After a few days in SFO it was time for fresh air and a bit of a road trip… well a bit meaning a trip to Yosemite National Park, Las Vegas and The Grand Canyon!

Tip: Planning a self drive seems easy enough. Pick-up your car at SFO International Airport and off you go.

Our plan was to rent a car and drive to Las Vegas and then once there drop it off as you will be staying for a few nights and then just rent another one for the next leg of the trip. Little did we know that when you collect a car from one point you need to drop it back off at the same point or pay the inter-city drop of fee of $250.00, so we ended up keeping the car for the entire trip. You will also need a GPS – do not rent one, rather buy a sim card for around $40.00 (10 GIG’s will last you the entire trip). Trust me, I downloaded whatever I wanted to, used the GPS, and created a hotspot for the second phone!

It is now time to leave San Francisco and head for Yosemite. Yosemite National Park is in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. It’s famed for its giant, ancient sequoia trees, and for Tunnel View, the iconic vista of towering Bridalveil Fall and the granite cliffs of El Capitan and Half Dome. Other rocks of Yosemite include Three Brothers and Cathederal Rock with the other big waterfalls being Vernal Fall, Yosemite Falls and Nevada Fall. In Yosemite Village you will find shops, restaurants, lodging, the Yosemite Museum and the Ansel Adams Gallery, with prints of the photographer’s renowned black-and-white landscapes of the area. It will take you around 3 hours to drive to the National Park, depending on where you want to stay in the park, and obviously a bit longer if it’s your first road trip in the States, you also need to get used to driving on the “wrong” side of the road and being in the “wrong” side of the car. You will want to stop at every little small town to take pictures and also see more fast food restaurants on this drive than what you have ever seen before. We decided on staying at Yosemite View Lodge, a few minutes outside the park but perfect location. Just before you get to the lodge you will enter the small quaint town of Mariposa, which for me is truly the prettiest little town on the entire trip but unfortunately everything was closed as it was late afternoon on a Sunday. As you drive from Mariposa to the lodge you will drive next to the Merced River, whose mighty waters flow at such force that the sound is almost deafening. Once checked in it was time for a bit of a rest after the long drive. The lodge has a small restaurant where you can get pizzas and light meals, as well as a bar where you can relax and drink a beer while you listen to the locals telling stories of their day in the park.

The next day we had an early start as we had to go and explore the park and see what it had to offer. Entry to the park is $30 per car and it is valid for 7 days. April, the start of spring, is a perfect time to visit as the heat melts the snow on the mountains and this makes for the most amazing waterfalls, forests and mountains so high they kiss the clouds. This is a small park and in my opinion you can probably see most of it in 2-3 days. We drove the many roads and got to what seemed to be the top of the mountains and reached Badger Pass Ski Area, which is a small ski area located within Yosemite National Park and is one of only three lift serviced ski areas operating in a US National Park. It was a jaw dropping sight. Obviously the slopes were deserted as the snow was melting at a fast rate with the warm sun shining down but there was still plenty of thick snow lying around. I am sure it must be something out of a fairytale to see in the middle of winter. I was just glad I did not have to drive up the hill with the roads covered in snow, something we are not used to.

On the way back to the lodge, we stopped at the centre to get a few snacks. Tip: If you are staying at a place where you can cook your own meals then you might as well get a few supplies here. We got some beef jerky and drinks, just don’t think that you will get the biltong taste from the beef jerky – no! it has a sweet smokey flavour, but when you are hungry it will do. We decided on a homemade pasta and sausage dish with some wine, and once back at the lodge, we went to the pool to relax. They have a heated pool, cold water pool and 3 big Jacuzzi’s you can choose from, as we were not brave enough for the cold water the Jacuzzi it was!

