Chapters 18-24 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 18, "Great Horned Owl; lake level: 4208.45'," tells of a Thanksgiving feast held at the author's aunt and uncle's cabin in Milburn, Utah. There are 26 relatives for the grand feast. During the day, Williams' cousin Lynne finds a feather from a great horned owl.

Chapter 19, Roadrunner; lake level: 4210.90'," starts with the author asking her mother to go to the West Desert as a dry run for a field trip Williams is scheduled to conduct for the museum. Along the way the women find the spot where the dikes would be built on the salt flats. The women come across a nine story concrete building that is placed simply to break up the monotony of the desert.

Mother and daughter check into the state line casino and decide to spend their $10 worth of nickels on a slot machine. The...