In this post you will find a description of our trip, with little tips about the destinations woven into the specific paragraph. At the end of the post we provide you with some general insights that we earned on our journey.

Our journey
We booked the RV for 16 nights and drove – Las Vegas as pickup and point of return – 2233 miles, mainly in Nevada, but had as well some miles in Utah, Arizona and California.

Stats
2233 miles = 3594 km
211,55 G = 800,8 L
10,55 G/Mile or 22,28 L/100 km

Route: Las Vegas – Lake Mead – Valley of Fire State Park – Zion National Park – Grand Canyon (North Rim) – Bryce Canyon – Lehman Caves – Ely – Wendover (Salt Lake Flats) – Elko – Reno – Lake Tahoe – Virginia City – Berlin Ichthyosaurus State Park – Tonopah – Rachel – Lake Mead – Las Vegas

Why a vacation with an RV?
Not one of our usual backpacker vacations, but since last autum – we had a wonderful weekend in an RV (recreational vehicle) owned by friends of ours, somewhere in the Alps near Munich – Claudia wanted to experience that again … and so we did.

Munich to Las Vegas

We flew from Munich to Las Vegas via Chicago with American Airlines. The main flight was with a 767, an older plane with no entertainment system. The crew totally made up for that, not by entertaining us with a musical, but with a very friendly and professional service. Never have we been treated so kindly during a flight. Thumbs up!
We flew into Las Vegas by coming from Chicago, it was like flying over a new discovered desert planet (like I imagined Arrakis of the novel Dune), awesome!

Tip:
After leaving the plane and the airport the heat immediately blew us away. Damn, this is soo hot!!! Be prepared of the intense heat/sun during summer months (June-August) in Las Vegas / Nevada. It’s like being in an oven and when the wind blows it doesn’t cool you down – it feels more like a hot hairdryer. Drink a lot of water (3-4 liters a day), take it slow, stay in the shadow as much as you can, wear hats or caps too cool your head and reduce your activities… step by step you will get used to it ;o) Take your time!

We spend our first night in Vegas at The NEW Tropicana Hotel at the souther part of the Strip. A reasonable priced hotel directly at the junction of the Strip and the Tropicana Avenue (beside MGM Grand, Excalibur and New York New York) only a short taxi ride from the McCarran International Airport Las Vegas. It has a nice outside pool area and of course a casino.
The hotel is all white designed, light and has a friendly atmosphere. It reminded us on the older hotels from the black and white pictures we knew from Las Vegas. The pool area with its beautiful balcony(!) fronted two story building – for us – is wonderful Vintage Vegas and the perfect spot to take a break from the busy city and the summer heat.

RV pick up
The next morning we took a taxi to Apollo to pick up our rented RV. The team there and especially Vera (in Las Vegas since 1966!!!) are very nice and relaxed. They speak German, French and of course English and answer all questions – sure they heard them all a million times – very friendly and professionally. From there we drove directly to a market to provision ourselves.

Tip:
Be prepared and make sure you checked every part of the vehicle – even if the company did and handed you over your papers already. Check all doors, windows (side and roof) and storage compartments. Does it close correctly and safely. Is anything broken inside or outside? Do you have all things you need to refill water, recharge energy/battery or empty black (toilette) and/or grey (all other used waters) water? If there are any questions left (e.g. how to use/start the generator, which gas to refill etc.) don’t be afraid to ask!
Extra Tip:
Don’t forget to buy rubber gloves – you will need them when using a dump station!

 

From Las Vegas to Lake Mead

It is just about a 30 minutes drive to the Hoover Dam. A good first trip to get familiar with the vehicle. The Hoover Dam itself is impressive, not by the size of it, but because of the Art Deco style it was build in. The towers that stand on the water side looked for Tom like the towers in Star Wars, where Obi Wan Kenobi has to shut down the tractor beam of the Death Star.
Have a look at the restroom doors and signs on the top of the Dam – they are golden and very stylish. A small but very nice design element!

