Christmas in Duluth

Well it isn't the day after Christmas, but JC and I exchanged gifts.  I had this awesome date all planned out and everything!!  Too bad the roads were so bad I barely made it to her place.  Anyway, she got ice skates, a mug, a thermos filled with hot chocolate, hot chocolate and a hat mittens and scarf.  She was kind of pissed because she had guessed the ice skates, but everyone kept telling her that she wasn't getting them.  Also, she was with when I bought all the other presents I gave her :)

I got some awesome presents too.  Like tickets to the Museum of Man in Winnipeg, so we are going to go up there some weekend, which will also let me check out the University of Manitoba!  I also got a awesome t-shirt that I am going to wear all the time.  It has to do with my worst addiction, Mt. Dew.  Yeah, it's the logo, but it says Mount and Do Me.  It's wondertastic!!

Anyway, we now have a TON of snow.  Like literally a ton! 

Only 3 days of work, then home on Christmas Eve!  Woo!! 4 day weekend!!!

Xmas Music

So apparntly this year if you want to hear a Christmas song about a hippo or a donkey you must download it. I did just that, and have been rockin out to "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" and "Dominick the Donkey" all morning. I am pretty sure that I am the only one at work and I wish I could blare it over the boombox!! Anyway, I better get back to caroling. They don't pay me to blog... or carol for that matter, but they can't stop me from doing it in my head!!!

Party on Saturday

As mentioned in the previous blog, we had a little party on Saturday, strangeness ensued.

Let's start with my awesome moment.  Let's take a shot of tequila... OK... turns out you can't cough and swallow at the same time.  Even when you are done coughing you can't swallow, it all just runs out your nose.  That hurts like you wouldn't believe!!

We also had a discussion on poop.  And colored poop.  And how we should make something to change the color of your poop.  Then it got crazy... rhinestones were mentioned, followed by a slogan for our new company idea "Pimp my poop"

Other statements were made, but they probably shouldn't be written on here.  So, if you want a fun story email and ask for it.  It includes JJA and AS, JC's roommate and her boyfriend...

Snow weekend

So everyone was all up in arms about the snow that was coming to Duluth.  On Friday they predicted anywhere from 1-2 feet of snow.  We actually got like 8-10 inches.  Anyway, it was pretty bad weather all weekend.  JC's roomate's boyfriend was up so we went out to dinner on Saturday.

Pizza Luce was the place, it was sleeting when we got there.  We had artichoke dip and cheezy bread stuff for appitizers, and baked potato and bear pizza.  The bear pizza had SOOO much meat, it was amazing!  The baked potato pizza was pretty good too, not as good for breakfast the next morning however.  When we left the resturaunt it was no longer sleeting, it was raining...

Next it was back to JC's place to get our drink on.  Turns out JC, her roomate's, and their boyfriends and I can make one hell of a party.  Nothing like Tequila coming out your nose to put a damper on your evening.  However, it was still enjoyable.  During the night the snow came, and came, and JC was too lazy to drive me home. So I spent all Sunday there too.

Sunday it really snowed, like CRAZY, well, all the snow we got pretty much came on Sunday and Sunday night.  Which means JC had to shovel her car out, while I slept like a lazy bum.  Then when I got home I saw the bug in the driveway...

Called work to see if the road to the shop was plowed, but nobody answered.  So I guess it wasn't.  I figured I might as well shovel myself out anyway.  It took almost two hours, but I was nice and shoveled out the neighbors too.  Now I get to drink some hot chocolate and read my book for the rest of the night.

MOA and Holidazzle

So it turns out you can walk through the entire mall in less than 4 hours.
Sure, there are a lot of stores, but there isn't really anything TOO exciting about it. So I can shop at 4 different LIDS, or two GAPS, or 3 Verizon stores. Why the repetition?

From Holidazzle Parade and Bowling

But yeah, JC and I cruised around the mall in wonderful circles, level by level. My feet and legs were aleady sore from all the reffing on Saturday (my feet and legs still hurt, if you were wondering), but I made it. I think the only thing I bought was lunch.

