I'm no longer homeless!

I’m coming home in one week! I’m so excited. I’ve been here for over two months and I feel like I’m just starting to fathom how long that really is.
I’m also stoked that Steve found us an awesome place to live. It’s a duplex in Springfield by Auzten Stadium, and it has a back yard and a bonus room, which may or may not be big enough for a pool table. I think we’re going to have to have a bbq before the summer is up. Yay!
I’m also excited that when I get home I’ll have three whole weeks of summer before school starts.

Anyway, we just got back from the High Uintahs, again. Since most of the other interns have left now, our crew was just Matt, James, and I. Jeff Rust, the forest archaeologist is the only one left that can lead us on survey, so he was our crew leader for the trip. This is an interesting mix of people, but that is another story for another forum. I was the only one who had to do the trip twice this summer. We were suppose to leave on Tuesday and be out there until Saturday, however, there was some deal with helicopters, or something, and we had to leave on Thursday. I don’t really know. Therefore, we had to cram four days of survey into two days. We discovered this on Wednesday at dinnertime, after having worked our eight hours that day. In order to save ourselves from an excruciating day on Thursday, we decided to go back out on Wednesday evening for another three hours until dark. So here’s how it went: Tuesday we casually hiked up the seven mile trail on the mountain, thinking we’d be there until Saturday, Wednesday we did eleven hours of survey, and Thursday was no less than a fourteen hour day.
The highlight of the trip for me was my argument with Jeff about archaeological ethics. It started with which sites should be eligible for the National Register and ended with the worth of our project on the Carter Road (which I defended tooth and nail).
All in all, however, the trip was much easier than the first time. I think over the course of the summer, I have become more fit, and I’ve acclimated to working at high elevations all summer. The hike up wasn’t anything like I remembered it. But I’m certainly glad to be done with it.

I’m living in Vernal now, because everyone who was living in the Manila house left. It is…interesting, though this is another story for another forum. There is though, cable television and Internet, which is awesome.

I can’t wait to come home and see Steve and Wilson (my cat) and everyone and my new apartment! You’re invited to come visit (bbq, perhaps); you’re also invited to help move. See you soon!

Winding Down

Finally, it's August. I get to go home this month, and it's starting to really feel like things are winding down here. We finally finished working on the North Flank Project, which was a major section of what needed to be surveyed this summer. After climbing five or six ridge tops (some multiple times), traipsing through thick brush, and encountering all kinds of weather (rain, thunderstorms, hail, 1000 degree weather), we're done. We found three prehistoric sites, and checked up on a few sites from previous years. That's not a whole lot, but we were glad to find any sites at all after many discouraging weeks. The rest of the summer should be much easier, as the North Flank consisted of the densest brush, the steepest hills, and the most ridge tops than any other project on the Ashley this year.

The sad news is that we had to say good-bye to a few of the interns, as they had to head back

 home for school. This was the last week for my roommate, Erica, Emily (who will be going to Portland State next year), and Adam. Next week nearly everyone is leaving, including the crew chiefs. So, I'll get to spend my last two weeks here with the Forest Archaeologist, Jeff, and two interns, Matt and James. It will be different.

We're doing the High Uintahs again, and actually, I'm the only one who will have been up 

there twice this summer. We're going the third week of August, and we'll be there the entire week this time. Fun. But, I think it'll be much easier this time, physically, at least.

I've been continuing to look at grad schools. I discovered the web page petersons.com, which is an awesome resource. I found out the acceptance rates of the anthropology departments of the schools I want to go to. Oregon is actually the hardest to get into, with an acceptance rate of 11%, Washington State is 16%(?), and Utah is 48%. I was glad to find one good school with a high acceptance rate, as I am very nervous about getting in somewhere. I'm also now

 going to apply to University of Washington, which is in Seattle. However, their acceptance rate is only 12%. I know I’m not in too bad of shape to get into grad school, but one can't help but be concerned about that sort of thing.

I've been reading The Complete Joy of Home brewing lately, and I'm getting really excited about brewing beer when I get back home. I think the first batch we'll make will be a hefeweizen, then maybe an oatmeal stout. I've missed good beer out here in Utah.

I'm starting to realize, now that everyone is leaving, how much fun we've had, and how much 

I'll miss everyone. My last month here will be very unlike the rest of the summer; so I hope as more people leave, I'll still be having a good time.