Digital Nomad Family – Course Update #6 – Las Vegas, Sequoia, & Yosemite

“On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again.”  – Willie Nelson

From the glitzy, grungy, flashing lights of Las Vegas to the pristine, majestic mountains and forests of Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks, this road trip provided quite a range of experiences in just one week. 

Leaving Cottonwood was truly bittersweet, as we expected. We definitely grew to love it there and found some beautiful friends that we will be delighted to stay in touch with for years to come. If the time comes to have a “home base” (as nomads call them), then we might seriously consider buying a house there. Although the lack of an ocean definitely has its drawbacks and the idea of 100+ deg summers is utterly daunting, but for a winter place… it’s currently top of my list. We’ll see if next winter in Santa Fe, New Mexico will be anywhere near as good ;).

We chose to take the scenic drive leaving Cottonwood going through Sedona to soak in one more view of the Red Rocks and Oak Creek Canyon on our way toward Las Vegas, which was our first stop for this road trip.

The weather cooperated and gave us a beautiful blue sky day to say our “Au Revoir” to our red rock home, and we were off for the next leg of our adventure. The drive to Las Vegas was fairly seamless, but it included one GPS-related surprise…

We were staying for the first two nights in a condo at Lake Las Vegas, a place I would highly recommend to anyone who doesn’t want to be right on the strip with all its bustle and noise. However, Waze (our preferred GPS app) decided to route us through Lake Mead National Park on the way. We didn’t realize what had happened until we see the “toll booth” for the National Park Service in front of us.

We pull up to the booth, and say confusedly to the ranger there that our GPS seemed to have taken us in an unexpected direction. She asked where we were heading, and when we said Lake Las Vegas she confirmed that you could definitely get there on this road, but the park fee is $25. Fortunately, given all the parks we planned to visit this year we already had our “American the Beautiful” annual pass, so we got a bonus scenic drive past Lake Mead for free! (Note: that pass has already more than twice paid for itself according to my rough math.)

Just 25-30 minutes from Lake Mead, we found our place in the resort complex at Lake Las Vegas. This place was a bit of a surprise. It was a privately-owned, 1-bedroom condo in a resort complex with all the benefits that entailed. We checked in at a desk in the hotel-like lobby, got resort information and our parking pass, and brought up all our stuff. Then, we explored the resort a bit and found a beautiful spot for dinner on a restaurant patio overlooking the lake. 

Had we stayed longer there was a pool, hot tub, gym, play area and sandbox, as well as lake-related activities (boating, jet-skiing, etc). Truly, if you’re looking for a resort experience close to Vegas, this is a great place to check out. It also had all the space of a “suite” or 1-bedroom apartment with a full (if basically stocked) kitchen. So, while sharing a room with our Pumpkin meant a few extra bumps when she woke us up early… or we woke her up coming to bed… it still was very functional for two nights.

This was our first real trip to Las Vegas (not including a misfired stop through from 3-7am due to flight issues in Spring 2015.) We were both ready to experience “The Strip.” We had been told about the “Old Strip” (aka Fremont St. area) vs. the “New Strip,” but it took less than 5 minutes of driving around the “Old Strip” for us to decide to move on. Dirty, gritty, dated… not where we wanted to wander around with a toddler… at all.

So, we drove on to check out the “New Strip,” which definitely matched our internal images of “Las Vegas” with the shiny glitz and glamour… and scantily clad show girls posing for photos with tourists in thongs, pasties, and feathers on the street. (“Yes, sweetie, see the feathers. Isn’t she pretty?”… fortunately toddlers are fairly unfazed by such things. There were a few shirtless guys in jeans and cowboy hats too, but they hardly compared.)

We found a place to park, got Pumpkin up in her back carrier, and off we went to wander the town. Now, neither Brian nor I are gamblers, and honestly there was absolutely nothing about the casino gambling floors that made that any more attractive. The slots and gambling areas mostly stank of stale cigarettes and desperation. It only took walking through 1-2 of them to teach us to avoid walking through the gambling floor areas in future. However, as I had hoped, the architecture of the hotel/casino buildings was awesome, and many of the shopping and restaurant areas were fun to explore. In particular, I enjoyed the Bellagio’s fountains, The Venetian with the singing gondoliers, and the Linq strip.

However, there are two highlights that made the day truly special. First, I happened to look up when we were hunting for a lunch option and spotted the “Eiffel Tower Restaurant.” Excellent food and a spectacular view of the Bellagio Fountain displays for an hour! It was utterly perfect, all the awesomeness of this manufactured, adult Disneyland with less of the crowds, noise, and grime. This hour enjoying the playful view of the fountains and the strip and eating a truly delicious Creme Brûlée French Toast with citrus infused maple syrup… definitely my favorite part of the day.

