Kevin

Day One
August 19, 2001

Well here we are in Yellowstone.  After a long drive we were greeted by the rest of the crew.  We then hung around and set up the tents until it was time for the tour of the site.  We went down and Dr. Bill that showed us some prehistoric obsidian chips remaining from the Nez Perce and other tribes in the area.  Then we saw an old army base.  He showed us how to spot things that could be of archaeological importance.  The glass and bits of tin from the late 1800’s looked very neat to me.  I was surprised.  Then we walked over to the real hotel site.  Nothing really impressed me, but I liked the (  ) of the stables.  I like the way they are going to divide up the river with ropes.  I anticipate a fun day tomorrow, as long as it is warm enough.  Dinner was decent. (   ).

Day Two
August 20, 2001

First off, I would like to apologize for the penmanship of this journal, but I’m trying darn it.  Today was long, but good.  Waking up was painful, even though I got more sleep last night than I have in a long time.  Cold.  Very cold.  By the time we arrived at the site it had warmed up enough to be comfortable.  The water was amazingly warm.  It was awesome.  Using the goggles was a little difficult, but the buckets were great.  Finding stuff was fun.  It started off a little slow, but once we got into it the more concentrated area it was exciting.  Today we did 5 transects, each 5 m. wide and 5 m. across.  I found several pieces of ceramic, one with a makers stamp on it.  I also found a 1963 penny.  Wahoo.  We all were very tired after all the work.  We worked for about 5 hours today.  This afternoon we went to some hot springs.  They were very cool.  I don’t really like the scenery of Yellowstone, but the thermal streams are absolutely amazing.  Back at camp we played games, ate some darn good hot dogs and played more games.  We also had a minor B-day party for Bill and Lyndon, Outburst and Uno were the games of the day.  It was a tiring but enjoyable day.

Day Three
August 21, 2001

Today was great.  I am getting to know people better, I think.  It has been pretty easy to make friends with people, they have a lot in common with me.  The river today was really neat.  We found a lot more stuff, and some interesting things as well.  Janelle found a whole catsup bottle, and other people found a piece of a pocket watch and a spoon.  All I found was basic ceramic and glass.  Man, the goggles are terrible, but I am getting better at feeling for things.  Lunch was very good.  The shower was heavenly.  Old Faithful was cool, but I saw it from a distance.  I liked it up close better last time I was here.  It’s very windy, and looks like rain.  Goodnight!

Day Four
August 22, 2001

Today was awesome.  We got to hang around camp late because we didn’t work in the river today.  We had some great card games until it was time to go.  We left and drove up an incredibly bumpy road to Norris Basin.  Then we walked a long loop and saw a bunch of really cool geysers and springs.  We saw Steamboat Geyser, the largest geyser in the world.  Its occasional eruptions go 300-400 feet in the air.  The last time it erupted was May 2, 2000.  After Norris Basin we ate and discovered the van had a flat tire.  So instead of coming with us on our hike, Bill and Sara went to fix the tire.  The hike turned out to be phenomenal, but we didn’t go on a trail because Ann, our guide, said we’re going to go to “the dimple.  The dimple is a gas bubble in the obsidian that is supposed to be very cool.  I quickly picked up a slight feeling of impending disaster after she kept using the words like “hopefully”, “maybe”, “probably”, and “rarely”.  The first hill we hiked up was by far the steepest and longest.  The altitude made breathing difficult, but I got used to it.  We went up and down and up and down many MANY hills.  The going was extremely rough.  The ---- of dead trees and little trees made passing very painful.  We found a neat little “hot spot” that was bare of trees and smelled of sulfer.  The obsidian was everywhere.  The quarries were just -------- ------------- by tons of obsidian.  Very cool.  We hiked up and down more and people were getting tired and cut up.  We gave up on the dimple and headed for the highway.  We hiked down a steep --- and finally got to the highway.

It was a lot of fun to go on a hike.  When we got back to the van we drank tons of water and juice.  -------------

We all took a shower and Sara did some laundry for everyone (thank you, Sara!)  We all got back to camp and collapsed into bed at a reasonably early hour.  Fun Day.

The crew visits the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Standing (l. to r.), Becky, Dr. Bill Hunt, Lundon, Beth Briney, John and Kevin. Kneeling, Hailey and Hiruth.

Day Five
August 23, 2001

Eh.  Today was crappy.  It was cold in the morning and the river was freezing.  I didn’t find anything interesting today.  The trip to the Grand Canyon was fun, but it took a long time.  John beat me in rummy very badly.  Dang.  I didn’t really like today and I don’t know why.  MJ might have broken her collar bone, and Janelle’s wisdom teeth hurt, so they went to the clinic. They are not back yet.

Day Six
August 24, 2001

Today was a good ending day.  The river work was pretty easy and laid back, and enjoyable for the most part.  Wyatt found a piece of a stove!  I was so mad, I have been joking and saying I was going to find a whole stove in the river, and Wyatt actually found a piece.  It was hilarious.  We took another shower today.  Wahoo.  Clean is good.  I was --- by the ranch guys.  That was pretty interesting.  We have to wake up extremely early tomorrow.  I packed most of my stuff and I think I can fit it all in!  Hurray.  This evening we had a --- in which thank yous were made all around.  It was kind of cool.  I really liked the people we worked with, that was a major scream.