From Holidazzle Parade and Bowling

Then we went up the road to see the Holidazzle Parade on Nicolett Mall. Of course we were like an hour early (but you can only spend so much time wandering the mall), so we wanered around Barnes and Nobel for a long time. I bought a novel, and had to restrain myself from buying more. It's by the same author as "American Gods", Neil Gaiman (sp?), and don't worry dad I won't tell you that you should read it.
JC pointed out my "Inner Fish" book, but I wasn't about to spend $25 on it, because I'm cheap... and Xmas is coming...

From Holidazzle Parade and Bowling

The parade was cold, VERY COLD! But we survived. It was fairytale themed again this year. Is it the same parade every year?? Lights, cold, what a romantic time, right? HA, more like "I can't feel my legs, how much farther to the parking ramp?"

From Holidazzle Parade and Bowling

For those who have never been to the Holidazzle Parade, I would suggest you go AT LEAST once. It's a fun experience, a parade in snow...

A Saturday of girls basketball

Let's start with the fact that it IS NOT MY FAULT YOUR TEAM IS GETTING THEIR ASS KICKED.

Yeah, no matter how much a team is getting beat by it always seems to be blamed on the officals. I'm sorry that the score is 52 to 14, but could you explain how that is my fault again? Cause apparently I didn't get the memo.

Girls cry too much. They foul someone they cry, then they foul out and cry, they fall down they cry, they lose they cry.
They also fall down too much. Is it really that hard to stay on your feet? And I am supposed to call a foul because you can't walk? Yeah, riiiiiiiight...

Anyway, I was very impressed with the level of play by most of the teams, MUCH better than I expected. And yes, middle school girls basketball is HORRIBLE to watch. It's like a train wreck. You feel you need to do something other than watch, but that is all you can do.

Bear hug

So it turns out that you don't need a mic to talk to Jeremy on Skype. It also has an Instant Messenger function. On this IM we were messing around with emoticons... you know :) or :( or ;)

Those kind of things... Anyway, he said he didn't like me, so I said I didn't like him.
Long story short he sends me a bear emoticon. I was very confused until I realized that it was a bear hug. So yeah, I sent him one back, and we hugged over the internet!!!

Anyway, for those who haven't talked to him, he is excited for Christmas, and says I can't play with his presents. He is also excited to see Micah, sorry to everyone else, he was the only one who came up...

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

So I went out into the woods with a gun again today. You couldn't really say I went hunting, because I am pretty sure that means that prey was involved. Well, I did get bored and shoot a grey squirrel with my 30/30. Sorry to say, nothing was left...

I saw ZERO deer today, that sucked, cold and dark and boring, NO DEER!

Lets go over what I heard and saw though...
-Heard the owl that says "who cooks for you" don't remember what kind of owl that is, but I heard it.
-Heard some turkeys
-Heard some geese
-Heard some woodpeckers
-Saw a whole TWO grey squirrels, and yes, I shot one of them

However the big news comes from about 9:30 this morning. I'm sitting on the edge of the south east cornfield when what do I gaze upon???

A GREY WOLF!!! Yes, I'm not kidding, I thought everyone was crazy and they weren't actually seeing a wolf, but I was wrong. There is was standing on the edge of the cornfield about 30 meters away, looking at me.

Gotta say, that was and AMAZING experience!
Oh, and I want one for my own... :)

My Jung Typology Test

I didn't agree with my personality, so I retook the test. As I suspected, I got different results, which match previous personality tests. So here we go!


Extraverted 78
Sensing 12
Thinking 38
Judging 56


Supervisors are highly social and community-minded, with many rising to positions of responsibility in their school, church, industry, or civic groups. Supervisors are generous with their time and energy, and very often belong to a variety of service clubs, lodges, and associations, supporting them through steady attendance, but also taking an outspoken leadership role. Supervisors like to take charge of groups and are comfortable issuing orders. They are cooperative with their own superiors, and they would like cooperation from the people working under them. Rank, they believe, has its obligations, but it also has its privileges.
Comprising at least ten percent of the population, Supervisors enjoy and are good at making schedules, agendas, inventories, and so on, and they much prefer tried and true ways of doing things over speculation and experimentation. Supervisors keep their feet firmly on the ground and would like those under their supervision to do the same, whether employee, subordinate, spouse, or offspring. Supervisors have no problem evaluating others and tend to judge how a person is doing in terms of his or her compliance with, and respect for, schedules and procedures.

