1 Nephi 2:5-6

5. And he came down by the borders near the shore of the Red Sea; and he traveled in the wilderness in the borders which are nearer the Red Sea; and he did travel in the wilderness with his family, which consisted of my mother, Sariah, and my elder brothers, who were Laman, Lemuel, and Sam.

6. And it came to pass that when he had traveled three days in the wilderness, he pitched his tent in a valley by the side of a river of water.

I think these verses are there to give a backdrop or setting for the next few chapters. Lehi received some pretty amazing revelations while staying in this location. I think that when the scriptures refer to “wilderness” they must mean something different than the picture that word brings up in my mind. I always picture desolation. The dictionary doesn’t imply that the landscape has to be desolate, and in fact it could be quite fertile. The deciding factor is whether the land is inhabited or cultivated. I think Lehi and family stay in this location for some time, which would indicate that there were some resources of wood, etc., since they would want fire for various reasons. Later on, we’ll read where the Lord didn’t want them to have much fire, but being near a river, there probably was vegetation, etc.