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The sun was going down fast as we finally found a dandy camp spot.   We had set 4:30PM as the latest we wanted to hike before reaching an acceptable camp site.  The sun set promptly at 6PM.  And in the desert, temperatures fall as fast as the light withdraws.   Making dinner in the dark while shivering is no fun.

What made this particular camp so nice was a natural sand bar, probably the first one we had seen along the way that was large enough for all five of us.  Above camp was a long stretch of trestle and, if you look closely in the right center of the picture, you can see a couple of derailed box cars.  For those following along on the map, this camp is located at mile 8.7 (just short of CG9).  We had only about 1.6mi's to go to the car from here.   We could have made it, but what the hey... this is vacation!  No sense in making empty miles when there is so much to study and absorb. 

...Oh, did I mention this was Valentine's Day weekend and all of us had skipped out on our significant others?  Best we stay hidden in the desert for another day...