Supervisors are unbelievably hard-working. Even as children they are industrious, and they usually respect their parents as authority figures. In school Supervisors are often model students, dutifully following directions, doing all their homework, doing it thoroughly, and on time. Above all else, they wish to do what they are supposed to do, and they rarely question the teacher's assignments, method of instruction, standards, or authority. And their industry and perseverance only become more important to them as they grow into adulthood and take on the responsibilities of job and family.

Supervisors approach human relations along traditional lines. Marriage and parenthood are sacred to them, and they tend to have a large circle of friends, with many friendships faithfully maintained over the years. Social gatherings and ceremonies have great meaning for them, and they look forward to holiday parties, club dances, weddings, class reunions, awards banquets, and the like. In social situations, Supervisors are friendly and talk easily with others. Though they can seem a bit formal in their manners, Supervisors are pretty easy to get to know. At ease in polite company, they tend not to confuse people by sending double messages or putting on airs-what they seem to be, they are.

Jack Webb, Judge Judy, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, George Washington, Sandra Day O' Connor, Mike Wallace, and Vince Lombardi are examples of a Supervisor Guardians.

Deer Slayer

Well you can just call me the deer slayer. I mean you don't have to, and it isn't really even that fitting of a name after today. I did not shoot a deer today. In fact, I only saw two that I could have even taken a shot at. I decided that shooting a doe in the middle of a swamp was not worth the trouble, so I let them go. Other than that I saw a couple fawns prancing around on the other side of the fence...

I also saw plenty of grey squirrels, and even a squigger... a pilleated (sp) woodpecker, a flock of turkeys, and plenty of chicka dee dee dee dees. I did hear an owl, but never saw it.

Up and at em bright and early tomorrow morning for a quick hunt, but not expecting to see much after I found were my cousin and his father set up their "shelters"(don't get me started). After that it's back to the shore of the great lake for 3 days of "work" then home again for turkey day!

TGIT

Thank God it's Thursday! Yeah, that's right, Thursday! It was cold as hell, if hell was frozen over... How about a recap of the temperature. 18 degrees with 14+ MPH winds... VERY COLD. But who cares, I am getting paid to sit in a hotel room. Not because it's cold, but because we finished all our jobs, oh, AND because it's REALLY COLD!!

Steve and I wasted some time by going to the liquor store. I could really go for a good whiskey or tequila... But I didn't buy any, cause I would be drunk by now, and I'm trying to save money for xmas presents and another tattoo in January.

Guess what!!

I couldn't find a mad bomber hat, and it was even colder today!! We didn't even put in 8 hours because of the cold. AND, tomorrow has a HIGH of 21 degrees!! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR..... and still no mad bomber hat.

I did find some super sweet glomitts though. You know, glove/mittens. Anyway, these ones have THUMB FLAPS!!! so I can take notes while keeping most of my hand warm!! It is amazing. I also bought some hand warmers, but apparently by hand warmers they mean hand somewhat warmer than the bitter cold air warmers...

The cold

Well, it is VERY COLD out today. Like 15 degree windchill... Ok, so it could be colder, but you go stand outside all day. I am going to go get a mad bomber hat at walmart tonight, maybe that will keep me warmer! Tomorrows wardrobe will consist of long underwear, my thickest wool socks, a long sleeve, a sweatshirt, my mad bomber hat, and my coat.

YES, it is THAT COLD!!!

NLAS with JC

So I convinced this beautiful nerd to join me at a Northern Lakes Archaeological Society meeting. It was pretty long, and pretty unorganized. It was GREAT to have someone there who wasn't 30 years older than me. Don't get me wrong, Grandpa Don is great, but I can't relate to anyone there.

Anyway, it turns out I stepped on a couple toes with an earlier post, and I need to say that I am sorry. You know who you are...

