Well, as I said, my flight got in late. By the time I got the rental car it was around 2330. I really wasn't keen on doing a long flight, then driving 2-3 hours in the dark, missing all the scenery on the way, then hunting for a campsite in the middle of the night. Also, since I was flying down I was limited in what I could bring with me in checked luggage. TSA doesn't like canisters for my jetboil stove for example. And the shopping options in Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells are shall we say....a bit limited? I might add that lodging in LV is quite inexpensive, since they assume you will spend money gambling (which I don't). All of which made spending the night in Vegas and doing a quick shopping trip in the morning on my way out of town seem like the most appropriate plan.

While I don't really care for Vegas, it can be mildly amusing, especially since I don't go there often. And there is definitely some interesting stuff nearby. The last time I was there several years ago we enjoyed some great hiking, scenery, and geology at Red Rocks, just west of town. Looks like great rock climbing there as well, though I'm getting a bit too old and creaky for most of that sort of thing. Many years ago I visited Valley of Fire and the Muddy Mountains, and I hope to get back there too, one of these days.