Then, after exploring more in the afternoon we went back to Lake Las Vegas, put Pumpkin to bed, and had a lovely woman babysit her while we went back to Treasure Island to see Cirque du Soleil’s Mystere. Neither of us had been to a Cirque du Soleil show before, and we were both impressed. Glory! The strength, flexibility, and athleticism of those performers was jaw-dropping and inspiring. Nope, no hope that’s ever going to be my future. But, it did make me want to get back to regular yoga classes again at least ;).

Brian tells me that the Cirque show was definitely his highlight for the day, and it was a close second for me… good food and a beautiful view are just two of my personal loves and even the magnificence of the show couldn’t beat that “perfect” hour of joy with my two beloveds and a stunning view.

All of this to say… I kinda feel like we “did” Vegas. We had a great day and saw a bunch of awesome places, but I feel no particular need to go back anytime soon. A feeling which Brian shared, and it was dramatically different from the next two stops on our Sedona -> Tahoe road trip.

From Las Vegas we drove to Big Bear Lake, CA where friends of ours have a vacation home. The original plan was to get to enjoy a lovely dinner and night with them before heading up to Sequoia. However, Los Angeles traffic had different plans for them, and they weren’t able to make the trip out. So, we did enjoy crashing for the night in their lovely home. Pumpkin particularly enjoyed their son’s many fun toys, like a ride on bear and stuffed Pooh and Piglet. I was rather afraid that it would be difficult to get her to leave Pooh and Piglet behind, but she handled it with fair grace the next morning when it was time to drive to Sequoia.

Driving through the Mojave desert and into the hills and mountains of the Sequoia region was impressive. Dry, dusty, craggy desert mountains and flatlands were replaced almost suddenly by rolling green hills dotted with cattle, then orange groves, followed by dramatic, tree-covered mountains as we neared Three Rivers, CA.

The Airbnb apartment we rented couldn’t have been more convenient to the park, and it had its own stunning deck with breathtaking views of the river mountains beyond. I had seen the photos on the listing and been blown away by the views (remember, I’m a sucker for beautiful, long views… see above ;).) The day we arrived we just settled in, and we able to munch on leftovers for dinner.

Then, the following day we took our voyage into Sequoia National Park, and it truly did feel like a voyage. We drove up to the park “toll booth” entrance and were greeted by the ranger telling us that we could only go 6 miles to Hospital Rock without chains for our car. … doh?! What? It’s literally 69 degrees and dry pavement… at least here on the valley floor.

We looked at each other, and decided our original plan to drive up to see the General Sherman Tree (largest tree by volume in the world) was probably not going to happen. We realized that even if we did rent chains we likely weren’t going to want to hike almost a mile each way through snow with a toddler to see the tree. “Guess we’ll go as far as we can, and come back some future summer to see the tree.” 

The drive up to Hospital Rock was filled with beautiful river and mountain views and many flowering trees and bushes. Such a picturesque spring display in Sequoia! When we got to Hospital Rock we both assumed there would be some kind of road block that forced us to turn around. So, we were pleasantly surprised to get there and find… nothing.

Taking their cautions seriously, but not wanting to miss this experience we agreed to keep driving further up the mountains, and I’m so glad that we did. I had no idea that Sequoias only grow at those higher elevations, but keeping an eye on the outside temperature and the condition of the pavement (still dry), we continued going until we entered the “Giant Forest.”  Wow, sure I’ve seen the photos, and my photos will similarly not do them justice. Those trees are HUGE!!! I thought I was prepared for their amazing and breath-taking size, but nope… they truly blew me away. I have no problem imaging coming back to Sequoia several times in the future. We’ll just make sure that it’s sometime from May-October ;).

Finally, we did hit the point where all the signs were directing cars to pull over and put on chains before continuing, and by that point we were above 7000 ft and there was snow on the ground in the forest if not yet on the road. Knowing that conditions can change and get icy very quickly we paused to wander around and enjoy the trees (and they other tourists struggling to get chains on their cars.) Then, we headed back down the mountain for a leisurely lunch on the deck overlooking the river.

We went back into the park for a short hike around Hospital Rock in the afternoon and grabbed dinner in Three Rivers before heading back to put Pumpkin to bed and watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (which we had just finished listening to prior to our arrival.) Did I mention that we’ve been listening to the Harry Potter series during our road trips? We made it through books 1-3 on our cross country drive in Dec/Jan, then started book 4 during our drives back and forth to Scottsdale, Prescott, and the Grand Canyon while in AZ. Now, we’ve started book 5 – Order of the Phoenix. It’s Brian’s first time reading/hearing the books. I’ve listened to the entire series on audiobook almost every year since the last book came out… yep, major Potter fan here.

