From the clifftop, you could see Primm in the distance. While no desert jewel, the sight of the ruined city was a welcome reprieve for travelers thanks to being one of the few major settlements in the Mojave Wasteland. It was one of the few places with a working water reservoir, giving it immense value to traders and travelers. The town itself also had various tradesmen and crafters, mostly in electronics and even robotics. The Vikki and Vance Casino itself was it's main attraction; while it's payout is worse than Vegas and doesn't really have as much class, it still offered a fun experience if you want to waste away your caps, and the food served there is better than eating geckos and bloat flies.

Of course, that was Primm before. Ever since the NCR moved in, things started to get shaky for Primm. It's no secret that while Primm wasn't a bad town, it's vices and services were popular among unsavory folk who would stalk the hills and hit caravans trying to make it to town. Primm had it's own law to keep the peace but that was only good to stop the violence in the town, not outside of it. And when the NCR moved in, those customers stopped showing up. And since they stopped showing up, caps started to run a bit dry even as people got comfortable with the peace. Too comfortable. And thus, their current situation: lawless and taken over by common criminals, even with the NCR just a stone throw away, they too are too limited in number to commit to a operation to clear the town, who never had a good relationship with Primm either way. Then again the NCR hasn't done a very great job at being friendly with most of the Mojave's native inhabitants in the first place.

It would take about thirty minutes or so to trek down the mountain. No clear path had been beaten down yet for you to get to the town very quickly unless you want to start jumping off cliffs and hope you survive the landing. And as Bete mentioned, there are a few geckos running around hunting and being a general nusience. While smart enough to stay away from the office, the vermin showed little fear in attacking anyone on the mountain path no matter how big they are. The radiation may have made them bigger and stronger, but it also killed their sense of self-preservation.

Thus it wasn't long before you ran into small pack of gecko hunters. They seemed to be prowling for prey, and if they spotted you, you could be certain that their little brains will consider you food and try and chase you down. Fortunately you were on a ridge above them and they haven't noticed you yet, but they are searching and staying alert.