Another early day for a relaxing drive in the park, you do not see lots of animals while driving around, I was hoping to see some American black bears but it was a bit early in the season for them. I think they were happily asleep still waiting for the days to get warmer. Other than the bears, other animals in the area are Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep, Mule deer, Bobcat and Coyote. We stopped at The Ahwahnee – formerly The Majestic Yosemite Hotel. The Ahwahnee shines as Yosemite National Park’s distinctive AAA four-diamond hotel, known for its stunning interior design and architecture. The Ahwahnee was specifically designed to highlight its natural surroundings, featuring Yosemite Falls, Half Dome and Glacier Point. The hotel holds a historic heritage as it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark. The destination of queens and presidents alike, this distinctive Yosemite hotel offers a perfect balance of history, hospitality and elegance.

The Ahwahnee has a gift shop with a focus on local artisans, a decadent sweet shop, a comfortable bar and a heated outdoor swimming pool. The dining room serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. Tip: Here you can also take a picture inside the biggest fireplace I have ever seen and in winter there must be a huge raging fire burning therein.

On our last night we decided to try the pizza from the restaurant and we paid about $20 for a big pizza. We had a good nights rest as the drive the next day was a long one.

Leaving Yosemite we headed to Ridgecrest via Fresno and Bakersfield. Ridgecrest is the town that was hit by several earthquakes during July 2019. We chose this route as we wanted to drive to Las Vegas via Death Valley National Park and Ridgecrest was approximately a half-way stop. The drive is around 3 hours if you don’t stop too often, and remember the drive in Yosemite National Park can take a while as you need to drive slowly and you leave via different route from the one taken to enter the park. Also once outside the park the road is winding, with stunning views but you have to go slower than normal.

On the way to Ridgecrest stop and have a look at the airplane graveyard in Mojave, were hundreds of commercial aircraft come here to “retire”. Once back on the road you will also drive past Jawbone Canyon Store and Restaurant were you can stop for a drink and a snack. On the way, not too far from Ridgecrest, you will even pass a sign to Johannesburg – thousands of miles from the Johannesburg we know. We even came across an article where they spoke about Johannesburg and Randsburg, not Randburg, as two small towns named after the Johannesburg and Randburg in the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Staying over in smaller towns, I would suggest you drive into town and then have a look at a few places before you book your stay. We booked at the 2 star Motel 6. Shock and horror, but hey – I have always said I wanted to stay in a proper dodgy motel like you see in the movies and this was the perfect opportunity! The place was clean and had a coin operated laundry onsite so we could wash some of our clothes. For dinner we went to Ale’s Steakhouse & Bar, we had buffalo wings with a Caesar salad and  massive Margarita’s. The restaurants in the USA just know how to make the best buffalo wings. After the wings we decided on taking a drive, but there is not much to see in Ridgecrest. It is a quiet little town with a population of around 30,000. It was time to get some supplies for the road and Walmart was the place for this. I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the shop, like a huge Makro but with much more variety – you can buy almost anything at Walmart.

We could not wait to get up and out of the motel room the next morning, so another early morning awaited us as the drive to Vegas was going to be a long one, via Death Valley. 4 hrs and 43mins if you look on the map but obviously the actual drive will take longer – more like 6 hours. Death Valley is aptly named as it is the hottest, driest, and lowest National Park in the USA.

The lowest point in Death Valley National Park is Badwater Basin, which is 282 feet (86 m) below sea level and also the lowest point in North America. Steady drought and record summer heat make Death Valley a land of extremes. Yet, each extreme has a striking contrast. Towering peaks are frosted with winter snow, rare rainstorms bring vast fields of wildflowers, lush oases harbour tiny fish and refuge for wildlife and humans. Despite its morbid name, a great diversity of life survives in Death Valley. We stopped at Badwater Basin for a quick look and some photo opportunities. We then took the winding roads to the exit of the park where you can drive a bit faster to reach Las Vegas via Pahrump.

