This route is a very useful shortcut between Twentynine Palms to Las Vegas and it passes through some varied and interesting Mojave Desert country. It certainly gives a very valuable different view of the Mojave to that obtained from driving on the Interstates. All the roads on this route are paved. I imagine that the obvious alternative routes to I-15 from Kelso and Cima are similarly easy to navigate. This area is often extremely hot in summer with temperatures well in excess of 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Winters are very cold, making spring and autumn the best times to visit.
Mitchell Caverns State Park has a visitors center and limited facilities. This cave is a live cave, with stalagmites and stalactites, not just a dusty hole in the ground. People do not realise how much water there is in the desert, travelling below their feet in subterranean waterways. It is located in the Providence Mountains, about 30 miles east on I-40 from Kelbaker Road. Midhills Campground, in that area, has limited camping spaces but is primitive.