12 replies to this topic

[mcferguson]

The first day we drove from San Antonio, Texas to Tucson, Arizona, a total of 870 miles. My wife did the driving because I was battling a UTI and my bladder couldn’t hold more than 150mL. So I cathed on the road and we didn’t have to stop every hour or so. The speed limit in west Texas is 80 mph, in New Mexico and Arizona is 75 mph, so we made good time. We stayed at America’s Best Value Inn in Tucson, AZ, for $47/night. The room had two queen beds and was accessible. I could fit between the beds, and there was open restroom with accessible sink, roll-in shower with a shower chair, and grab bars at the toilet. I learned a new skill here, cathing while laying down!

The next day I drove(my bladder could hold about 250mL) to Tusayan, Arizona, which is just outside the Grand Canyon. We stayed at the Red Feather Inn for $59/night. The room had two queen beds and was accessible. I could fit between the beds, and there was open restroom with accessible sink, roll-in shower with a shower chair, and grab bars at the toilet.
The Grand Canyon was accessible, although, obviously, I couldn’t hike any of the trails into the canyon. Saw some awesome views!

Next I drove to Las Vegas, Nevada and we stayed at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for $43/night for 3 nights (advertised at $29/night, but they automatically add a $14 resort fee – a practice that is common on the strip). . The room had two queen beds and was accessible. I could fit between the beds, and there was open restroom with accessible sink, roll-in shower with a sturdy shower chair, and grab bars at the toilet.

We stayed 2 nights at Club 36 by Bluegreen Resorts in Las Vegas for $125/night. We endured a 2 hour timeshare presentation in which the salesman couldn’t show us a wheelchair accessible room and didn’t see accessibility as an important issue. We had a suite with 2 king beds, a kitchen, and laundry. It was accessible (as in I could get to all the rooms) but cramped, and had to move tables to get to things. The sinks were not accessible and I had to sit sideways to put in contacts, brush my teeth, and shave. The shower was big, but not a roll-in, with a door barely wide enough for me to transfer through. I had to ask for a shower chair and felt precarious transferring to it. The shower door didn’t latch, which normally wouldn’t be a big deal except that once I got onto the shower chair my right leg rested in such a manner that it opened the door about an inch. I had to keep closing the door so the water wouldn’t spray out. There were no grab bars anywhere. There also were not any automatic or push-button doors, despite it being a new building. The doors into the building and the doors at the indoor pool were heavy. I am not going to stay there again.

Las Vegas, in general, was very accessible. There wasn’t any place I couldn’t get to. We stayed on the strip and went into most of the hotel/casinos. They are very impressive from the outside and some are very opulent on the inside. The carpet they use in all of them is very padded, so it’s a lot of work. I tried to stay on the hard flooring as much as I could. There are walking bridges connecting casinos across Las Vegas Blvd with elevators to access them. One casino, The Venetian, had moving walkways up to the front door from the street. There were signs saying no wheelchairs, but I got on them anyway and it was pretty cool and I had no difficulty getting on or off of them.

While in Las Vegas, we took a side trip to see the Hoover Dam. It was moderately accessible. I was able to go on the Power Plant tour, but not the Dam tour. There is also a new bridge in front of the dam that was constructed to alleviate traffic on the dam. There was a path up to it so that you could see the dam from the bridge, but we didn’t go up it as my youngest was near meltdown from exhaustion and fell asleep as soon as we got in the car.

The drive back to San Antonio took 2 days, and I drove the whole way. We stopped in El Paso, Texas for the night and stayed at a La Quinta for $82. (I had booked a Days Inn for $47, but the accessible room had only one queen bed, so we canceled it and went across the street to the La Quinta). The room had two queen beds and was accessible. I could fit between the beds, and there was open restroom with accessible sink, roll-in shower with a shower chair, and grab bars at the toilet. The next day we drove home.

We all had a good time on the trip and I am glad we went. I think for my next trip I am going to get an inflatable seat cushion to make toileting easier.

[bongorum]

Thank you for taking the time to write that. It's so well done I almost feel as if I'm on the trip with you. In addition to that I love hearing about other countries.

Edited by bongorum, 24 January 2012 - 10:33 PM.

