Timing, food, fuel, and...

Timing is everything...

Do you want to try to catch the spring wildflowers? The rangers suggest calling the park in a February timeframe and they may be able to give you an indication of whether and when they expect a spring bloom. For example, a wet winter in 2005 produced an amazing wildflower bloom in the spring that lasted for weeks. Apparently there wasn't a room to be had in the valley, and people were staying 100 miles away and driving in and out each day in order to enjoy the flowers.

I just went wandering on the park's web site, and I found a page in the news section that contains wildflower updates. If I were hoping for flowers I'd probably still call the rangers for a projection, but it's probably also worth checking the Wildflower Updates page.

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Camping or not, you may want to bring some food and drink with you - at least snack food, bottled water, and drinks like Gatorade if you use them. I brought energy bars and peanuts from home, and I stocked up on bottled water and Gatorade in Las Vegas.

There are General Stores at Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells. They do stock some food, but they are quite expensive. For example, energy bars that I pay $1 for at home (at Whole Foods, which has great prices on these bars) were twice that price in the General Store. Interestingly enough, packs of peanuts were the same price they are outside of the park, probably because the "2 for $1" price is printed on the package as opposed to being a stick-on price tag. The stores had a minimal selection of fruit (bananas, Delicious apples, and Granny Smith apples) and some veggies too. I would have liked to have brought some fruit in with me, but given that it would be sitting in a car for the better part of a day before I could check in to my room I thought better of it. That problem could be easily overcome by bringing a cooler with you, or picking up a cheap (essentially) throwaway cooler. I didn't think of that in time...

The hotel at Furnace Creek has small refrigerators in the room. The same may be true of the lodging at Stovepipe Wells, but you'll need to check.

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Gas is very expensive in the park, and you will need to buy it. It's not smart to travel in the desert without a fully fueled vehicle. How expensive? The gas at home is in the $2.80 range. It was slightly higher in Las Vegas, but in the park? I paid $3.99 for regular at the Furnace Creek station. The gas at Stovepipe Wells was slightly cheaper.

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There is no cell phone access. None!

Before I left home I picked up a phone card so I could make phone calls from my room without paying a crazy hotel phone rate.

I did talk to folks who had access after they climbed one of the high trails leading up the mountains on either side of the valley. Funny thing, while I was waiting for the sun to rise over Zabriskie Point someone wondered if there was cell phone access up there. Everyone quickly turned their phones on to check, and everyone's phone said "no service".