1. Welcome to VegasMessageBoard
    It appears you are visiting our community as a guest.
    In order to view full-size images, participate in discussions, vote in polls, etc, you will need to Log in or Register.

The dreaded Vegas to Cali (Sunday) drive

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by Happygirl21, Jul 30, 2019.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Laugh

    Laugh VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2018
    Messages:
    1,464
    Location:
    Monterey Bay
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    Haha, yup. I don't know what part of the drive it is, but I know I'm there when everyone is bookin' 90+ and I'm thinking 80 is fast, lol. I'm a slow-poke.
     
    • Wow! Wow! x 1
    • Funny Funny x 1
  2. VegasBJ

    VegasBJ VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2009
    Messages:
    6,671
    Location:
    usually Shadow Creek
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    463
    If you aren't gping 95, you are getting passed! 95 seems to be the traffic flow speed between Barstow and State line
     
  3. Eric1285

    Eric1285 Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2015
    Messages:
    412
    Location:
    SoCal
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    I use a good radar detector and have done the drive dozens and dozens of times. Of the ~260 miles from OC to Vegas, about half is just desert where there are no cops. Nowadays though I'm more scared of the clueless CA drivers.

    Doing 90-100 for 100+ miles is great...but on an Autobahn I could hit 180 lol.
     
    • Wow! Wow! x 1
  4. azlefty

    azlefty VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2014
    Messages:
    3,650
    Location:
    West Jordan, UT
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    40
    I took a flixbus from LV to SD that left Caesars palace at 8 am on a Sunday morning. We got to San Bernardino in about 3 hours. Unfortunately we had to wait until the scheduled time to continue on. This was last October.
     
    • Informative Informative x 2
  5. mercuryrising320

    mercuryrising320 Tourist

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2014
    Messages:
    72
    As someone that lives in San Diego and makes multiple trips per year to Vegas (8+), if I am leaving on Sunday I make sure I am on the road by no later than 9am to be safe. A 5 hour drive can easily turn into a 8-10 hour drive if your arent careful...
     
    • Agree Agree x 3
    • Love Love x 1
  6. Rinn

    Rinn Tourist

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2017
    Messages:
    83
    Location:
    California
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    Takes us about 4-5 hours, with at least 1 pit stop.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  7. AyDee

    AyDee is getting too old for this

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2019
    Messages:
    6,293
    Location:
    City Of Angels
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    888
    just a data point, driving from LA-LAS on the 29th,
    we saw probably 7 or more highway patrol apparent speeding busts on the way in.
    A while later I wondered if there was something to the whole "hitting end of month quota" saw I used to hear about.
     
    • Funny Funny x 1
  8. wesraft

    wesraft High-Roller

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2012
    Messages:
    532
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    4
    I've only ever driven into Vegas from the east, but always wanted to see Zzyzx road just because it plays a prominent role in one of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch novels.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  9. Eric1285

    Eric1285 Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2015
    Messages:
    412
    Location:
    SoCal
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    I almost always see at least one or two cars pulled over on the way in. Many times it's the same fool who blasted past me at triple digit speeds. Every once in a while it's the car I was using as radar cover.

    I think it was 6-7 years ago, but I had to pull over at Zzyzx road to cough up one of my lungs. Came down with Pneumonia on the first night of my trip and spent 3 days in bed. Drive home with a 104+ fever. Not much to see there...I just pulled over, hacked up a bunch of blood and kept going.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Wow! Wow! x 1
  10. NandJfrmNJ

    NandJfrmNJ VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2003
    Messages:
    1,595
    Location:
    NJ
    I, too, love to see CHP having stopped someone who blew past us at 100 mph and have seen it often. Just sayin'......
     
  11. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2003
    Messages:
    29,787
    Location:
    A nice place
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    110
    I once saw CHP pull over a slow poke in the #1 lane. Blessed be the CHP!!!
     
  12. azlefty

    azlefty VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2014
    Messages:
    3,650
    Location:
    West Jordan, UT
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    40
    Maybe you should have stayed there? It used to be a place that ostensibly cured all ills.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  13. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2003
    Messages:
    29,787
    Location:
    A nice place
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    110
    Well, there is Zzyzx. And then there is pulling off the interstate at an exit marked "Zzyzx Road" and exclaiming there is nothing at the end of the offramp.
     
  14. VegasBJ

    VegasBJ VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2009
    Messages:
    6,671
    Location:
    usually Shadow Creek
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    463
    always wanted to drive out on Zzyzx road into the middle of nowhere and find out what is out there ( if anything). they built the road / offramp for a reason??
     
  15. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2003
    Messages:
    29,787
    Location:
    A nice place
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    110
    For those who wonder about what is out there on those roads in America's deserts but don't find out, this is a classic read. Probably hard to find if you don't have it, and I'd venture to say I might be the only one here with it. lol A consequence of my ill-spent years in academia.

    [​IMG]
     
  16. Sidekicknick

    Sidekicknick Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2016
    Messages:
    185
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    7
    I've made the drive quite a few times over the last six months (Vegas to Helendale, CA) and what I've noticed:
    Perfect conditions I can make the drive in 2 hrs 20 mins from my garage to parked on the strip.

    Leave well before normal checkout times (7-730am) and you're usually okay.... maybe adds 15-30 mins to the drive
    Anything around normal 11am checkout is a disaster and it remains that way until late checkouts 4pm+ ... Usually almost doubles the drive time
    Leave late 830pm+ ... Usually only adds 15-30 mins to the drive

    FWIW ... if you follow the road at Zzyzx this exists:
    [​IMG]

    Also, I tried the "FLIX BUS" a few weeks ago, and honestly it wasn't bad. I expected a shit-show of people on it, but was quite normal and tame. I had a situation where I needed to fly out of Vegas but was driving back to CA from Wisconsin, so didn't want to leave a car in LAS. Flix bus vs. rental car, and figured I would try the bus considering it was so cheap. I rode from Victorville to LAS in the "Premium Seats" for a whopping $14. Non-stop, dropped me off at The Mirage, had WiFi + Power. It was pretty great. Even if there is traffic, who cares since you can just zone out / sleep / watch whatever on your phone.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  17. waverunner

    waverunner ------VEGA$------

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2012
    Messages:
    2,810
    Location:
    SoCal
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    124
    Well, good news folks. Heard on LA and Vegas news that the new speed rail is back on track. It will begin in 2020 and finished in 3 years. The high speed train route will be from Victorville, Ca to Vegas near the Stadium.
    This is great news for me, can hit LAX to Union Station, then take Amtrak from Union Station to Victorville, then zoom along the desert in 75 minutes to the promised land.
    Virgin Trains USA.
    Hopefully i'll still be alive in 3 years..........LOL.
     
  18. SoCalMon

    SoCalMon VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2014
    Messages:
    1,424
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    7
    I have come back to Los Angeles many of times on a Sunday, one of the best days to come back without having to worry about rush hour. We always leave between 10 and 11am and is back home by 5ish because we stop at stateline along the way or Baker or Barstow on the way back home to eat.
     
  19. Coppertop Tester

    Coppertop Tester Tourist

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2016
    Messages:
    91
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    100
    The one thing you need to be careful about when leaving at night is the weather. In the winter, especially when it's rainy, you run a risk of Cajon Pass being fogged in, iced over or maybe even shut down. I had a friend who worked swing shift and had to travel over it to get to his work. He always kept a sleeping bag, blankets and extra clothes in the trunk because several times a year, it would be closed for safety.
     
  20. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2003
    Messages:
    29,787
    Location:
    A nice place
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    110
    We hope you are alive far far longer than the number of decades it would take for this to ever materialize.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.