Where should we venture to??

Sedona, Sonoma - it's all the same to me!!

Actually, I did mean Sedona.

I guess it was that visit to "The Vortex" in Sedona, that has permanently warped my mind!!

No kidding. All the pyramid power quacks in Sedona remind me of my college days in Eugene. Pretty place, though.

Was just in Sonoma. Had some great food and wine, played a fun old-school golf course. Good stuff.

Death Valley, Arches/Canyonlands NP's, Grand Canyon South Rim, San Diego (tons of great stuff to do there), Sequoia/ Kings Canyon (maybe not in winter though). Closer to "home": Tchatticup Mine (Eldorado Canyon), Roosnmore, Mesquite, Henderson Bird Preserve, Springs Preserve, etc, etc, etc,

We always take side trips from LV but ours always involve outdoor stuff like hiking and visiting NP's. That's one of the reasons we go to LV so often-it's a great jumping off place for so many NP's.

Happy traveling!

How about Quartzite, AZ? Since you will be going in January 2013, you could check out either the big RV show or the rock and mineral show, depending on when you'll arrive in NV. Actually, I just get a big kick out of seeing a little town of a few thousand swell into what looks like the world's largest flea market for several weeks.

How about Lake Havasu and the London Bridge?

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think we have done all mentioned - really! We enjoy going to little towns and just seeing what they're all about. Even Chloride AZ was interesting! Have lunch in their only little restaurant in town. Good, too!!

As far as seeing other parts of the US and world...we have done that also. Been to every US state (by car) and have traveled to many, many other parts of the world. In fact, we leave next week to continue a trip down the Rhine and Danube rivers from Budapest to Bucharest and spending 5 days in Translyvania.
A few years ago we did the Amsterdam to Budapest trip and it was lovely. I think one of our favorite trips was to the Amazon - it was fantastic.

Our trip to LV in January entails a Winter Family Retreat since my husband is one of 10. We all meet there for about a week and then my husband and I go off by ourselves once everyone is gone. Just thought maybe we were missing some interesting little area around the area but it looks like we haven't.

Yes, SEDONA is lovely too!! Thanks so much for all your suggestions. If you can think of anything other than what was mentioned I'd love to hear about it!!

Perhaps you know the answer yourself:

I'd go to AAA, get the southwest region map. Find a spot you've not seen and head out for several days. There's an awesome golf course in Farmington, NM, for instance, and you can hike the Bisti Badlands and check out Chaco Canyon. Or go mountain bike the slickrock of Moab. Or go tour the southern Arizona wine country.

I've heard word of the Thelma and Louise tour of the American Southwest.
Strangely though you can't find any trip reports of it.

If you enjoy the desert scenery, and stunning night skies, I'd suggest Tonopah, NV and stay at the Mizpah Hotel for the experience. It's about a 3-4 hour drive NW from Vegas.

Tonopah:





The Mizpah (taken last year while in last few months of renovation):


(Disclaimer - I haven't actually stayed here, as it opened a month or so after we had visited. The manager allowed us to walk around in the building to check it out while renovations were being done, and it looked like a really neat place. We intend to stay there sometime this fall.)


The town of Goldfield, NV lies south of Tonopah as well, on the way to/from Vegas. Not much there, but it has a really old saloon and friendly people.




My wife and I stopped at the cemetery just outside of town once - it's kind of a neat place, definitely an Old West cemetery. Not to be macabre, but I just really enjoy the connection to history that these old places provide.



Hope this helps....

I really like the last suggestion. . . . . . . . we love doing things like this....will certainly give it serious thought and THANK YOU!!!