anything interesting to see along the way???
We are interested to see the desert, possibly do a little hiking...is there anything like this in this area? We have read about Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire closer to Vegas, and also Death Valley and Josua Tree...the last two are a little out
of the way...
We will be staying in Santa Monica for the
weekend and then driving to Vegas on Sunday
afternoon, returning Thursday afternoon to
Santa Monica...
have seen the posts here advising to fly,
but we will be driving.

You could travel "the long way" to or from Vegas and travel the 10 freeway all the way to Joshua Tree. Many people would say that its' well worth it. An option would be to leave Vegas Wednesday night and travel to California, overnighting nearby and enjoying Joshua Tree on Thursday.

It's a beautiful drive once you pass all the truck-stop towns - which can be interesting on their own. The desert is gorgeous and varied from one hill formation to the next.
If there's a lot of traffic on the 15, take the 66 which runs parallel. You can spend some time wondering why people live in trailers in the middle of the desert, alone and isolated, without even phone reception.

Good shopping at Barstow and Primm valley are very good as they are both outlet stores Ralph Lauren Nike etc etc

Calico Ghost Town, just east of Barstow, is a County Park that is half historical, half touristy and is worth a few hours if you enjoy that sort of thing. It's a few miles east of barstow and only 2-3 miles north of the I-15 freeway.