Hwy 395 the length of California

I was in Yosemite a few years ago up on Tioga Pass having lunch and a couple from Germany with their kids came and sat at the other end of the table. We got to talking and they were on their first trip to the States. They were staying that night in Yosemite and then the next day they were going to head down to 395 and make their way to Las Vegas. They were so funny because they thought they were going to have to find a store to buy gas cans and water cans so they could make it all the way through the desert. They were very relieved when I told them none of that was necessary. I had them get their map out and showed them all the towns and places to see. They had been told that the Mojave Desert was just a barren wasteland. I think they had watched too many John Wayne movies!