Trip to Vegas, Grand Canion, Death Valley, Hoover Damn - Advice, tips?

[Cypher]

Me and some guys are planning a trip to the Vegas area, not so much for Vegas per se but that is where we are getting a great price on a time share someone is part of so that is where we will stay and probably spend most of the week.

Vegas: What are some of the main things to see and do in the area excluding anything risqué, we don't gamble either although it would be interesting to look at some casinos and see what they are like. I've heard there are a lot of high quality shows, are there destinations in the surrounding area that are recommended places? Anything military or gun related like a museum is always a hit. It seems like I remember there being some big well known gun range down in that area where you could rent machine guns.

Grand Canyon: Where is the best place to go to see the Canyon? Looking at a map it seems like there are a few ways to go from Vegas and the northern side is a much longer drives although it would be worth it if it is a much better experience, we are going to try and make it a one day trip and leave early to still have time to see the park or is it something we need to stay over night to really see it? Has anyone rafted down the river, is that something that can be done in a short trip?

Hoover Dam: Don't know much about this or the area other than general info everyone already knows. Is it a simple tour to see it or should we plan on a whole day to take it in and see the stuff in that area?

Death Valley: I've never seen the desert but I like pitctures so I am sure it will be neat to see, I'm assuming there isn't much to do but "see" it but are there certain places we should go to get a better view, maybe a hour or two hike would be good if we know where to go.

[N/A]

Only thing I can advise is to have a thick skin...as the spelling Nazis will be after you. :D

[Cypher]

Ha, ah yes, that's what I get for cutting and pasting from a search engine.

[N/A]

Hoover Dam would be a great tour and would only take less than half a day total...but as you can no longer drive over the dam, how to get there and if they still have tours,...well I don't know. I'd like to see that bridge they built to cross over at Hoover Dam tho.

Grand Canyon...I'd go to the South Rim.

Las Vegas. I was there 30 years ago. During the day it just looked gaudy, so I'd go at night. Would have to look much better at night.

http://www.google.com/search?q=bridge+at+hoover+dam&hl=en&safe=off&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=xeeeT52xKsL_gge9qozoDQ&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&sqi=2&ved=0CB8Q_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=601


http://sharing.kypost.com/shareknxv//photo/2011/02/25/dam106146842_20110225150911_640_480.JPG

[MR. Polytech]

Seriously; why are you guy's wasting your time going to Vegas if your not into bawdy women or gambling....? I mean; really, that's what Vegas is ALL ABOUT!
If you want to check out Arizona, your really better off staying in Flagstaff.

[N/A]

Seriously; why are you guy's wasting your time going to Vegas if your not into bawdy women or gambling....? I mean; really, that's what Vegas is ALL ABOUT!
If you want to check out Arizona, your really better off staying in Flagstaff.

Au contraire...there are some great acts out there that don't require hookers or poker chips.

[mustangpd]

In Vegas the show I would recommend is the Blue man group. Each one of the casino's in the area have a pretty good show to see at night. During the day if you just walk up and down the strip all of the illegals will be handing out stripper/prostitute baseball cards. Its fun to collect them and it won't cost you anything (prostitution is legal in certain Nevada counties but not in vegas.)

I took the damn tour with my wife when we went their 5-6 years ago. It was a "damn good tour" sorry couldn't help myself. The grand canyon is a good tour as well but you will need 1-2 days to really enjoy it.



Me and some guys are planning a trip to the Vegas area, not so much for Vegas per se but that is where we are getting a great price on a time share someone is part of so that is where we will stay and probably spend most of the week.

Vegas: What are some of the main things to see and do in the area excluding anything risqué, we don't gamble either although it would be interesting to look at some casinos and see what they are like. I've heard there are a lot of high quality shows, are there destinations in the surrounding area that are recommended places? Anything military or gun related like a museum is always a hit. It seems like I remember there being some big well known gun range down in that area where you could rent machine guns.

Grand Canyon: Where is the best place to go to see the Canyon? Looking at a map it seems like there are a few ways to go from Vegas and the northern side is a much longer drives although it would be worth it if it is a much better experience, we are going to try and make it a one day trip and leave early to still have time to see the park or is it something we need to stay over night to really see it? Has anyone rafted down the river, is that something that can be done in a short trip?