I had such a great night, singing Christmas music all the way to Two Harbors, even if it was very loud BY MYSELF... for some reason my wonderful girlfriend wouldn't join me!

If anyone wants to know about 17th Century Fur Trade Axes, don't ask me... ask the guy who gave the presentation. It was too sporadic to follow, at least for my little mind.

Personality type

Just thought I would take a personality test while at work today. Here are the results.

Your Type is

ESFJ
Extraverted Sensing Feeling Judging

Strength of the preferences %
78 12 12 56

If you are wondering what that means...

Guardian™ Portrait of the Provider (ESFJ)
Providers take it upon themselves to insure the health and welfare of those in their care, but they are also the most sociable of all the Guardians, and thus are the great nurturers of social institutions such as schools, churches, social clubs, and civic groups. Providers are very likely more than ten percent of the population, and this is fortunate for the rest of us, because friendly social service is a key to their nature. Wherever they go, Providers happily give their time and energy to make sure that the needs of others are met, and that social functions are a success.
Highly cooperative themselves, Providers are skilled in maintaining teamwork among their helpers, and are also tireless in their attention to the details of furnishing goods and services. They make excellent chairpersons in charge of dances, banquets, class reunions, charity fund-raisers, and the like. They are without peer as masters of ceremonies, able to speak publicly with ease and confidence. And they are outstanding hosts or hostesses, knowing everyone by name, and seemingly aware of what everyone's been doing. Providers love to entertain, and are always concerned about the needs of their guests, wanting to make sure that all are involved and provided for.
Friendly, outgoing, neighborly - in a word, Providers are gregarious, so much so that they can become restless when isolated from people. They love to talk with others, and will often strike up a conversation with strangers and chat pleasantly about any topic that comes to mind. Friendships matter a great deal to Providers, and their conversations with friends often touch on good times from years past. Family traditions are also sacred to them, and they carefully observe birthdays and anniversaries. In addition, Providers show a delightful fascination with news of their friends and neighbors. If we wish to know what's been going on in the local community, school, or church, they're happy to fill us in on all the details.
Providers are extremely sensitive to the feelings of others, which makes them perhaps the most sympathetic of all the types, but which also leaves them somewhat self-conscious, that is, highly sensitive to what others think of them. Loving and affectionate themselves, they need to be loved in return. In fact, Providers can be crushed by personal criticism, and are happiest when given ample appreciation both for themselves personally and for the tireless service they give to others.


That is a lot of words...
Here is the place I took mine
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

I'd be interested to hear what the rest of you are!

A good day

Today has been a good day so far. Drank last night, slept till 12:30 today, then watched the Vikings play a horrible game while the Packers beat the crap out of the Bears.

The Badgers basketball team is playing, and I get to watch that too.

Tomorrow I get to sit in the office, then go to a meeting in Two Harbors. It should be a good NLAS meeting with a presentation on 18th (or 19th, I can't remember) Century French Trade Axes.
Gonna eat some pizza for supper, YUM!!!

Borrowing season 3 of House from a friend! So if you can't get a hold of me for a couple days that is why...

Trying to decide whether to go hunting next weekend or stay in Duluth and go to the Bulldog's second round football playoff game. They were 11-0 this year...
Anyone with an opinion should share it with me! I love input!

Wild and beer

Hung out with the roommates tonight. We went over to John and Rebecca's house and watched the Wild game, while listening to the 'Dogs hockey game on the radio.
I will be so glad when basketball starts next week...

They have a kegerator, which means I got free beer because they are trying to get rid of the keg they have. And I'm not going to turn down free beer...
We also watched "forgetting Sarah Marshall" that movie is hilarious. However it does bring back some bad memories, which will probably resurface while watching plenty of movies. Oh well, life goes on. I've got a great girl to talk to, to hang with, and to inspire my academic future! So no need to dwell on the woulda coulda shoulda...

Wisconsin Vs. Minnesota

So, as I am watching right now an ambulance is coming onto the field to attend Kyle Jefferson after a vicious helmet to helmet hit.

I will be back to update my thoughts at halftime, then again after the game.