[mcferguson]

bongorum, on 24 January 2012 - 10:26 PM, said:

Thank you for taking the time to write that. It's so well done I almost feel as if I'm on the trip with you. In addition to that I love hearing about other countries.

Thank you.

I forgot to mention that all the buses on the Las Vegas Strip were wheelchair accessible and children were free. A 24-hour, unlimited ride pass was $7. I wish we had gotten one the first day instead of doing so much walking! There is also a monorail that runs north-south on the east side of the hotels. We took that the first day, but it was difficult to get to. I recommend the bus to anyone that goes.

[araitn]

Good trip review, thanks for posting! Sounds like you had a great time.

[BS59]

Enjoyed the review. My wife and I were planing our first long distance trip since my injury and I was wondering how did you deal with sitting in a car seat that long? Im really concerned about pressure sores being in a regular car seat all day. I bought a small Roho air cushion I seen on-line for truckers but the thing is real thin and dont look like it would help much at all. Any tips you can give? Thanks

[KarenB]

Good report! We've visited Vegas many times since my accident and one of the reasons is because of the good accessibility.

BS59 - As far as being in a regular car seat all day - can you move the seat from your chair into the car's seat? I use a spare wheelchair seat , a RoJo ,which works pretty good. Our last vehicle had seats that were better for me. The one that we have now keeps me in a position that seems to be harder on my backside bones. I can't get the seat positioned quite right so that the pressure is distributed evenly along my legs with some taken by my feet. I haven't gotten any sores but I'm more aware of it and do pressure releases regularly.

[BS59]

KarenB- My cushion on my wheelchair is a high profile Roho so it sets me up too high in the car seat.

[airart1]

i use a 2" roho for mine, makes a big difference!

[mcferguson]

I used my wheelchair cushion, which is a regular Roho, when I was a passenger and it set me up too high. The remainder of the trip, I didn't use anything. I just did a release about every hour or so. When driving that involved me undoing the seatbelt, pushing up with my left hand and my right elbow. I kept the van in cruise control and my wife helped steer (I kept hold of the steering wheel with my right hand). I did that on straight stretches of highway and when I am well behind someone. I also did releases whenever we stopped for gas or the restroom. I have done this on 5 long distance trips and haven't had any issues.

Another thing to remember to do is to change the position of your feet whenever you stop. On my first long trip after my injury, I drove from Kansas City to San Antonio, which is 800 miles, and I forgot to change my feet's position. I developed tremendously large blisters on my heels from them being under pressure for 12 hours. It took about a month for them to return to normal.

It is also possible to eat and drive at the same time, provided your vehicle has cruise control. I set the speed about 2-3 mph slower than prevailing traffic, so I don't have to worry about passing. Feels good to cut down on drive time and do something ABs take for granted.

[BS59]

Thanks for the info. I've took a couple of short two hour trips but thats as far as I've tried so far. I never thought about moving my feet. I've always just crossed my legs and forgot about them. Thanks again.

[megatrig]

Top post! It makes me want to go bac k to "Vegas baby"!

I stayed at the Luxor. Very accessible. As you say \vegas is pritty easy.

[s_lynn]

bump for this vegas topic

thx for info above on getting around. Has anyone stayed at the Holiday Inn Desert Club Resort (used to be called the Summer Bay Resort) I plan on going down soon and its hard to find reviews on the hotel/room when it comes to accessibility. i did speak to someone at hotel but it always helps to hear from those in my shoes that actually need specific items and know what im talking about. thx

[qbounce]

Nice review.

I went for the first time since my injury, last December. All of the main hotels that I inquired about (Caesar's, The Venetian, The Paris) have roll in showers and are very accommodating. My advice for anyone going would be to stick to the larger, well known named hotels. I think they do a better job as well as having more available rooms that are WC accessible.

As far as the drive goes from the LA area, (5 hours give or take) I too used my Roho high profile cushion, and I simply let some air out for comfort. It worked like a charm.


Even the theaters have wheelchair seating in the middle isles (as they should). It was a nice, and inexpensive trip. It seems that they're very slow around the December holiday season, so rooms are deeply discounted.