Exactly 75 words

I've started submitting my work to Paragraph Planet. The premise of the site is to write a piece that is exactly 75 words long.  Here are the two "stories" I've written so far, coincidentally similarly themed:

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Death Valley is beautiful this time of year, they said.  Spring has sprung, wildflowers are in bloom, and it's not too terribly hot yet. They were right, of course.  The stark desolation of the desert dotted with splashes of color is breathtaking.  I just wish they'd also told me to  make sure my tank was full. Or to bring along some food and water, maybe a blanket.  Help will come before the coyotes do, right?
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My time spent exploring the Mojave has yielded abandoned cars in canyons, flowers growing in the most unexpected and desolate places, lizards of all shapes and sizes and mountains of shell casings.  Such an unforgiving landscape is home to only the hardiest fauna and most resourceful members of the animal kingdom.  Rattlesnakes would prefer to be left alone, but occasionally a lummox like me will mistakenly invade the personal space of a diamondback. Quite painful!