December 14, 2018 (Day 4)

Sheila and I took the girls for a long walk after brunch. We continued to search for the elusive desert tortoise. We searched a wide wash for tortoises, but we still didn’t find one. Later in the day, Paul decided to hike up some of the large hills around here. Geocaching is not allowed in the refuge — no man-made things are allowed to be left behind. However, Paul found the cache of all geocaches! Here are his words and pictures:

“While hiking, I came across an unusual rock formation. Inside the rock formation was a tobacco tin with a miner’s claim from 1949. I don’t think it has ever been disturbed. I left the claim in its original place.”

December 15, 2018 (Day 5)

We had read that some people hike up the opposite side of the gorge toward the palm trees. We decided to give it a try. There isn’t a path, but people have done it. We have no idea how people do it, unless there is a sort of path somewhere that we couldn’t find. Once it got really rough and involved much scaling of rocks, I left Paul and Sheila and started my descent. I can go up, but I have a fear of going down. (I get dizzy and unstable). They kept at it and leapt over major cracks and scaled boulders. They pushed their limits, but still never made it to the palms. A+ for effort! We are left wondering how people make it up that side of the gorge.

After Sheila’s dogs have dinner, they get a little treat — like dessert. Poppy is now in on this tradition. Here she is waiting patiently for Kenzie and Bunnah to finish their dinners so that she can have a treat:

Sunset through the Airstream windows:

The evening was calmer and warmer, so we had a campfire — our first one this winter.