Tip:
Come here in the afternoon. The light of the setting sun is very nice, there are only some other visitors and it’s not that hot – although it was still a little too hot for us!

From Hoover Dam it was only a short way to drive to the Lake Mead RV Park. We paid around 34$ for full hook-up an we were located near the restrooms/showers. The more expensive places have a fantastic view on Lake Mead (50$). But you can also walk to the observation line in 2 minutes! Be aware: The RV Park is not located at the water. Due to the reduced water amount in the lake now the shore line is several hundred meters away from the campground – but you can easily drive there.

Lake Mead to Zion National Park via Valley of Fire State Park

The next morning – we got up at 5 o’clock because of the heat in June – we drove to the shore of Lake Mead and jumped in. The water was refreshing and clean, the so called beach (no sand but many small rocks) not so – at least this morning.
We drove in the direction of Overton. Every turn the road made there was another breathtaking vista.
From Overtone we drove to Valley of Fire State Park. The Annual Pass for National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands called “America the Beautiful” is not valid there. As a Park Ranger was not available at the entrance, we filled out a little envelope, put 10 $ (entrance fee) into it and kept the receipt. Unfortunately because of the heat hiking was not recommended (for good reason!), so we just drove through the park. It red stone formations are so beautiful!!! One site we liked especially. Approx. 4000 years ago, someone carved pictures into the red stone – tribe people, a foot, a hand, animals. You can clearly identify the animals that still live in the park today.

Zion National Park

To get to Zion National Park we had to take the I-15. The maximum speed is 75 mph. For me (Tom) driving 65 mph was fast enough, but I had to get used to the fact that all the big trucks drive at least maximum speed and often more.
The campground inside the park had no vacancy, so we took the first one on the left coming out of the direction of the park. It even has a small pool and places with shady trees.
The next morning we woke up at 5 o’clock but it was still dark, so we slept a little more. After breakfast we drove into the park. The entrance fee is 25$.
From the visitor center – they provide you there with very good information – we took the park shuttle. In the morning only a few people took the ride. The hike through the canyon was very easy, but still good fun. At the end of the river side walk (around 30 minutes) we entered “The Narrows”. This is the point where the canyon walls get closer and after a short hike we had to walk through the water/river itself. The views are stunning.

Tip:
This is fun but please be assure to wear closed shoes as the stones can be slippery. Also wear a jacket in the morning as it can be cool as long as the sun doesn’t strike the canyon ground and wear clothes that easily dry again!
On our way back, more and more people came in our direction. So the best tip for this part of the season has to be: Be there as early as possible!!! Best enter the Narrows at the latest before 9!

From Zion National Park to Grand Canyon
The ride is scenic! Alone the next valley after the tunnel looks totally different.

Tip:
As we had an Annual Pass (80$ for entrance to all(!) NPs within one year) we didn’t had to pay entrance fee at Zion but for the drive through to Bryce or Grand Canyon you need a tunnel pass (15$). For vehicles over a specific size they stop the traffic on the other side so the RVs and Busses can drive through the tunnel in the middle of the road. So no need to worry – crossing the tunnel is easy-peasy ;o)
We started at Zion around 1pm and it took us about 4 hours – with an RV you are always much slower than normal vehicles so plan more time than normally recommended! Luckily the time shifted again (Pacific Time Zone to Mountain Time Zone) so we “saved” one hour and arrived at 4pm at Grand Canyon National Park (North Rim).

Grand Canyon (North Rim)

