Sarah, Rose, and Mira had a research project about the desert in Mrs. Diana’s 5th grade class. Their parents decided that it was best for them to go to the desert, so they could learn more about it. On the day before going to the desert, the three girls met in Sarah’s room to discuss facts about the desert. “I heard that the desert is very dry,” said Sarah.

 “Yes, but it sometimes rains!” Rose added.

 “But, it is very rare to rain in the desert” Sarah argued. Mira knew that the desert is not going to rain when they got there because the desert receives less than 10 inches of rainfall each year. On the day of going to the desert, Mira had packed a few T-shirts and brought a lot of water. “Race you!” Sarah cried as she sprinted toward the car. “Early bird gets the worm!” Rose shouted as she ran. When they finally sat down on the car, they were ready.

“Wow!” Sarah cried, as they jumped out of the car.

 “Look, we’re actually in the desert!” Mira yelled. 

“This one is hot, with sand, sand, sand!” 

“There are cold deserts too, it's the Gobi desert!” Rose thought.

 “C’mon girls, we need to get going,” Rose’s Dad said.

 “Also, remember to be respectful to….” Mira’s Mom started, but a loud sound made them all jump. “BEEP!” Mira turned around and saw a white SUV come their way. The car stopped and three people jumped out of the car. “Oh, we’re so sorry, for the loud noise!” A blond haired women said. Mira stared, it looked like these people had been wearing scientists clothes. “It's a lab coat,” Sarah whispered to Mira, as she could read her mind.

 “So, girls these are the scientists that are going to help you explore the desert!” Sarah’s Mom said. As the three girls waved to their parents, they  followed the three scientists. The blond one was called Lily, Black haired was Emily, and the Red haired one was named Amber. “This bag weighs a ton!” Mira told Rose about the bag she was carrying.

 “LOOK!!!” Sarah suddenly screamed as she pointed ahead of them. They saw a coyote that was colored tan and gray. Mira ran forward, but the coyote saw her and started to run away. “Follow that coyote!” Mira yelled as she sprinted after it, with Rose and Sarah after her. “W-Wait!” the scientists cried. But too late. Mira and Sarah and Rose were out of sight. It was about two minutes when they finally stopped. They were all breathing heavily, with the coyote out of sight. “Umm, are we lost?” Rose asked when Mira finally looked up and could not find the scientists. “We, uh, have some water,” Sarah said, trying to stop them all from freaking out. They did not have devices or compasses. They…. were lost.

“Great, just great,” Mira said.

 “We only have some water!” Rose exclaimed. Sarah learned that if you had a rock, you could pound it at the cactus. Then, some water would spray out, and you could drink it. So, Sarah stood up, grabbed a rock, and pounded it at a cactus. Surprised, Mira stood up too, asking, “What are you doing Sarah?” Sarah then told her everything she knew about getting water from a cactus. The plan did not work well. They were tired and made less than an inch of water in their cups. “The sun is as hot as a burning fire!” Mira exclaimed.

 “The sun is smiling down at us,” Sarah added. Suddenly, Rose saw a blur of gray behind them. “The coyote is back!” She yelled. The three girls then chased the coyote again. After about five minutes, the coyote stopped and suddenly fell down on the sand. “Oh no! What happened?” Rose cried. “Looks like it needs water, it might die without water for another few minutes!” Mira said. Sarah fumbled around in the bag and found the bottle of water. She quickly dumped it in the coyote’s mouth.