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.

Was set up for driving.

Years (decades, actually) I attended Park Ranger boot camp at Grand Canyon National Park, about a two month course. On our first field trip, which involved Lake Mead NRA, we spent the night in Las Vegas.

I think that was very deliberate (and lodging was cheap) - the point being that not everybody goes to national parks and the great outdoors, preferring other modes of recreation, even if indoor oriented (not nearly as much apparel was required).

Indeed,there is lots of fine country around LV. Did you by any chance happen to pass by the charcoal kilns in Wildrose Canyon in DV? A regular contributor to this forum directed their repair and stabilization some decades ago - got in a couple of trips up Telescope Peak as well.

Potential navigation with GPS include (but are not limited to):

• As AKSAR says, database issues are undoubtedly the top problem that people face. This is a complex topic and I am not an expert on it.
• Reception issues, including low signal, reflected signals, and interference.
• Device software and hardware issues.
• GPS signal spoofing.

I use GPS constantly and often as my primary navational tool, but the human brain must make the decisions without trusting a single tool so much as to go places one should not.

Database issues and outdated maps have been a persistent problem for a long time, well before the age of GPS. On the Channel islands, the current maps were developed in 1943 by the Army Corps of Engineers. The topography, some of the earliest done using aerial photos, is still correct today (there are a few exceptions), but the road network and other cultural features are hopelessly outdated. The maps are still workable, but one has to be aware.

Often the old maps, used together with current aerial photos (three cheers for Google Earth!), will work very well. In working with a map, it is worthwhile to check the date of production and consider than when making crucial route decisions.

Reminds me of some military maps in the age before GPS, made from the topography of the treetops in the South American rain forest. The topography of the ground underneath was very different. Made for some interesting navigation.