Road Trip to Vegas!
I recently went to Vegas with friends, and since I had watched BuzzFeed’s Google Maps road trip to Vegas video with Eugene and Quinta, I came up with a list of places for my friends and me to stop and visit for our drive from LA to Vegas.
I don’t know about you, but sitting in a car for 4 to 5 hours without stopping is absolute torture, so you should consider making a road trip out of your drive.
Pro-tip: Make sure you always travel with lots of water, snacks and a full tank of gas since you’re driving out in the middle of nowhere!
Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch
Address: National Trails Hwy, Oro Grande, CA 92368
Hours: 12AM–11:30PM
I don’t know why Google says that they’re open from 12 am -11:30 pm. I would not visit after 5 pm or when the sun is about to set.
You have to get off the 15, and it’s not a close drive to the next freeway entrance, so you don’t want to get stranded.
It’s like “The Hills Have Eyes” out here.
Oh, and beware of broken glass on the floor when you’re walking! It was only one bottle, but that’s still pretty dangerous.
Apparently, some people have seen the creator of this place (Elmer) when they drop by. Unfortunately, we didn’t have that honor, but the stop was cool nonetheless.
Peggy Sue’s 50’s Diner
Address: 35654 W Yermo Rd, Yermo, CA 92398
Hours: 6AM–10PM
Peggy Sue’s is around a 40-minute drive after Elmer’s. You’ll see it when you get off the freeway.
We didn’t stop to eat, but we did take a look around the place.
First of all, that man in the women’s restroom was fake, but he scared me twice. The first time, I thought I had walked into the men’s bathroom (again, but that’s a different story).
I don’t even know why I got scared the second time; it’s like I completely forgot about the mannequin until I walked out of the stall.
There was also a small souvenir shop that you can see in the background of the picture of the man on the rope. The lady in the store had her hawk eyes on us as if at any second we would try to steal the 5 cent dinosaur toys she was selling (#rude).
I’d also like to point out that BuzzFeed’s Eugene and Quinta made the diner look 100 times cooler than it was.
I guess it made me expect something more, so I left the place thinking that it was just alright. It was a decent location for pictures, but not much more than that.
World’s Tallest Thermometer
Address: 72157 Baker Blvd, Baker, CA 92309
It’s so tall you can see it from quite a distance when you’re on the freeway. That day was scorching but too bad I couldn’t capture the temperature in my picture.
I think it was above 100º degrees. We took our pictures quickly and headed into the little souvenir shop right behind the thermometer (GOD BLESS THE AC IN THAT SHOP).
The lady working there was quite pleasant, unlike the Peggy Sue souvenir lady (😒😒😒), and she even asked us to sign the guest book!
Right behind the guest book was a bunch of currency left by people who have traveled to the thermometer from around the globe, which was super cool!
Alien Fresh Jerky
Address: 72242 Baker Blvd, Baker, CA 92309
Hours: 8AM–7PM
I didn’t have this place on my list of stops, but it was a block away from the thermometer, so we had to swing by!
I wasn’t able to capture it but inside the car (in the picture below) are two aliens that move!
The shop sells beef jerky, candy, hot sauce, unique drinks and a bunch of other Area 51 related items. It was nice to look around, and I even found some funny Hillary and Trump soda pops!
Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas
Address: 32100 S Las Vegas Blvd, Primm, NV 89019
Hours: 10AM–8PM
I don’t have any good pictures from our stop here, so just imagine a mall or better yet, google it. The outlet is pretty small compared to others that I’ve been too, but it’s on your way to Vegas, and they have excellent deals!
So if you need an outfit before you get to Vegas, might as well stop here. And they sell boba at the food court, which is amazing because I love boba and it’s refreshing on a hot day.
Seven Magic Mountains
Address: S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89054
Hours: 5AM–9PM (You probably wouldn’t want to come here when the sun goes down)
We didn’t get to see the mountains on our way from LA to Vegas since stopping at so many places takes up a lot of time.
I think our trip to Vegas should’ve taken us 4 hours if it had been non-stop, but it ended up taking around 8 hours to get there.
Well, we did stop at Rancho Cucamonga before Elmer’s and spent a lot of time at a beautiful Daiso. Regardless, just know that you’re going to have to add time to your expected arrival time if you do plan a road trip.
We visited the mountains as we were heading home from Vegas and it was awesome!!
Ugo Rondinone’s art installation cost $3.5 million dollars (not your precious tax dollars) and will be taken down in two years, which sucks because it should just stay there permanently.
It’s beautiful, and I regret not standing at a better angle because I missed that seventh pile of rocks in every shot (curse the desert sun)!
Anyways, this was probably the coolest stop out of all the ones we visited, and I highly recommend people make the trip to visit the art installation before it gets taken down.
*Beware of the random sandstorms and those annoying motocross bikers who for some reason chose to ride along the art path.*
https://vine.co/v/5r6qTJDET7m