Kevin, hope you're enjoying the relo to NE, although I'm sure you miss the Sierra. I remember seeing your location change a while back and thinking, "guess he went back home." That's where you're originally from, right? You definitely got more than your share of snow this winter, so at least you'll have winter sports available in the mountains for a while yet if that's your pleasure.
Actually, I may have gotten that DV shortcut from you a few years ago . . .
I can appreciate your thinking, especially in regards to Ontario and avoiding much of the LA traffic. I've flown into both LAX and John Wayne for trips to the Sierra, and getting through LA was typically a bear. What I like about using Vegas is that once you have your rental car from McCarron, you're on 160 in under ten minutes and cruising on the open highway in 30. I just got back from DV and I think we made the Vegas-to-Furnace Creek trip in under two hours driving time this time. LP is another two hours as I recall, maybe two and a half. I've never made it to LP from LAX in under five and a half.
The other benefit I've found in using Vegas is the rental car situation. No matter which agency I use I always reserve a cheap compact, and always get upgraded due to lack of availability, especially in summer. That doesn't happen to me in LA.
Flight time definitely needs to be considered, especially if you launch off right after arriving. Coming from Atlanta, I've always had a direct flight to wherever I'm going, so that never really enters my thinking. One of the benefits of living here is the ability to fly direct anywhere in the world out of Hartsfield on Delta, at almost any time. I fly 6-8 times a year, and I can't recall having to change/layover in a long, long time, so I'm pretty spoiled when it comes to air travel. Vegas is a 4-hour flight from ATL, and LA is almost 5, so that certainly plays in my planning.
Doc Lankford and I were commiserating on the Green Tunnel (his term, actually) a few weeks ago. It's a big motivator to get out west and actually SEE things when in the mountains. Some day I plan to trek up to your neck of the woods (and Salty's) and get Mt. Washington under my belt, along with Katahdin and a few others. Acadia is one of the few NPs I've not been to, so that's on the bucket list as well. Hopefully the next non-winter business trip to Boston or NY.
Whichever airport Matt uses, it's going to be a long day getting to LP. If he doesn't care for heat, LA may be the ticket. The last time I drove through DV in summer it was 127 degrees. The park had actually broken out the portable "Extreme Heat Warning" signs and had them posted all over 190. You know it's bad when they feel the need to do that in DV.