Well the Badgers pulled it out. Their defense played very inspired in the second half, so whatever Bielema said worked. So much for the worst coach of the year...
Anyway, the offense ran and threw all over Minnesota, who simply looked outmatched in the second half. A couple of safteys were a nice touch, after the Vikings had two against the Packers last week. Poetic justice?
With Decker sitting on the sideline the Gophers put up a fight, although never really looking impressive. The three points that separated the two teams at the final whistle doesn't really serve justice to the Badgers second half comeback. That would mean they outscored the Gophers by 17 in the second half.

Michigan Vs. Northwestern

Well let's hear what I think about college football today.

Lets start with the first game I watched today, Michigan and Northwestern.
The Wolverines have looked pretty good the last couple weeks. At least they are competitive... Northwestern is pretty banged up playing their third string running back, and their hurt quarterback.
Michigan started out strong with a 14-7 lead, no problems moving the football in the first half. Once the offense got stagnant the defense couldn't stop the Wildcats. It went to halftime tied at 14. Michigan couldn't move the ball AT ALL in the second half, starting with 3 three and out possessions. Northwestern came out strong and scored quickly and that was the final score.

A disappointing game for all Michigan fans. Again they were unable to keep the lead late in the game. If they can put two halves together next year they could have a descent season.

On the other hand, Northwestern has continually been improving season after season. And could be a scary team again next year. Still probably 2 or 3 good years from being added to the Big Ten champion conversation.

New Day

Well it's a new day, and I'm feeling good. Although there is a 90% chance of rain/snow. Those who know me know how I have the rain.

Got to get ready for work though. I'll be back later to leave some more notes about the packers, my day, my fantasy team, and how excited I am to be done with drama!

Bemidi and Park Point

This week We made a trip to Bemidji. Let me tell you, it was pretty pointless. I know a lot of my posts have said that, but this one takes the cake. Our entire APE (Area of Potential Effect) had been destroyed by past activities.

Tuesday we left for our magnificent job. We met an engineer who is working on the project, and he showed us where they are planning on putting the new bike trail. Turns out most of it is running through a park, along a road/sidewalk, and through the college campus. So we start in the park on the south end of the APE and low and behold the whole area is disturbed. We had evidence in EVERY shovel test... Our evidence can be modern garbage deep in the hole, or mixed sediment colors or types. In other words if we find a distinct division between the top and bottom layer there is a pretty good chance the area has not been disturbed.

Wednesday we shovel tested all day. Again, it was all disturbed. Well, not ALL. We did shovel test along the lake behind an ice berm and on a flood plain. So we had VERY shallow shovel tests. I mean I had one where I wasn't 20cm deep and my hole filled with water! That was crazy!!

Thursday was a wasted day where we just drove back to Duluth. And I sat in the office and played games on the internet.

Friday we went out to Park Point. I thought it was going to be cool, and we were going to find a bunch of stuff. It turns out we didn't find anything prehistoric. However we did find a possible historic dump. It had a lot of early 20th century garbage, including crockery, milk bottles, a cast iron lamp stand, an old wagon, and medicine bottles.

Tuesday it is off to the polls, then down to Camp Ripley. No clue on what we are going ot do down there, other than "collect a paycheck". That is what Steve told me...

Camp Ripley

Last week we made a little trip down to Camp Ripley, like 6 miles north of Little Falls, MN. It was kind of crazy cause I got to walk around the base with a blue mohawk!

We left on Tuesday, and had a little course on unexploded devices. From what I understood, don't pick them up, even if they are painted as duds. I say painted cause the company that makes the shells paints the live shells one color, and the duds another. Unless they run out of the live color. Apparently then they just color the live ones with the dud color (it happened, the guy told us). This is what the guy told us, "During a training exercise we were throwing cluster bombs out of the back of the Humvee" turns out that the company didn't know the serial numbers of the live ones that were painted the wrong color and the bomb squad people had to come out and detonate ALL the ones they had thrown. It cost the tax payers A LOT of money he said... Then we drove around at 25mph cause that is the speed limit throughout the 10 or so miles of the camp. All sand roads, and it was wet, so it was FUN driving!! :)

