Yesterday, Sunday, was “National Rip Out A Gate Day.” This event was celebrated last year by anti-government folks who feel they are being denied access to their public lands. To say the least, the refuge was on high alert or at least alert. But all was quiet at the VC; in fact, at times it was too quiet and heads tended to slump on chests.

Sunday, yesterday, was our last day of work.

No longer will Shannon have the experience of driving a refuge truck in which we had to bungee the door shut on our way back in.

Today was a work day for us. All day we have been packing, cleaning, packing, reorganizing, packing, doing laundry, and packing. We have had almost constant winds since coming here. Some days the awning just flapped; other days the motor home flapped. Wind means dust and dirt. It was about time to clean in places we don’t normally clean in. The one constant was dirt. Maybe after 5 months in OR, we’ll be craving some dust in the air.

We have developed a habit of taking the dogs out for a walk on the trails around the VC as the sun is setting. Despite being pooped from all the...yes, you guessed it, packing, we had to take our last walk. It is a special time: it’s quiet, usually fairly calm and still, the temperature is mild but cool to the point of being very refreshing, we are generally rewarded with the mountains lighting up from the setting sun, and we get to observe a pair of Cooper’s hawks that are nesting near one of the trails.

As the sun is setting we look east toward the Sheep Mountain Range and see mountains awash in reds and purples.

And then we look west toward the range of mountains where Mt. Charleston is located to see the setting sun highlighting the mountains.  

This has been a good volunteer gig. The staff has been very accommodating and friendly and most have gone out of their way to say thinks, good bye, and wish us well. And we did not get involved in any staffing conflicts. The number of visitors on the weekends usually exceeded 100 each day which gave us something to do and made us feel that we really were making a difference.

And there are lots of things to see, do, and explore around the area. We did manage to visit Boulder Dam where we saw our first and only desert mountain sheep. We managed to get there during spring break and the crowds were too large for us to do any touring of the dam. Next time.

For us the fun part of being at Desert National Wildlife Refuge was its close proximity to Las Vegas. We were able to get more than our fill of the Strip, eats lots of great meals, take in some shows, and even win a few dollars (Shannon) playing poker on the slot machines.

And so, we have enjoyed our stay here and would choose to come back, despite our rule of not returning to a place where we have already volunteered, if our schedule permits. And, we're retired so we have no idea what our schedule is. But maybe someday we’ll be back to see if the dust and dirt are still moving about.

Tomorrow we leave for CA.  First we'll explore the Mohave Desert Preserve despite being in the Mojave Desert the last two months, and then work our way northward through CA trying to take in some of the iconic public properties along the way. However, we plan to do it by driving through the entrance stations and not ripping out any gates. But keep tuned…