New Death Valley National Park Superintendent Sarah Craighead talked about how Last Chance Park would be a perfect opportunity for Pahrump to become a gateway community to Death Valley.

She spoke during the open house last week. (See related story on page A1.)

"We have about a million visitors a year that actually come to Death Valley to visit. They come from all over the world and they come all months of the year," Craighead said.

The busiest months of the year in the national park are August, September, March and June, she said.

"So with Pahrump being an hour away, about half our visitors come in through the east entrance of the park," she said. "So most of them are probably coming through town here, and we found out that 80 percent of our visitors sometime in their visit are going to Las Vegas.

"So they're either coming in through here or they're going out through here."

Visitors want a whole experience around their vacation, she said -- the grand scenery of Death Valley as well as lodging in town, a nice meal and a chance to buy souvenirs.

"Pahrump is in a perfect location to take advantage of that," Craighead said. "We hope you'll look at that broader picture when you're looking at planning as well as facilities in that park."

Death Valley National Park can be a partner in marketing Pahrump, marketing Last Chance Park and providing visitor service training, she said.

"When somebody comes into town and they're lost, where do you think they stop? I would stop at a gas station," Craighead said. "Is that clerk saying, 'Oh, please visit our town and Death Valley is just an hour away,' or are they saying, 'Oh, I don't know, it's too hot out there, there's nothing out there, don't go'?

"We want people to come back here and bring other people here. So training the folks that are working in the field, dealing with visitors as they come through, we want to partner with you on that," she said.

Craighead said there are two big blue signs giving directions between Death Valley National Park and Pahrump, but a couple of key intersections can easily be missed.

"So working with those things, working with the Department of Transportation, I think we can do a much better job of keeping people in the area for longer and having them spend more of their tourism dollars here rather than in Las Vegas, which would be my hope," Craighead said.