Wednesday sucked! Turns out I forgot to repack my rain suit after the rain in Ely. Guess what! It rained ALL DAY, and I got VERY WET, and I was not a happy camper. We put in a ton of shovel tests and walked over some of the "moderate probability" areas. Whoever said these areas had moderate probability should spend some time away from their desk and go out in the field. These areas surrounded two seasonal swamps. If you could camp next to a swamp that may or may not have water, and doesn't have any streams flowing into or out of it, OR camp on the Mississippi of any of the tributaries within a half mile of these crappy swamps, where would you camp?? NOT AT THE SWAMP!! Anyway, we called it a day a little early and checked out the local museum. I've been there before, but they still have a LOT of cool stuff.

Thursday was more shovel testing around a swamp, again, all negative. We found what Steve believes is an old logging camp. The other guesses were military based, or a CCC camp. The military didn't even know it was there! But they had these huge concrete bunkers built all around the berms that we found. A berm is the soil that was built up around the base of the walls to keep the elements out. We spent most of the afternoon mapping them out and searching other areas for historic remnants. We found more of those concrete bunkers, and a possible farmstead, but the farmstead is very questionable cause we didn't have very distinct berms to work with.

Friday it was crappy out again. It rained all day, but thankfully Steve didn't feel very well. So instead of working out in the rain we went to the Camp's museum. Again, a HUGE museum. A lot of vehicles, guns, medals, and history from the Civil War to Desert Storm. It was WAY to much to take in and read in one day. And we only spent like 2 hours there...

Overall it is another pointless job. Camp Ripley is crisscrossed with a ton of tank treads and bunkers and fields with no top soil. It has been a military camp since 1930, which has given them plenty of time to disturb the ground. But I get paid, and I will never forget my rain suit again!

Starting tomorrow I go to Bemidji for a week. Working on Diamond Point, where there are already two prehistoric sites. That means the chances of finding stuff is VERY VERY good. Like 95% + good...

Winton Hydro

Alright, so let me tell you about spending most of the week in Ely. I can't say the whole week because it was raining cats and dogs on Monday, so we didn't head up there.

What we were doing is monitoring sites. We measure adverse affects towards the sites. Two major concerns are erosion and human impacts.

Tuesday was a fun day, we drove up to Ely in the Subaru in the rain (wow is that a fun car to drive). So we spent the day driving around talking to people at historical societies and at Bois Forte band.

Wednesday was spent on the lake. It was warm and sunny, and a beautiful day to spend on the lake. We actually got some work done on the reservoir itself!

Thursday Don, our boat driver, had a couple doctor appointments. This means NO BOAT! So we drove around to a couple sites we could reach by land. Checked out a CCC camp and a sweet huge pavilion that was built by the CCC. We also went to the Cashaway site, which has a large waterfall on the way to the site. It wasn't cranking like it was last year when we were there, but when is a waterfall not sweet?

Friday was SHIT! Fucking 40 degrees! Out on the lake again, trying to beat the rain. Of course we couldn't, 40 degrees and RAINING! Most of the sites we visited were unable to erode because the shoreline is bedrock, so we only had to take pictures. That makes for a somewhat quick day, if it wasn't for the shitty weather. Did I mention that it was cold enough to freeze some of the rain? Yeah, sleet while on the boat and on the opposite side of the lake as the landing and truck....

Next week is mostly going to be spent in the office, even though we have a TON of shit to get done before the ground freezes! But we may spend a day or two in Ely again, along with possibly a day or two on Park Point on a project for the airport down there.

Rapid River Phase II

Well, spent the week in Baudette again. Let me tell you, it is not an exciting place to be.

It was a very slow week, we put in two units, and one was so disturbed that I might as well have been digging in a road bed.

In Unit A we found some ceramic, and some flat pieces of granite that look like ceramic. SO, some of the pieces might be rock and not pottery. Under that we found some lithics, all flakes, and nothing too exciting. Pretty much all that indicates is that people have been there before they made pottery, around 1,8oo-2,000 years ago.