After our mixed bag of both awe and disappointment in Sequoia, we weren’t quite sure what to expect for our next stop in Yosemite National Park. We had talked to another Parks tourist who had just come from Yosemite, and they said there shouldn’t be any problems or need for chains, which, for the main valley was true. However, some of the more scenic driving roads were still entirely closed for the season and typically don’t re-open until May/June.

I share this because if you’re planning to make a “once in a lifetime” visit to the parks… then May-October really is the best window. However, if like us you might visit repeatedly, then seeing these parks with their spring flowers and the pouring waterfalls from the melting snow was truly beautiful.

Our Airbnb for this stop was in Mariposa, CA which is about 45 minutes from the gates at Yosemite, and it was … unique. It was called Bear Retreat, and well,  there were bears everywhere. Every wall, surface, and linen had a bear theme. Pumpkin LOVED it!!! She couldn’t stop playing with and talking to the bears whenever we were in the house. Brian thought it was fun and rather enjoyed it too. For me, maybe just a little beyond my personal taste for a themed place.

It reminded me of a particular Disney-themed home I stayed in with my parents when I was a kid in which EVERY room had a different Disney character theme, and there wasn’t a surface anywhere that didn’t have mouse ears. Now, run that image through a rustic, campy, brown tumbler of chintzy bear paraphernalia, and you can imagine what this place looked like. That said… it was clean, and the first place in days that had 2 bedrooms, so we didn’t have to worry about sneaking in or early toddler wake-ups (“Mama! Mama! Mama!” … it’s really cute, but not as much at 6am.)

We spent that first evening in Mariposa, CA, which has a picturesque little downtown area, then stayed in the house for the evening post-baby bedtime. The next day was our big Yosemite experience. The drive took us along the river and between steep mountains. All the way into the Yosemite valley where the mountains were replaced by sheer granite cliffs and enormous waterfalls.

We stopped several times along the road to take photos and let Pumpkin get out and wander around. I loved her reaction to the first REALLY big waterfall we encountered. Brian got her out of the car, set her on the ground, and she started looking around for the sound she was hearing. Then, she looks up and got this wide-eyed face of awe and said crystal clearly “Wa-ter! Wa-ter! Wa-ter!”

Her words have started coming fast and furiously now, and really since around that day she’s finally consistently saying “Wa-ter” as opposed to baby talk “Wawa” or even “Wa.” We drove a bit further along until we saw the big, open area of the valley and the stunning Yosemite Falls beyond. Fortunately, we got out and took a longer “hike”/walk toward the falls and along the river at that point. Going at toddler pace and just strolling around the valley (taking a million photos) was the best part of this day. There simply are no words, and even the photos I share here cannot do the place justice.

After our hike we drove further to the Majestic Yosemite Hotel assuming that they would likely have a restaurant. We were right, and the architecture of the building (built in 1927 and formerly named the Ahwahnee Hotel) was majestic indeed. However, the food… not so much. You’d think that a strikingly beautiful “Grand Hotel” in such a unique place would be able to attract a really stellar chef. But, I’ve had better food in road side diners. That said, it started to drizzle rain during lunch time, so we were glad to be warm, dry, and fed and to get a chance to soak in the ambiance of a beautiful place. I even had peek-a-boo views of Yosemite Falls from my seat at lunch as the clouds drifted through. So, maybe go for coffee and dessert to enjoy the space but bring a picnic lunch and find another spot for lunch.

While we may not make a point of returning to Las Vegas. I know without any question that we’ll come back to both Sequoia and Yosemite. Truly inspiring, canvases of natural beauty… it’s days like these that remind me why we love to travel. My heart is changed standing by those trees and under those cliffs. There are no words.

The final leg of our trip brought us to South Lake Tahoe, CA where we’ll be making our home for the next three months. As of this writing we’ve only been here for about 3 days, so I will save most of my stories about landing here for next month’s post. However, as I had suspected, but wasn’t fully prepared for… it’s still winter here! There’s snow melting everywhere, and I just looked out my window a few minutes ago to see more flurries. The temperature had been 30s-50s mostly, which coming from comfy 60s-70s in AZ is a bit of a surprise. But, the mountains are pine and snow covered, and the lake is a striking deep blue that sings to my soul.

It took about one day to unpack all our stuff and make the necessary errand runs to settle in. Now, other that waiting for a few Amazon items to arrive, we’re just about set in our home and starting to learn more about the location and community. I look forward to sharing those stories with you in May.

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I did some awesome stories from Las Vegas, Sequoia, and Yosemite that you’ll have missed, but you won’t want to miss those sneak peeks into our adventures to keep you going before next month’s Course update!

P.S. Here’s my recent Facebook Live that demos the tool and process I use to plan our road trips…