We arrived at the park and were lucky, the North Rim Campground had space for us. It’s normally highly recommended to book in advance! The campground has no hook-ups for RVs, but the spot is wonderfully situated under shady trees near the rim.
Shortly after arrival we walked the Transept Trail – a short hike in the direction of the visitors center. It’s a nice walk. Claudia and me were both blown away by the view. It’s not very hard to imagine, that the Grand Canyon is one of those things that you can’t capture in a picture. You have to see it (or at least a little part) for yourself. On our way back we saw some deer. Back at the campsite Tom couldn’t start the grill, because he bought the wrong fire starter, but that couldn’t ruin the day anymore.
The next morning we got mixed up with the different time zones we travelled through to get here. Instead of 5 o’clock it was 4 o’clock in the morning. We ate some cornflakes and grapped a coffe at the saloon near the visitors center. We walked again to Bright Angel Point and sat there to enjoy our coffee. What a great way to start your day! Although it was peak season we were pretty much alone. As we continued to drive along the rim [RVs longer as 9 meters are not allowed to drive this way!] to Point Imperial, Roosevelt Point, and Cape Royal it was the same. No crowds, just a few people, enough time and space to really enjoy the breathtaking vistas.
For the night the staff of the RV Park recommended a place outside the National Park but inside the State Forrest. It has no hook up, but it has a clean privy and it is for free. After you leave the NP it is the next street on the right. You have to follow the unpaved road no. 611 for approx. 4 miles.

Bryce Canyon

We arrived early in the day. The campgrounds in the park have a nice and easy system so that you can pick the spot for your stay yourself, put the fee in an envelope and dump that in an sealed container. They have no hook-ups, but you can run the generator between 8 am and 8 pm if you must. A store with supplies and showers is nearby. After a short break we took the park shuttle to the final stop and had our first walk at the rim back to the campground – wow! It’s so beautiful, all these colors and these unique formations called Hoodos.
In the evening Tom wanted to participate in a stargazing tour, but it was occupied.

Tip:
60 places for a stargazing tour are available, so you have to join first thing in the morning, to get a ticket for the same night.

The night was chilly – no surprise, the elevation is about 2400 m/7800 feet.
A chilly wind blew the next morning and although the sun shone we had to wear warm clothes. We took two loops into the canyon … so great!
In the afternoon, we drove the Ely Highway, stopped somewhere and had a 360 degrees view … no settlement or other sign for human activity … awesome!

Lehman Caves (on the way to Ely)
On our way North we came across the Great Basin National Park and in it the Lehman Caves. From afar we saw the mighty Wheeler Peak (3982 m/12000 feet) below on approx. 2000 m/6000 feet lies the cave entrance. We took the 60 minute tour. Our guide Mark was a knowledgeable and friendly guy from Kentucky. With 20 people we walked through this really beautiful cave. There is so much to see – especially in between the regular stops of the tour – that we both were very impressed.
We arrived in Ely and chose the KOA Campground, which basically ok.
The next morning we wanted to see and maybe ride with the steam train of the Nothwestern Railway Museum, but unfortunately the train had a technical problem, of whom they were not sure if they could fix it. We decided to head further North to Wendover.

Salt Lake Flats International Speedway (Wendover)

Coming from Nevada the flats lie on the other side of the boarder in Utah. A 5 mile long paved road got us to the beginning of the speedway. From there on “safety is your own responsibility” – which means basically that you have no insurance if you drive on the flats. The vista was great. In the far distance the mountains seemed to be surrounded by water, but it obviously was only an illusion. A guy stopped next to us and told us smiling that he just gone 110 mph.

Elko
This time it wasn’t that windy on the I-50 and I (Tom) got more comfortable driving 70 mph, which is still too slow for most of the trucks. We took every 2 hours a brake and so the whole trip was more relaxed than the day before.
In Elko we stopped at the Double Dice RV Park. Our idea was to go dinning, because Elko has a reputation for fine Basque food. Unfortunately we had technical problem with our RV that took us so long to fix, that we ended up at the sports bar of the RV park – the burger was good though, but it couldn’t’ save the evening.

Reno
We arrived at the Grand Sierra RV Park, which is a part of the parking lot of the Grand Sierra Hotel and Casino. Showers and restrooms are ok. With a taxi (approx. 11$) we drove to the famous arch of Reno. From there we took a short walk to the riverside. The river walk itself is nice and you can see that the city put a lot of effort into the project called Truckee River Walk. Nonetheless you don’t see a lot of people there and the once you see are mostly not the best representatives of their town. To us Reno seems best as a starting point to the many things you can do in proximity of the city.

