Camping in Utah November 20, 2008

Sorry I haven’t updated in quite some time.  The last couple weeks have been really fun and I continue to fall in love with the Southwest.  I hope I can find work here this winter and then join a field crew in spring.

Last weekend, me, Liz (a girl from work), and Tucker went to karaoke with a few people from Crow Canyon Archaeological Center.  Though I didn’t participate, it was certainly fun to watch.

Went back to Rock Springs the following Sunday and as always enjoyed it.  I’m starting to feel some community there, which is nice.  I’ve been getting together occasionally with Marjana, one of us five young people.  She and her husband live down the street from me.  Tonight we’re getting together to bake and maybe I’ll teach her to knit.  Last Tuesday our small group had a little party complete with Guesstures and Rock Band, which was fun as well.

Last Thursday I went with Liz and Molly (my roommate) to see a Hopi reggae band in town.  We thought it might be an interesting sight, and it certainly was.  As always, I can’t decide if it’s more fun to watch the Dolorians or the band.

This past weekend I went on a camping trip with Tucker’s field crew and friends and family.  It was a great group and a gorgeous weekend.  We camped in south Canyonlands, probably about a mile from the tip of Lake Powell.  We got there in the dark, so waking up to red canyons extending everywhere was absolutely beautiful.  The first day we hiked into Moqui Canyon, which required a lot of sand hiking.  There was a big dune (more like dust than sand, really) into the canyon, which Tucker, his crew-mate Hugh, and 10-year-old Tanner enjoyed climbing up and running down several times.  I decided to save my energy for the climb out, but I did get one dune in later in the day.  We hiked all day, finding some really cool archaic rock art and a few alcove sites.  There was a lot of rock-scrambling involved and at one point half of us decided it was getting a little too risky, so we took a nap on some sandstone in the sun.  It was very nice.  On the way out, though, we had to scale the giant dune back to the top, which made for a very rough end to the hike.  But certainly worth it.

The following day we explored another canyon for an inscription that one of us had heard about.  No luck, though.  We then went up on top of a mesa to see some great rock art and a couple odd sites.  It was a great weekend!  Here are a few pics to enjoy:

Halloween Weekend and New Exhibit November 5, 2008

This weekend started off fun with Friday off.  We were able to get outside a bit again, though not as much as in past weekends.  Friday night Tucker and I went to the Brew Pub in town.  It was quite amusing to see all the costumes people came up with.

Saturday was spent in Cortez and down by the reservoir.  It was a gorgeous day and very calm by the reservoir.  It’s just a shame so many cool sites are now underneath it.  In the evening, Tucker and I carved pumpkins a day too late and roasted seeds.

Sunday I worked until about 2 because we have a new exhibit coming in.  Molly, the other intern/ my roommate, and I took down the last exhibit and cleaned all the duct work and lighting in the special exhibits gallery to prepare for the new exhibit.  This new exhibit is called The Old Spanish Trail and I’m really looking forward to getting it up.  The items came in Monday evening and yesterday we started unpacking them.  I finally got to handle some museum-quality stuff and these pieces are just gorgeous!  Mostly items from the 19th century, including old boots, clothes, saddles, religious iconography, and beautiful Zuni and Hopi pottery.  Today I got to do some condition reporting on the pottery and it was great handling it!  What can I say, I love old stuff…  We also arranged everything today so that it’s ready once we get it up to the gallery.  The exhibit won’t be finalized and ready to show until around Thanksgiving, but if you happen to be in the Four Corners area in the next year, you really should come see the exhibit.  Probably the highlight of my week.

This morning I woke up to the first snow of the season.  Just under an inch, but still made for some pretty scenery.  I wish I could get better shots from the house, but below is what I have.  Also enjoy some Halloween photos.

Halloween in Dolores- I was Little Bo Peep

Me and My Pumpkin- He was very happy

Our Pumpkins

The Sleeping Ute After Snow

Foggy Mesa Verde

No Snow Yet! October 30, 2008

Which means I’ve been able to keep up the weekend fun.  This past weekend I went horseback riding with a gentleman from work.  He has two horses and likes to get people out on the second horse.  We rode for about 5 hours (and yes, I was sore for days after).  It was a beautiful day and if we had been there three weeks earlier the aspens would have been stunning.  The views were gorgeous nevertheless.  We saw some wildlife (and hunters ready to kill the wildlife) including deer and elk.  And I got an ear-full of hunting stories from Don the maintenance guy.

That evening Tucker and I went to see a band in town.  I couldn’t decide which was more fun- watching the band or watching the Dolorians (people from Dolores) hippy dance.  I think it was the people-watching.

