What can I say you are in Death Valley where the heat can get so insane you can feel it collapsing your lungs and melting your face but at this campground that can be a lot less of a problem as you are welcomed with the temperature at the visitor's center. Sure it is still hot and miserable most of the time, but what better way to embrace it than to just let it all hang out so you can see it.

I was very interested in this campground just inside of California when I was staying in Nevada over the first part of the year, it had great reviews and looked like a nice campsite. When I arrived I was not disappointed at all it was well kept, offered some shade and had nice even sites for tents or RVs alike.

Unlike my usual desire to have no amenities, I feel like staying in place like this I need a few luxuries just in case. So it was nice to find sites with electrical hook ups and potable water. The electrical hook ups made it nice for having a small fan which didn't rely on batteries which can drain quickly and that made it more than comfortable on the hot evening.

Where my tent was located the short shrubs provided a nice wind break however I did notice in some of the more open spots it can get a little blustery and we noticed several dust devils popping up across the area in the distance, very common for this region.

The campsite does accept reservations however when we were there mid week in late spring it wasn't packed so no reservation was needed.

I did notice that some of the areas were marked with heat warnings which included closure postings during certain times and warnings about temperatures after 10 a.m. I was fortunate in that it wasn't terrible just yet but already it was beginning to get that way despite it being spring. By summer I would not recommend staying here unless you were able to get inside of an RV it would be far to hot for myself in my little tent.

TIPS:

• Keep hydrated when staying here or at any of the Death Valley campgrounds.

• Obey postings of warnings, they are there for a reason!! We were listening to a ranger in the visitor center and he was telling us some statistics and it was enough to make you want to listen to everything you hear them say!!

• Fuel up before getting to 1/4 tank anytime you are entering the Death Valley or Mohave area you never know what will happen and you would rather be safe than sorry in case you are rendered stranded , at least with gas you can rely a bit on your air.