Lake Tahoe

We drove to the north shore of the lake via Mount Rose (approx. 10700 feet/3200 m) which is in the winter a ski resort. Driving downhill we were rewarded with some stunning vistas of the lake and it’s surrounding mountains.

Tip:
As you might know this is the area were the series Bonanza was shot. You can buy a replica of the original map of the beginning of the show in the visitors center.

We chose Zephyr Cove as our campground. 80$/night … wow! The campground is situated in a pine forest and you only have to cross the street to get to the beach. The beach has a light brown sand and the water is cristal clear shimmering from green to blue. The mountains that we saw from the beach had still snow on their peaks. On the beach we could study the mating rituals of young adults – everything totally appropriate but still … interesting. In the late afternoon we took the Emerald Bay Cruise with the Dixie II. Every Wednesday and Saturday this trip has live music on board, it’s called Pints and Paddles. It costs 20$/person but it is worth it! Getting off board we went to the sunset bar at the beach, drank a beer and a Jaegermeister as a sundowner and watched the sun vanish behind the mountains of the west shore while another live band played. What better end for a day can you imagine?!

Tip:
Bring some warm clothes along, because the sun goes down quickly and than it gets immediately cold.

The next day we wanted to go hiking. We read in a brochure of the visitors center of a bus. Unfortunately the Blue Go bus – it the one on this side of the lake – had its latest round to the south end of the lake at 8.46 pm – we were late. So we quickly switched to another relaxed day at the beach. The young folks played beer pong but as the day before everything was very relaxed and peaceful. Today we were brave enough to jump into the water, which has a very refreshing temperature – although summer it doesn’t let you forget that is is a mountain lake after all.

Virginia City
Before we could drive in the direction of Virginia City we had to drive to a gas station in Stateline. From there we drove via Carson City, a stop to buy food, directly to Virginia City. We parked our RV at the entrance of the town and walked C Street. At a normal Friday the town is quiet enough, so that you can imagine how it must have been like in the old days of the gold fever. In the distance we could hear the steam train puffing, which runs for tourists on a daily basis. There are plenty very nice saloons, but we opted for a milkshake with excellent ice cream and coffee at The Roasting House … yummy! The town is very touristy, but still worth visiting. As we drove out of the city we had an encounter with a coyote. He strolled along one of the hills along the street, we both looked at each other for a brief moment before he vanished.

Berlin – Ichthyosaurus State Park

Via the Highway 50 – “the loneliest road in America” – we drove via Fallon to Berlin. Nowadays you have to get off the Highway so that it gets really lonely. Shortly before Berlin a Pronghorn crossed the street very slowly. Being born in a country were the city of Berlin is the capital, it is strange to see “the other Berlin” being abundant. There is even an old car that no one considered worth it to repair and drive away. All in all a very interesting photo opportunity. To get to the campground (no hook-ups) we had to drive through Berlin and 2 miles further. After finding a spot, we paid our fee and walked the 0.6 miles to the shelter of the archeological excavation site. We tried to use the provided information at the two windows, but for us – without any background in this – it was very hard to identify the described parts in something that seemed to us only a brown layer of stone. The next day we went at first for a short hike – the trails are very good described at markers at the starting points of the trails – and returned at 10 am for the guided tour.

Tip:
The 3$/person are very well invested, because the park ranger who is doing the tour for 14 years now has truly the ability to bring these fossils to live, although he only talks and has a laser pointer to show you what he is talking about.

Tonopah
Well, that was a big disappointment. We had hoped for a small mining town, but is more like a growing frontier city. The Casino RV park was fully booked. We hadn’t expected much, but compared to the Casino RV Park in Reno, this was even less. The city has two more RV Parks, but they are even lesser inviting. To be fair, it could be that I have still a wrong scale for places like this inside my had. Maybe I am expecting to much … Whatever, we changed our plans, filled our tank up and hit the road again in the direction of Rachel.

