“I simply do not distinguish between work and play”
– Mary Oliver
We finally had our first full length hitch in the field. Yay! Although we were a woman down for most of it, we completed all of our set incursions, an additional incursion for next hitch, and touched up a few previously restored sites. All said and done, we restored 881 square meters of trail, planted 280 vertical mulch, and built 33 meters of berms.
We may have done a lot, but it wasn’t all about work for the Rands crew. We started most days with a game such as camouflage (a craftier version of hide and seek), Elves/Wizards/Giants (a hybrid of rock, paper, scissors and tag), or we would do a set of 10 push-ups (so we could get nice and strong). Throughout our work day we busied ourselves collecting plants, planting Restorasotes and other small bush, and playing riveting games of 20 Questions. Once back at camp even more games ensued! Darrin and Grace created a fun new version of Ping Pong where the objective is to keep the ball in the air while circling the table. It may not sound very interesting, but boy is it fun to watch! To finish off our game-packed days, most nights ended with us all surrounding a small table in our communal tent playing the card game Rummy. We plan to continue Rummy throughout the season to determine the ultimate Rummy Master (prize to be determined).
On top of all the awesome restoration and games we also saw, found, and learned about a plethora of wildlife! We discovered 3 Desert Tortoise shells, had an environmental education talk on North American Black Bears, and were visited by a Coyote, a Kangaroo Rat, and an American Badger. How cool is that?!?!
Next hitch we will be out in the field less (Boooo!), but on the upside we will be getting our S212 chainsaw certifications thanks to the BLM! To say we are excited for the next few weeks is a vast understatement, but we are also going to enjoy our much needed days off!
