Look Out So Cali, here I come!

I'd avoid fueling in California. Southern Arizona and New Mexico have lower gas prices.

See GasBuddy.com or get the GasBuddy app.

Have fun. I hope to see photos.

Thanks Kevin, that is just what I had in mind. One of my inspirations for the trip is the new National Monument. Of course the climate/weather is offering some visual stimuli.

Gas is very expensive in Death Valley and near the northern boundary of Mojave NP along I-15 (Baker, Cima Rd. Exit). The towns of Ridgecrest, Barstow, Yucca Valley, Palm Springs are better for gassing up, I've heard gas is under $2 right now so not bad.

All parks (DEVA, MOJA, JOTR, A-B) exhibit elevational ranges that will guarantee you'll find blooming happening somewhere. I'd call or stop in the visitor centers to inquire on what is blooming where. Also do not discount non-national park land in between. Short Canyon near Inyokern, the mountains between Barstow and Lucerne Valley, Saddleback Butte State Park, Newberry Mountain Wilderness area near Newberry Springs, and the Southern Sierra foothills including Kern River Canyon (Hwy 178 between Lake Isabella and Bakersfield) all have spectacular blooms if the timing is right. You'll probably be too early for the California Poppy Reserve, but that's another that I'd keep in mind for another year.

Backpacking in JOTR just requires you park at one of the "backcountry board" sites and sign your name in the register there - no permit required. Bring all your own water. There are dispersed areas just outside park boundaries that are accessible by car. I recommend the Mecca Hills south of I-10.

In A-B look into Hellhole Canyon - you can do a short overnighter there. Here are a few other trip reports for some inspiration:

www.tarol.com/ca_wildflowers.html

Here's another wildflower tip sheet that may be useful:

theodorepayne.org/education/wildflower-hotline/

I am a big fan of desert wildflowers, and with several desert environments in your targeted area, you will see planty. But two places I would love to see again are the Sonoran Desert Museum near Tucson, and a surprise, Titus Canyon in Death Valley.

The Sonoran desert is where you find the saguaro (not blooming until May±) and a wonderful display of chollas and shrubs, not just the herbaceous color. The Desert Museum is a bit pricey ($20!) but wowm what a great place to see animals. Geology, and learn what make s a desert a desert. Still, you can wander the area oyt and around, getting plenty of scenery.

Titus Canyon is a good half-day experience where you typically start at the top at the Nevada border and descend a 20-mile canyon road, The geology is beautiful, there are places to stop and wander for a closer l look (some rare plants to find, but that's not the focus for this mention), and in the last portions you find a spring that attracts bighorn sheep (good luck!) and is lined with desert orchids. A 4x4 is suggested but I have seen little rental cars making the trip. If you do not choose to try this, once in the valley itself you can drive up to the EXIT end and park, then walk into the canyon for at least a mile or so. The walls are hundreds of feet high, the exit end of the canyon is quite narrow and the rack walls are a polished mosaic of rock layers that er amazing to see and imagine the amount of flood waters that it took to produce the result!

So there are two potential things to do.

PS: At the exit of Titus, you can look for Death Valley sage (Salvia funerea), a wooley white plant with gorgeous ponk flowers. In the top sections of Titus, you might see a fuzzy big poppy that looks like Icelandic poppy, but it's Bear Poppy (Arctomecon merriamii) and is a treat to find. Both of these are likely blooming in March. The big Panamint Daisy is a beauty but won't be blooming until later, and it's over near Wildrose, so not a real possible find!

And I second that idea! Great landscape, good vegetation, lots of butterlies, some palm canyons. And Yuma is a great place to stop for medjool dates and a date shake after a trip to the KOFA.

I haven't visited southern Arizona since the mid 60's. I remember the Sonoran Desert Museum very well. I love cactus, so I hope to get all the way down to Organ Pipe. The Painted Desert, and Petrified forest are on the list.