Sunday I went back to Rock Springs and enjoyed a great worship service.  There are some fun people there and I’m developing some good relationships with the couple down the highway and the associate pastor.  The four of us make up the young adult group at the church, and they’re all 2-4 years older than me, haha.  We had small group on Tuesday and then I put my Wii tennis skills back into practice.  I’m going to try to get together with the girl down the street this week.

This week I shifted from cataloging pot sherds to lithics.  I’m definitely better at pot sherds.  Cataloging debitage (flakes made when making stone tools) and stone tools takes me about three times as long.  The most time-consuming part is determining the material type, including which rock formation they’re from in some cases.  After that I have to decide what kind of flake they are, whether they’ve been modified or utilized, or if it’s a tool, what kind of tool it is.  Ugh.  Though I am certainly learning some excellent skills that will come in handy during field analysis.  One day when I’m actually excavating, I will be able to wow everyone at the site

Tomorrow I’m dressing up as Little Bo Peep (found a great dress at a thrift store) and going to the Brew Pub in town.  I think it will be amusing to see all the Dolorians in their costumes.  It’s supposed to be a beautiful weekend with no snow- unlike most Halloweens- so I’m sure we’ll get out to do some site exploring and/or hiking.

A Beautiful Weekend in SW Colorado October 23, 2008

This weekend certainly surpassed last.  The weather was gorgeous and allowed for some good hiking and outdoor fun.  Friday night I went with a friend to the local pub to see a band that was playing there.  On Saturday, we hiked to a cool site about an hour away that was worth the drive (and the hike).  It was a pretty steep hike up to a mesa top.  On top there are ruins from the Pueblo I period (AD 750-900- a period I’m really interested in because it’s the early formation of the big stuff that you see at Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon).  Mostly just cisterns, storage basins, and a few dance circles/ kivas.  But the best part is this really weird zig-zag wall (probably used to be waist-height) that almost completely blocks the west half of the mesa.  There is a room next to a small opening in the wall, as well.  It’s unlike any other masonry anywhere and there is no pottery associated with it (usually sites have tons of pot sherds on them).  There is some local lore that Spanish explorers put it up.  But why?  To keep sheep herds from going off the end of the mesa?  It’s completely bizarre.  After lunch with our feet off the mesa, we hiked back down to the Pueblo III (AD 1050-1300) sites surrounding the base of the mesa.  Lots of little rooms built under looming boulders.  We also stumbled upon a big rock art panel with some neat triple spiral patterns.  I hope I didn’t bore you with that last narrative…

After the hike, we went and watched a bike race taking place in Dolores and spent the rest of the day relaxing by the river.

Sunday I went back to Rock Springs Community Church.  This week a family invited me to sit with them.  They are the parents of the associate pastor, and next to them were some younger (the youngest?) people from the church.  I found out this married couple is actually just down the road a bit from me, so hopefully I’ll get to spend some more time with them.  Last night I attended their small group and enjoyed some time in a house with good community.  I hadn’t really realized how two weeks in virtual solitude can really affect you.  Though I see people at work, I work alone listening to my iPod all day, then come home to an empty (well, not anymore) house.  It’s good to be in a room with more than one other person.

Molly, the other intern, moved in this weekend, as well.  She’s nice and has been in the area for a while, so knows some other people our age.  She’s invited me to her frisbee league tomorrow, so I think I will go with her.

This weekend will hopefully be nice again.  Don the janitor has invited me to ride horses with him, but I don’t know the details yet.

Ricci Says My Blog Is Boring October 14, 2008

But I hope you don’t think so.  This weekend was a little chilly, windy, and rainy, but I got out and had some fun anyway.  Friday night I met up with an acquaintance from CC- a guy who graduated in 2006 and now works about 2 hours from here on an archaeology project- at the local popular hangout for Dolores residents, the Brew Pub.  Then Saturday we drove in the icky weather to Telluride and explored a little.  The Telluride museum has an 800-year-old ancestral Puebloan blanket that was found in a pot in a dry cave in the late 1800’s.  Someone then used it as a foot-warmer under his desk and then the blanket was lost for a while, to be found again 20-some years ago.  The blanket is virtually flawless- no holes from creatures, just a few dark spots.  Just for perspective, there are only three known blankets like this.  It was worth driving an hour and a half just to see that!  The museum was pretty nice and took us a good hour and a half to get through.  It’s fun to have a friend that likes going to museums with you and doesn’t think it’s dorky.  Afterward we walked around town and took the gondola to see the aspens.

Sunday I went to a local (15 miles away local) community church and enjoyed it.  There was a pretty good sized congregation and a lot of younger families.  I will definitely go back next week.  Afterward I met up with Tucker again to have lunch and then we hiked some in the canyons.  It was a nice hike once we got down out of the wind.  We saw some neato archaeological sites, including some cool rock art and a well-preserved tower.  I like it down here in the land of archaeology

Yesterday I had the day off so I ran some errands in Cortez.  I have an apple tree out front, so I picked some apples and made an apple pie as well.  Too bad I can’t eat it   Instead I took it to work and made more friends at the AHC.

