Things to see/do between Huntsville, Tx., and Vegas, NV? - NEVERMIND...

[Tourmeister]

Howdy,

:tab So we are doing a family trip out to Vegas, leaving Feb 18th. Need to be in Vegas by Feb 23rd. Will leave to return on Feb 27 or 28th, and getting back to Huntsville by Mar 2nd. It is 1500 miles each way going the quick route. We will have all three kids with us, ages 7, 5, and 3. What I need are suggestions for things to see/do along the way that they might be interested in but that don't take a long time to see/do. Basically, things to get them out of the car for a while so they don't drive me insane and they don't go nuts. I don't have a specific route in mind, but don't want to go to far out of the way just because it means more time in the car. Once in Vegas, they will be staying with and running around with Beth's best friend and her kids. I will be out in the desert riding with Jimmy Lewis doing the "Taste of Dakar" weekend :trust: Then we will basically be doing the same thing coming home, looking for stuff to break up the monotony of lots of miles each day.

:tab Anyone...?

[Xdriver]

Meteor Crater east of Flagstaff. Ride the Tram in Albuquerque to Sandia Peak. Hoover Dam once close to Vegas, and of course the south rim of the Grand Canyon. This is of course all based on taking I-40 west then cutting up to Vegas.

[Desert Skies]

White Sands National Monument/Missile Range and Carlsbad Caverns are worthy stops with kids. The trip up over Cloudcroft may be picturesque that time of year too.

[Texas T]

We will have all three kids with us, ages 7, 5, and 3. What I need are suggestions for things to see/do along the way that they might be interested in but that don't take a long time to see/do.

Sorry to be the wet dishrag, but aside from Sarah, I'm not sure any of the above locations will be of much interest to the other kids, and the Grand Canyon is going to be darn cold.

[Tourmeister]

:tab Well, they might like Carlsbad Caverns. I went there when I was pretty young and it definitely made an impression. Went to the Grand Canyon as well and I think the fact that it hailed really hard on us made more of an impression than the Canyon itself :lol2: However, the GC is cool.

:tab There is that HUGE open pit copper mine at Moreinci/Clifton on US 191. But man we'd lose BIG time running through 191 in a Minivan... Especially pulling a trailer with my bike on it.

:tab This will be late Feb, so what should I expect in terms of road conditions? Freeways good to go, minor highways questionable depending on weather?

[WoodButcher]

Yep, roads will be as you suspect. White Sands, Carlsbad, then up towards the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert. The Sunset Crater just NE of Flagstaff (on the way towards the Grand Canyon). And the Grand Canyon. While it is kind of off the route you'd want to take towards Vegas, Feb. is a good time to visit. More of the roads along the South rim are open to private vehicles and there are fewer people there.

Get a National Parks pass if you do all those. You'd just break even if you hit all them, but then you'd get into BBNP free for the rest of the year.

[euromedic]

Roswell nm an option?

[D'artagnan]

The Groom Cross (http://www.crossministries.net/) is just East of Amarillo on I-40.

Beware: Music starts playing when the window opens, so you surf-at-the-office folks may want to turn the speakers down.

You might also check out the Roadside America website. Pick a state, and you can look at a map of various places to stop and stretch.

[Tourmeister]

Well... it all just became a moot point. We're not going. I finally got all the details from the people putting on the ride and the stuff with Jimmy Lewis is an extra $600 on top of the "prize". So that would mean six days of driving (or more) just for a one day ride and missing two weeks of work since the ride is on a weekend. We can make much better use of our driving time going somewhere like Colorado or North Carolina, have more time for me to ride and more time to do stuff with family without killing ourselves to get there and back.

[DaveC]

For our vacation in late December back a few years. Grand Canyon is best visited in the winter. Crowds are way down, air temps during the day upper 60 to low 70. Frost at night. Hotels have a better rate. Summer time your lucky to get in. In fact they have started requiring you ride the bus in and leave your car out side the park.

[euromedic]

Smart decision Scott. Driving 4 days total was a stretch for us. And the greenback doesnt stretch as good as it used to.