Rachel

From US 6 we turned right on to State Route 375 the “Extraterrestrial Highway”. For me (Tom) personally a dream came true. How many tv series or movies had I watched with references to this highway, the Area 51, UFO sightings. All the time the theme of the X-Files was inside my head. Apart from that, till this moment we had only crossed the many valleys in Nevada, now we drove one the full length (98 miles). Wow, it was great! Shortly before nightfall we reached Rachel and the Little A’Le’Inn. We ate the Sourcer Burger and drank the Amber Alien Beer. Both very tasty and prices are low. We met a man called Jim – a retired fire chief – who nowadays drives cars around the US from dealer to dealer simply because he likes driving. We had a nice evening talking about this and that.

Tip:
A hook up for an RV costs 15$, but you can park everywhere if you stay at least 24 feet of the street.

The next morning we made some fun pictures in front of the “Extraterrestrial Highway” sign, which is pretty full of bumper stickers. The signs are at both ends of Rachel and differ a little.

Lake Mead

Because the campground at the Red Rock Canyon State Park was closed due the information on the website, we decided to drive back to Lake Mead were we slept the first night of out tour. So we had completed our circle around Nevada.

For the last night we drove to the KOA Campground at the Circus Circus Casino. Full hook-ups and they have small pool = 69$.

At last we want to thank Colorado 037 – YOZ. He never failed us all along the 2300 miles, no matter how high the mountain, how hot the desert, how poring the rain, how long the way. May the force be with you, always!

If you are interested in what we were doing in Vegas, you will find it here on our site.

GENERAL INSIGHTS

RV
We had a Sunrise Escape C25. It is about 7,10 m/25 feet long, which is more as sufficient for two people. Two adults and two kids or even two more adults will work out fine. We wouldn’t recommend a longer RV, because there are restrictions in many State Parks for the length of RVs – with this size we had no problem at all.

Entrance fees in State Parks
If you want to visit more than one Park we recommend to buy an Annual Pass for National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands called “America the Beautiful”. It will cost you about 80$. It saved a lot of money for us. You can buy it the first time you enter a State Park.

Restrooms on campgrounds and in State Parks
The majority of campers seem to use the RV facilities. So it is no wonder that all the facilities on the campgrounds are at least outdated or even worse! Let me put it this way, if we were on a backpack trip and the facilities in a hostel would look like this, I would go to the next hostel.
The State Park facilities are much more simpler – no showers and a privy – but they were clean and didn’t stink. Unless you need a dump, go for the State Parks and it is even cheaper.

Driving
– Map or Navigation System
We used the app Skobbler for IPhone / IPad. It worked perfectly. You can even download the maps to your device and don’t need a working connection. This is useful, because you’re will drive threw regions were there is no signal at all.

– US drivers
They seem to have the attitude “me first”. Don’t expect them to give attention to your blinker in case you want to change lanes or – God forbid – to exit the interstate.

– US trucks
are in general allowed to drive as fast as the speed limit. For Nevada that means most of the time 70-75 mph (121 km/h). Because in most cases they are much longer as trucks in Europe (we saw trucks with up to three trailers regularly), it takes a little getting used to these monsters passing you by. The good thing is that none of them gave us a signal horn or a flash light, although we drove only 60-65 mph.

– Gas stations
Because filling up the RV 3/4 cost about 170$ (regular 87 octan) be aware that the self fulling mode could shot you down in the process. Therefore we always went to the attendant in the gas station first. In Tonopah we had to debit the credit card first and afterwards got a receipt about the actual amount.

– Distances
Be always aware of the distances you will drive. You will see signs like “next gas 170 miles”. So you better fill your car up before getting into trouble.
We made a break about every two hours driving. That way the ride stayed enjoyable for the driver.

Communication
Via the internet and a company called travelsimple.de we bought a Red Pocket Sim Card for our mobile device. Besides making a call in case of an emergency, we wanted to have as well the option to use a navigation app during our travel.
Only in Tonopah and Rachel we lost the connection.

Safe travels!
Claudia & Tom