The weather is still pretty nice and I hope it stays that way for a while.  The rain and wind on Saturday stripped all the trees in the mountains, though, so my view of the La Platas is a little less colorful.  Still gorgeous, though.  I hope to get out again this weekend.  I may go to Utah sometime to see lesser-known sites on Comb Ridge where Tucker works.

It’s the Weekend… October 10, 2008

…And it’s supposed to be cold   I have plans to go hiking tomorrow, but I’m not sure if they’ll follow through.  It’s supposed to rain and be windy and cold, so we’ll see.  This weekend is three days thanks to Columbus, so I think I’ll explore town a little more.  I’ve learned that there are two yarn shops in the area and a few other funky stores, so I may see what they offer.  Sunday I’m planning on going to a church in Cortez.  The website had a Facebook link and a lot of the members of the Facebook group seem young, so I think it will be a good place to connect.

Below are a few more pictures to enjoy:

View of the La Platas from the top of the hill above my house.

Part of Escalante Pueblo on the hill above the AHC

Part of Escalante Pueblo on the hill above the AHC

McPhee Reservoir

Bambi outside my bedroom window

Two deer outside my bedroom

Part of the family of deer that like to eat the grass outside my house around 6 pm every day

Day 2 at the AHC October 8, 2008

Today was my second day working at the Heritage Center.  Yesterday I spent the first half of the day touring the facility (it’s huge- only houses about 6 million artifacts…) and the second half learning to use the cataloging program.  There was (and still is) a lot of information to take in.

Today I started my first project, while still learning how to catalog.  This project is to catalog everything from our surface survey of two sites last year in my field archaeology class.  It’s pretty great to get to complete the work that was started over a year ago.  It’s especially great that I understand the system we initially used to analyze the artifacts and can translate that into the AHC’s program.  It is a little odd, though, that I’m archiving what was essentially a class assignment.  Today I put all the documents we worked on into files, so I had to go back through all of them.  It’s like going through old class notes.

The other strange thing is that I can’t seem to get away from the Martin I site- one of the sites from which I’m cataloging artifacts and the site that my senior thesis hinged on.  I’ve also been asked to contribute to a journal article discussing the site.  Maybe it’s a sign that I’m supposed to be studying this place in more depth…  Maybe it’s my archaeological claim to fame- and at such a young age!  I know, I’m destined for archaeological greatness, haha.

Tonight is another evening alone.  I found some yoga videos online so maybe I’ll do that.  Yesterday I took the trail to the top of the hill above my house to check out the AHC’s site up there.  I’ve seen the site so I mainly went for the spectacular views.  In the evening I had about a dozen young deer in my front yard.  It really is a beautiful place to live, but it gets lonely.  Another intern is moving in on October 20th, so it will be nice to have some company.  I’ll have to find ways to make friends.

The Move October 7, 2008

Well, I’m officially in Dolores.  Yesterday we drove down through glorious fall foliage in the mountains.  What a perfect time of the year!  This morning we stopped by the Heritage Center to get my key and go to the house where I’ll be living.  It’s a little three-bedroom house right next to the Center with a beautiful view of the McPhee Reservoir, the La Plata mountain range, and Mesa Verde.  It took me a few hours to unpack, go grocery shopping, and clean the house a little.

I drove 25 miles to the nearest natural foods store, just because.  There isn’t much to do around here.  I really need to find some people my age (or a family that will temporarily adopt me).  I already know it will be very lonely if I don’t.  I’m going to check out a church this weekend, though it might be hard to find a church that isn’t Baptist.  Who knew there were so many Baptists in southwest Colorado?

Anyway, on my way back from the natural foods store, a Mancos sheriff pulled me over.  Nice welcome to the place, right?  I was simply following the speed of the car in front of me, which seems a little unfair.  Why didn’t he pull over that guy?  Anyway, he let me off with a warning, maybe because he grew up in Littleton.  Or maybe it just pays to be very polite and kind to your local police officer.

Tomorrow I start my internship.  My first project is to catalog the artifacts that my field archaeology class picked up about a year ago.  Ironic, isn’t it?  We spent days going over these little pieces of ceramic and stone to catalog them last year in the Crow Canyon database, so I’m glad that I won’t have to re-analyze the pieces.  The last I saw them they were stored nicely in little marked baggies.  Hopefully they’re still in the same condition.

Well, there isn’t much more to write about.  Just a start to this blog.  Hopefully I’ll have some fun things to tell you about soon.  Enjoy the pictures

My commute to work

The view from my house