Once in Vegas you cannot help but feel like a kid in a candy store. Your mouth literally hangs open at the extravagance of what is Las Vegas – playground of the rich and famous and the not so rich and famous. Las Vegas has a buzz about it. Not much to see in the daytime but it comes alive at night. Lights, lights and more lights. No wonder it is visible from space at night! We stayed at Circus Circus Hotel & Resort situated on Las Vegas Boulevard, a short walk from the Las Vegas strip. The hotel room was spacious, comfortable and affordable. Most of our stay in Vegas was mid-week, as prices do go up on weekends when visitors pour into the city. There is a wide variety of accommodation options in Las Vegas from high end expensive resorts to RV parks. There is also a wide variety of dining options available from simple take away restaurants to Michelin star restaurants and you definately won’t be short of entertainment in Las Vegas, gambling is big – there are casinos and slot machines everywhere, but there are also a wide variety of shows available to cater for all ages. Take in some of the free shows like the soaring fountain show at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino that features the fountains choreographed with music and lights or the volcano show at The Mirage. We booked to go see one of the Cirque du Soleil shows that was currently showing in Vegas – there were several other show options available from comedy shows to famous singers. Tip: Take some time and find out from the hotel reception where you can book your last minute tickets, as you will save yourself some money.

Anything goes in Las Vegas, people scantily clad walking the streets, drinking anywhere and everywhere and all times of the day. No wonder the saying “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” came to be. We visited the famed “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign where you could have your picture taken with an Elvis impersonator or a Las Vegas showgirl. During the day we lounged by the pools at our hotel and walked around at night to see the beautiful facades of the different hotels, like the New York New York, Luxor, The Venetian, Caesars Palace and many more, each one trying to outdo the next. Development and expansion are ongoing in Vegas and there seems to always be place for another hotel. There are said to be around 150,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas.

From Las Vegas we decided to take a trip to see the Grand Canyon and on-route we stopped to see Hoover Dam, which is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River on the border of the states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and in addition to providing hydro-electric power, the dam is also an important source of water to seven of the Western states of the US including Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California. From Hoover Dam we drove to the west rim of The Grand Canyon. On-route we stopped to take in the sites of the Joshua Tree Forest at Joshua Tree National Park. A Joshua Tree is a Yucca that thrives in this part of the Mojave Desert. Once at the west rim of the Grand Canyon, you need to park at the welcome centre and board the free hop-on hop-off shuttle service to get to the attractions – Guano Point, Eagle Point and Hualapai Ranch. The entrance fee to the park is around $45 per person and excludes access to the famous Skywalk situated at Eagle Point. Tickets for the Skywalk are an additional $30 per person. The Skywalk is a horseshoe-shaped cantilever bridge with a glass walkway that is 219m above the canyon floor. The vistas of the Grand Canyon are breathtaking and the expanse of the canyon is something to behold. We spent the night at the Hualapai Lodge, which is a 3 star hotel situated in Peach Springs on the famous and historic Route 66 and is owned and run by the Hualapai Native American Indian tribe. The section of Route 66 between Peach Springs and Kingman is home to Hackberry General Store where you can buy your Route 66 souvenirs and paraphernalia.

Our next stop was Los Angeles but we had to go via Las Vegas for one last night. We stayed at Harrah’s Hotel & Casino, which is situated right in the centre of the Las Vegas strip, it was Saturday and Las Vegas was packed, pumping music at the pool, people everywhere enjoying themselves. On Sunday morning we set off for LA, together with all the weekend partygoers who were heading home. It was like rush hour on the N1 between Johannesburg and Pretoria, bumper to bumper traffic most of the way. We stopped off at the largest Chevron gas station in the world around 50 kms south of Vegas, with 96 fuel pumps and the largest convenience store we’ve seen at any gas station that included slot machines! Closer to LA, in Yermo, we stopped at Peggy Sue’s 50’s Diner for an authentic diner experience. The place is filled with memorabilia and you can sit down and eat traditional diner food like burgers and shakes. The diner was built in 1954 and they have kept most of the 50’s décor and furniture. After lunch, LA was calling, so we hopped in the car and headed down south. Hollywood here we come…..

Things to do in Las Vegas:

High Roller Observation Wheel

Las Vegas Explorer Pass

Jack of Lights Strip Helicopter Tour

KÀ by Cirque du Soleil

Grand Canyon National Park Day Trip

Written by

Theo Kleinhans & Gordan Millar