Wild West Re-enactments?

[stba2006]

We will be doing a road trip next year Starting in Los Angeles, going up to San Fransisco then Yosemite and finishing at Las Vegas before Flying to Orlando. We will be stopping nights here and there on the way but the bits inbetween havn't been decided for definite yet.

Are there any towns along the road to Vegas where they do the kind of wild west shoot outs that yo see in films or something similar. If not are there any places of interest to stay along that route ?

 

[ILUVALASKA]

Check out Calico Ghost Town to or from Las Vegas. It is right off the 15 freeway not too far from Barstow. They have all sorts of neat stuff to see and do. Very very hot there in the summer.

 

[SMD]

OP would not pass through Barstow if they drive from Yosemite to Vegas.

You might want to look for a ghost town that is within a short drive of Vegas, maybe in Arizona. Especially if you were planning to go to the Hoover Dam. I'd recommend calling your hotel to see if they're aware of any, and if you'll pass it coming from Yosemite.

 

[GrandBob]

This suggestion has no Wild West re-enactments that I'm aware of. But if you're planning to drive from Yosemite to Vegas via US395 / Owens Valley (which I highly, highly recommend for the scenery), you might want to check out the ghost town of Bodie. It's a 19th century mining town, the best preserved ghost town in California. If you take Tioga Rd (CA 120) through the high country of Yosemite (again, don't miss it; and be sure to stop at Olmsted Point on the way, great views down Tenaya Canyon); when you exit the east side of Yosemite and go down CA 120 it will meet US 395 at the town of Lee Vining. At that point, Bodie is less than an hour out of your way -- you'll go north and then east to Bodie, you'd go south to get to Las Vegas.

-Bob

 

[GrandBob]

And if you do take US 395 from Yosemite to Las Vegas, I have two more recommended stops. Just south of the town of Independence is Manzanar National Historic Site. This was a notorious internment camp for Japanese-Americans during WWII, and the site memorialized by the book and film "Farewell to Manzanar".

Just west of the town of Lone Pine are the Alabama Hills. If you drive through here, you'll undoubtedly recognize the scenery as the location of literally dozens, perhaps hundreds, of old westerns shot here. A favorite shooting location for John Ford, but also a location for The Lone Ranger, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy, etc. Again, no shows per se, but an interesting stop or drive-through.

From there, you have 2 choices to drive to Vegas. If not in the summer, or if you're willing to chance your car's tires and are carrying lots and lots of water, you can take CA 190 through Death Valley towards Pahrump, and then on to Vegas. Or for a slightly less hot route, you can continue on US 395 south until you reach CA 58, and then go east to Barstow. From there you can take I-15 to Vegas. If you choose this latter route, you will indeed pass Calico Ghost town shortly after turning onto I-15. I've never been there, so have no feedback on it. But I have the impression that it's much more touristy.

HTH,
Bob