Campground Review:

There's really no other way to put it- camping in Death Valley kind of sucks.The ground is harder than concrete (almost), it's hotter than Hades (I mean, I guess... I hear Hades is quite warm), and it's generally not a particularly relaxing experience (I suppose it might be better in the winter... so go in the winter).

That being said, the NPS has done a fairly decent job making this campground reasonably comfortable. There are water stations throughout, clean bathrooms, and as much shade as can reasonably be expected - though personally I'd love to see an implementation of the covering they used in the parking lot in the campground. We've stayed in many campgrounds throughout the west with covered areas and I think it would have a huge impact on the campgrounds at Death Valley. 

Personally, I would say that if you plan on camping in Death Valley, you should either plan on visiting in the winter, or bringing an RV. The RV sites at Furnace Creek are excellent, with nice pull-throughs and a good amount of space. That, or bring along a homemade swamp cooler or air conditioner of some type, because otherwise you're likely to be quite miserable. (Just being honest! And I do recognize we're pretty crazy for camping there in the first place.)

Product Review:

As Rangers for The Dyrt, we get products to test from time to time, and while in Death Valley we tested out Boost Oxygen. We specifically tried out the peppermint flavor, as it boasted a "cooling" sensation. I'll admit I went into this demo a little skeptical- but I was pleasantly surprised. It may have been my mind playing tricks on me, but I felt much more awake and energized after inhaling the oxygen. This was extremely helpful on the long drive home to Utah when the sun went down and I was TIRED.

We tried the larger bottle and the smaller bottle, and I think the larger bottle is easier to inhale from, but the smaller bottle fits more easily in a backpack or camera bag. I think this is a great addition to a hiking pack, especially for those who live at higher altitudes like we do! You never know when a hike might hit you, and it never hurts to carry a little bonus oxygen, especially when it's INSANELY light.