2010 FALL EDITION – NO. 39

Desert Survival by Craig Childs

Sonora, Mexico

The last cache is a metal ammo box stuck into boulders at the edge of a sand sea where I've been following a pre-Columbian shell-trade route across the desert. Sealed for a few weeks, it lets out a puff of hot air when the seal breaks. Inside are the remains of a bad run through an Asian market, some dusty bags of dried seaweed, some tiny petrified fish, their eyeballs larger than their bodies. Masticated fish are to be washed down with warm water followed by stabbing a gritty spoon into a bottle of fudge, because you always leave a treat for the end.

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AUTHOR BIO: Craig Childs is a commentator for NPR's Morning Edition and has written several highly acclaimed books including The Secret Knowledge of Water, House of Rain, The Animal Dialogues, and most recently Finders Keepers: A Tale of Archaeological Plunder and Obsession. He lives in Colorado. Buy Craig Childs's books through Amazon at the LOST Store.