Then we had an exciting meeting with a bunch of big shots from the regional MNDoT department out of Bemidji. We discussed where the new bridge was going and what, if any, impacts would take place to the site. Turns out they aren't going to do anything on the site, so we took GPS points around the site, every 10 feet, or like every 3 steps. It was a little overkill, but that is what they asked for.

Like I said before the second unit was disturbed as hell, and it doesn't really matter what we found because there is no integrity or context. We did find some big nails and some fence staples which was about as exciting as it got. We did put some cores in to see how deep it was disturbed, and after seeing that we called it quits.

Somewhere in there a lady from the county historical society stopped by to talk to us. She acted like she knew a lot, but after talking with her, she doesn't know squat. I found her ignorant or racist. She doesn't understand why native people don't live the way they did before the Europeans came over. In fact, she asked "Why don't the natives still make and use arrow heads?" Well lets see, if you could use a gun or a bow and arrow or spear in which you had to MAKE the point, which would you choose? And she got on my nerves so I asked her why Europeans didn't use them or snares or traps anymore. That shut her up quick.

Why do people think that natives are stupid? That sure pisses me off. They understood SO much physics. In order to create a point they needed to know how hard to strike the stone, at which angle, and then be able to know how everything is going to turn out so they can plan their next few moves! Come on people, Europeans aren't gifts from God.....

Anyway, off to Ely next week, on Birch Lake. A Minnesota Power reservoir. I may have internet, but don't count on it.

Till next week!

Monitoring on SLRP

Friday Sue and I went out on Boulder Lake Reservoir, about a half hour north of Duluth. Here we are monitoring sites on a MN Power reservoir. We usually just measure the shoreline and observe the condition of the site. Whether it has erosion or ground cover. Pretty simple stuff. Anyway, it was beautiful out and was a wonderful day to be on the lake! We visited 10 sites, most of which I had never been to before.

On one site we found a bird decomposing in some grass on the shore. For those of you who don't know Sue, she is a bone fanatic! Everywhere we go we pick up all the bones we can find. She is trying to create a comparative collection so we will be able to identify random bones we find. That was by far the most exciting part of my day, we don't know what kind of bird it was, but it must have been HUGE! The long bones looked way to big to be from a bird. But I KNOW it was from a bird cause parts of it was still there :)

I head out to Baudette on Monday, so no updates for a week. Cheep motel with no internet. But the rooms are gigantic! So all is well.

Mistletoe Creek

And, we're back!

Friday was pretty lame. Steve and I did a Phase I along a stretch of road northwest of Lutsen. The leaves are changing colors, and our drive through nowhere was very pretty early in the morning. But as we started to walk along the road looking for places to shovel test the sky got dark. Then we heard thunder. That means we get to sit in the van. It thundered for probably a half hour, then we have to wait 20 minutes before we can go back to work, according to our "safety handbook" which I have never seen and doubt it even exists. By the time we were going to start working again it began to rain. And since neither of us felt like working in the rain we sat in the van some more.

Finally we were able to do something. It turns out that something was walk along the road. The whole area had a low probability for a site. So we walked to say that we did something. About 5 miles later had made it back to the van. Well, that was an easy day's work.

On our way back to Duluth we stopped at a couple waterfalls along the highway. One was on the Cross River, and I can't remember the other, but it was further north. We also stopped in Beaver Bay at a rock store to see if they had any raw material for knapping. Turns out they only had obsidian, and I wanted something more in the chert or flint type of rock.

Turns out we may end up driving all the way up to Rapid River, by Baudette, on Tuesday, to meet with a MNDoT engineer to discuss the site area and where they are going to disturbing the soil. SO, depending on that meeting, we may or may not be conducting a Phase II up there. Which means digging in clay..... very slow hard work!

Lake Vermilion

Hello again.

Well, we just got back from a Phase I on Black Bay in the northwest corner of Lake Vermilion. It turns out that there is A LOT of rock up there. In fact, I had to ask Steve if you actually had to get the shovel into the ground to count it as a shovel test. It turns out that you do...

The lots we were working on had very little potential, again because of all the rock, but there was a small island/peninsula which we assumed would have high probability. Even looking at it from across the small inlet it looked by far the best area for a site.