Hoover Dam: Don't know much about this or the area other than general info everyone already knows. Is it a simple tour to see it or should we plan on a whole day to take it in and see the stuff in that area?

Death Valley: I've never seen the desert but I like pitctures so I am sure it will be neat to see, I'm assuming there isn't much to do but "see" it but are there certain places we should go to get a better view, maybe a hour or two hike would be good if we know where to go.

[az_paul]

Those are all great places to visit and enjoy. To get the full effect of Las Vegas, you should take in a major show, eat at one of the better buffets and also just stand around The Strip at night and people watch. We go up there often. Planet Hollywood has the best buffet on The Strip and it's reasonable for the quality of food you get. There is a store that rents machine guns, but it won't be cheap.

The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is awesome, but it's probably a four-hour ride from Las Vegas.

Have a great trip!

[JTHunter]

North Rim is a LOT closer to Vegas, is cooler in the summer heat than the South Rim, has fewer visitors, less traffic, etc., but not as much to see as you're looking south into the sun.

Hoover Dam can be a side trip from Vegas as you'll do that in the daytime and the shows at night. Tour into the dam doesn't take that long.

Death Valley - all I can say is do NOT go in the summer!!! (June through September) Any other time, is OK with Dec.-March the best. Take FOUR TIMES as much water as you THINK you will need!

If your going to be in that area, try taking in Sunset Crater volcano (north of Flagstaff), Barringer Meteor Crater, and the Painted Desert (east of Flagstaff). These three would be more comfortable in the summer than DV.

[az_paul]

I agree with JTHunter about the Petrified Forest / Painted Desert visit. It's absolutely brautiful, and much cooler than Death Valley.

[Altarboy]

Have fun and take lots of pics.

[Cypher]

Thanks for the tips guys. It should be a lot of fun.

Other than Planet Hollywood what are some of the best nice restaurants and buffets to eat?

For the GC whatever the best view is is probably what we would do to get as much out of it as possible, we were planning on about a 4 or so hour drive so I think that won't be a problem. So it sounds like the South Rim is a good place to go. I think this page details how to get where you guys are talking about http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/directions_s_rim.htm . Online maps shows this as a destination "Grand Canyon South Rim Visitor Center, Grand Canyon Village, AZ", is that where we want to go to visit the south rim or at least get started there?

We are going around October so the heat shouldn't be as bad as the summer. The other stuff in the DV area sound great so I'll start looking that up and see if we can hit those spots too, could we hit most of these spots in a day? DV isn't too far from Vegas right so we may go twice.

[stinker]

Vegas: Anything military or gun related like a museum is always a hit. It seems like I remember there being some big well known gun range down in that area where you could rent machine guns.

http://thegunstorelasvegas.com/


Grand Canyon: Where is the best place to go to see the Canyon? Looking at a map it seems like there are a few ways to go from Vegas and the northern side is a much longer drives although it would be worth it if it is a much better experience, we are going to try and make it a one day trip and leave early to still have time to see the park or is it something we need to stay over night to really see it? Has anyone rafted down the river, is that something that can be done in a short trip?

Pull over and go swimming. The Colorado is some really purty water.


Death Valley: I've never seen the desert but I like pitctures so I am sure it will be neat to see, I'm assuming there isn't much to do but "see" it but are there certain places we should go to get a better view, maybe a hour or two hike would be good if we know where to go.

Bring lots of water. It's hot as hell during the day sometimes even at that time of year. There's a lot more life out in that sand than you would think though.

Oh, stay away from these too if you see them. Trust me, they're pure evil.

http://readthisblog.net/wp-content/photos/TeddyBearCholla.jpg
http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk/research/groups/jdeacon/desertecology/teddy.jpg

How to Remove Teddy Bear Cholla Cactus Spines from Skin (http://www.ehow.com/how_2330292_remove-teddy-bear-cholla-cactus.html)

[Cypher]

Wow, thanks for the tip I had no idea cactus needles were that bad.

[stinker]

Wow, thanks for the tip I had no idea cactus needles were that bad.

Those particular cactus needles are

They look all warm and fuzzy from a distance but they're sharp as hypodermic needles and they'll punch straight through the soles of boots like they're made of butter. If you get stuck by one you will be stuck by a dozen too and the needles have little microscopic backwards facing hooks that work just like a fish hook does. You don't just pull them out, you basically have to rip them out of your skin.

Yeah, i got nailed before. :lool: