Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In 2010 the settlement made news when it opened a solar plant that generates 85% of its
electrical needs.
Nipton Rd; cabins/r with shared bath from $65/80; reception 8am-6pm; )
dates to the first
decade of the 20th century. There are five rooms sharing two baths in an adobe hotel with
wraparound porch, as well as 'eco-lodges' (tented cabins) equipped with electricity, fans,
woodstoves and platform beds. All guests may unwind in the two outdoor hot tubs.
Check-in is at the well-stocked
trading post
(open 8am to 6pm), which has maps,
books, groceries, beverages and souvenirs. Next door is the
Whistle Stop Oasis
(
760-856-1045; dishes $7-10; 11am-6pm, dinner by reservation; )
. No alcohol is served, but
you're welcome to purchase beer or wine at the trading post and bring it with you.
There's also an
RV park
(sites $25).
Primm
At the Nevada state line, next to an outlet shopping mall off I-15,
Terrible's Primm Val-
ley Casino Resorts
( 888-774-6668, 702-386-7867;
www.primmvalleyresorts.com
; 31900 Las
Vegas Blvd S; r from $30; )
is a trio of casino hotels linked by a tram. Rooms are
basic and long in the tooth, but fine for a night. Family-friendly Buffalo Bill's is best and
has its own amusement park, including a white-knuckle roller coaster and a log flume ride,
as well as a buffalo-shaped swimming pool. Whiskey Pete's accepts pets ($15 fee). Primm
Valley Hotel & Casino, across the freeway, has a spa and updated fitness center. Each has
the gamut of casino-style dining options, including fast-food courts, all-you-can-eat buf-
fets and 24-hour coffee shops.
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK
The very name evokes all that is harsh, hot and hellish - a punishing, barren and lifeless
place of Old Testament severity. Yet closer inspection reveals that in
Death Valley
(
760-786-3200;
www.nps.gov/deva
;
7-day entry per car $20)
nature is putting on a truly spectacu-
lar show: singing sand dunes, water-sculpted canyons, boulders moving across the desert
floor, extinct volcanic craters, palm-shaded oases and plenty of endemic wildlife. This is a
land of superlatives, holding the US records for hottest temperature (134°F/57°C), lowest