To get there we had to cross a floating bog. Yeah, scary as hell... Every step is VERY squishy, and there is a ton of vegetation. But we made it across to the point. As it turns out the island was pretty disappointing! We may have been able to get one or two shovel tests in, but we decided that it could wait until today. However, today the construction crew was blasting rocks out of the new road, so we had to leave early this morning. So, a shovel test was not placed on the point.

We ventured around this island/peninsula for a while, and found a plastic and wood bench, a dock, and a boat lift with a boat! How do those people get to their boat? Take another boat? Anyway, we headed back across the bog, and I just about lost a shoe. But not for the reason you think. I had a bull snake slither across my boot, and it scared the shit out of me. Ask Steve, I yelped... Once I figured out that it was just a snake I was all good.

Of course we ate at... Mickey D's. The only restaurant in Cook. Our hotel rooms were pretty sweet. They had a fridge and a microwave. HOWEVER, trains went by EVERY HOUR! Not to mention the train tracks are only 200 yards from my window. I hate train horns! They blast like crazy! Stupid horns!

Today was very slow, we stopped and talked to the land owner, and it turns out he owns a Ford dealership. We are looking for a second field vehicle, so we shoot some bull and look at some SUV's, then head back to Duluth. Checked out some more SUV's at Duluth Dodge, then finally made it back to DAC.

Then all shit hit the fan! A client decided to use another firm to do a Phase II, after they gave us the go ahead. So nobody was happy. THEN a call came in from a company. We had asked permission to be on their land because it is in a project's APE. This company decided they didn't want us on their property because they might develop it. IF THEY DEVELOP IT, they will have to have a CRM firm come out and check their property ANYWAY!!! Oh, and they are on Park Point, and people at Fon du Lac are almost certain that burial mounds exist out there. Even if they don't, there is probably a 90% chance that there is a site there anyway! Well, I guess they will learn their lesson when they have to pay for someone to do it, instead of letting the city pay for it...

Overall, another boring worthless trip.

Heading up north again tomorrow. Apparently to the middle of nowhere, so come back tomorrow to hear about nowhere, and the powerlines that they want to put through it...

Terms

Shovel test (ST)- a hole about 18 inches in diameter, usually about 16-20 inches deep. Occurs during a Phase I.

Unit - a 1x1 meter square hole that is taken down at a consistent rate. Usually we remove 2.5 inches in a level, 1 inch and 4 inches are also acceptable. Occurs during a Phase II and Phase III.

APE - Area of Potential Effect

Phase I - This is how we test to see if there is a site. We place ST's in high probability areas, usually 5, 10, or 15 meters apart. We then use the positive ST's to determine the dimensions of the site.

Phase II - If a site is unable to be avoided we put in 2-4 units. This allows us to determine if the site is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

Phase III or mitigation - If a site is found to be eligible, and is still unable to be avoided we then place more units. Here we try to remove as much of the site as we can.

Site - An area where artifacts are found.

Berm- remnants of piles of dirt, from the inside and outside of an old building, that were used to keep out the wind.

September 16th Brook Park, MN

Today Steve and I did a job for the city of Brook Park. They are putting in a water tower, pump station, and a retention pond.

We put in 8 shovel tests in the area of the pump station and retention ponds. All of them were negative. It was a pretty piss poor area for a site. No water very close, except the crappy swamp on the south and west sides of the APE. This made for very wet shovel testing in some gravely silt and sand. We also put in a core test at the west end of the APE of the pump station, as we assumed, the soil was completely saturated and had plenty of redox mottles.

It turned out that the APE for the water tower itself was an ice skating rink. Let's just say the area was a "little" disturbed. In fact, there was so much clay deposited under the rink that it was holding water while we were there. Almost the whole rink was under water, but we did find a couple spots that were high enough to allow for some cores to be taken. Again, very saturated and a LOT of clay! So, it turns out that the second core hole filled with water before we could even examine the stratigraphy!

Let's just say this was a wasted trip, because everything was disturbed. Of course that also made for an easy quick day of work.

Tomorrow and Thursday Steve and I are off to Black Bay on Lake Vermilion. We will be staying in the great town of Cook. So I will write again Thursday.