but fast way to Reno. And plenty of services.
3) Rest up in Reno/Sparks for a while.
4) Go shopping for food/water/etc in Reno/Sparks. There are big grocery stores, etc. Don't spend time messing around in LA, it will take forever.
5) Head out to BM, get there as soon as you can.
6) Spend as much time at BM as possible. Plan to leave early on TUESDAY morning. Leaving on Monday is a mess, leaving on Tuesday is easy.

On the way back there are lots of places you could see. If you don't mind even more desert you could go to Death Valley, but it will be BLAZINGLY hot in September.

Tahoe is nice. The little campgrounds at the top of Hwy 88 are nice. Anything on the west side of the Sierras is going to take you far out of your way. There are historical "wild west mining era" sites around Reno, Carson City, etc.

wedeliver · Post by **wedeliver** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 1:30 pm

Silver Peak Hot Springs is just south of Tonopah, nv. Very Remote (but only 1/2 hour from main road on paved road). Closed down Power transfer station with large area for parking. 2 hot tubs and....... a large swimming pool. Wild horses come up to the area to drink. RV's can make it in and out with ease. Interested?

zorro sings · Post by **zorro sings** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 8:20 pm

The surplus passenger and big jet graveyard/holding area outside of Mojave,on 395 to Reno,is very cool.Can't miss it on your right.

Token · Post by **Token** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:19 pm

Vbold,

We drive from LA to BRC every year with an RV. It is ~ 620 miles give or take, depending on route. It can be driven in ~ 10 hours but with rest stops and shopping it is more likely 12 hours.

If I were in your position I would do the following:

Sleep on the plane.
Have cab drive you and the Ms. from LAX to Starbucks where you get coffee, more coffee, and a coffee press and more coffee.
Then have the taxi take you to the RV place.
Pick up RV.
Start driving to BRC the easy and dull way (5 to 80 etc).
Drive in 4 hour shifts between you and the Ms. (you can nap in the bed in the RV).

Yes, the extra day at Burning Man IS worth the hassle and hustle.
Stay a few days extra at BM for the real fun.

Besides, you did not fly 6000 miles to suffer the indignity of US customs and airport security just to pussy out over a little driving, now did you?

p.s. you are driving on the wrong side of the road.

vbold · Post by **vbold** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 1:08 am

Hey Token,

thanks, great info, I have a plan now, will do a little sightseeing after BM, probably lake Tahoe as it's not too far out of the way.

Just note to anyone flying and then renting an RV, a few of the companies I looked at wil NOT rent you an RV on the day you land from an international flight, most request you ring them the previous day from the USA. I assume this is for safely while driving - jet lag etc...

Wedeliver - i'll be in touch - sounds interesting

Thanks all

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 1:25 am

theCryptofishist wrote:Does the AAA website do this sort of thing, or do you have to be a member?

You could probably buy an American road atlas that would have charts to figure out distance and time, but I'm sure that info's on line somewhere.

If you're an AAI (Auto Assoc Ireland Ltd) member you have recriprocity with AAA here in the States. ;)

Sus

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 1:27 pm

Vbold...if you're going up I-5, stop at Pea Soup Andersen's for lunch or dinner. There's one just over the Grapevine from LA, and another just north of Coalinga. Very touristy but hey, that's what makes roadtrips so much fun.

Good food, cool Danish architecture, all services for the motorist and RVer. They know which side their bierbrot's buttered on...

Oh, and when you're travelling in on I-80, do stop in Truckee, just before the California/Nevada border. Beautiful little town with Victorians, boutique shops, brewpubs and lots 'n lots 'n lots 'n lots 'n lots 'n lots of trees. And a pretty little river runs through it.

In Vegas...Don't miss Luxor. Check out Treasure Island, Mirage, MGM Grand, The Venetian, and Paris Las Vegas too.

Edit: Consider getting a membership to AAA's RV service. It's a year's membership; you won't be using it for a whole year, but in the time you'll have it it'll pay for itself with the travel guides, itinerary service, lodging and attraction discounts and the roadside assistance in case anything goes wrong.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 6:22 am

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/index.html

...I never leave the state without checking their database on weird local stops. After finding Thunder Mountain (Imlay, Nevada) on their site, I now visit it every year- A short drive east of the 447 turnoff on I-80. Worth the trip.
I agree with AntiM- Once you've made the 447 turnoff it's hard not to just bomb on nothward to BRC, although there are a couple of really beautiful vistas that deserve to be enjoyed in daylight. (I always laugh at the signs that announce the beginning and end of the "scenic areas", and wonder about the specific criteria for "scenery"...

wedeliver · Post by **wedeliver** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 12:35 pm

Silver Peak hot springs

This will be on your route from BM to Vegas. right off the side of the road more or less.

Tonopah, 9 miles south on Hwy 95 there is a dirt road goes west. I think it is 6 miles west on that dirt road to the hot springs. (runs right into it), dirt road is a bit rough and there is a better paved route (although not a high speed paved route). If you pass the dirt road and continue through the valley as you reach the south end of the valley, before the next town "gemfield" is a paved road "Silver Peak Road" that leads off north west that road bisects with the 9 mile dirt road at the hot springs. Here is an google map view. (if it works)

http://www.google.com/maps?q=Tonopah,+N ... 82687,-117 .339306&spn=0.044948,0.107975&om=1

The link works if you copy and paste it. Just scroll south from Tonopah.

Also a nice place to visit, sister to Harbin Hot Springs.

http://www.sierrahotsprings.org/community.htm

wedeliver · Post by **wedeliver** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 4:51 am

Here is a pic of a horse near the hot springs

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 8:54 am

A really good atlas can be had at the big truck stops.
Laminated.
Too expensive other places.
May be overkill for your short trip, but a great map.

Post by **AntiM** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 9:18 am

Hint on the road atlas: try to get one from the previous year on clearance. Good enough for four-wheelers! $12 ~ $15 full price I think.

Mushroom · Post by **Mushroom** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 2:22 am

If Im flying in, is it better to fly into Reno or Vegas?

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 2:42 am

Mushroom wrote:If Im flying in, is it better to fly into Reno or Vegas?

All depends on what your plans are. If you have an RV in Vegas, fly in there. If you're catching a ride, then I'd say Reno. It also depends which is cheaper, etc. Lots of variables...

bb

Post by **mdmf007** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 8:55 am

Dont forget the lessor known alternatives.

Sacramento
Boise - Dirt cheap to fly too, lots of RV's too
SLC - Same thing as boise.

These three aiports are viable as well. Sacramento is a 4.5 hour drive to the playa.

Boise is 5 if you take Jungo road from Winnemucca
SLC is about 7 and you get to drive across Bonneville salt flats.

just an option out there,

later