Quick and dirty update

It appears that it’s been over a year since my last update… for good reason! I had a few more months of field work after my last post, but as I’m sure everyone who reads this is aware, I found out in November 2011 that I was pregnant… surprise! Cormac was born in May 2012, and I will be working in the office only until next season (around March 2013).

As of July 2011…

Well, it’s a little over being midway through the year, so it’s about time for an update I suppose.

As I’m pretty sure everyone knows, I am ‘shovelbumming’ no more. By that, I mean I’m still doing all the same kind of work, but now I’m not hopping between companies. Instead, I have a staff position with the company that initially brought me out to Nevada for that huge project back in 2009.

I started at the end of March and so far it’s been great! Like I said, I get to do all the same kind of work (I’m still surveying and whenever we get an excavation project I’ll do that as well), but the great thing – aside from the company healthcare plan – is that when there isn’t any field work, I still have work to do in the office. Which is a good thing, because we’ve been out of field work for the last month and it looks like we’ll be out for a while longer. It’s a bit more boring, but it’s work and it’s been a really good opportunity to learn skills I’ll need in the future, when the company decides it wants me to start taking on crew chief sorts of duties. And the people I work with are people I enjoy working with. Always a plus, right?

Outside of work, I’ve been having a great time hanging out in Reno. A few friends have recently decided to move here (a long time coming for them) and it’s been fun seeing them more regularly. Being home and in the office has given me the opportunity to spend time with people I usually don’t see very often, which is very nice even if I am itching to get back out into the field.

And to close, here are some photos:

Taking a breather at the top of a very big hill.

The end of a very cold and snowy day.

Someone (NOT ME) got the truck stuck, we had to pull it out.

An itty-bitty obsidian projectile point.

A large, intact blade tool.

Three scared and cold baby bunnies!

First survey of the year!

Just like the title says, I’m finishing up the first session of the first survey of the year! Woo!

Some photos (since I haven’t posted any in awhile…):

Tomorrow is our last day of work for the session, we’ll be back out here next Tuesday. But between now and then I’m going to be doing a short (2 day) bit of work with another company. Busy, busy!

Oh, and since it is the last day of January, here’s a link to my Flickr photo-blog set for the month.

A little down time

Well, it’s that time of year again. Snow is on the ground and I don’t work. It’s frustrating, especially when the weather in Reno itself is gorgeous, it’s just the rest of the state that isn’t cooperating!

So I’m just laying low, keeping in contact with the companies in the area and thinking about a temporary job to give me something to do until field work starts up again.

EDIT: And of course, immediately after posting this, I get a call about possible work.

In Reno… and WORKING

That’s right! I finally get to do a job in my own town! I get to sleep in my own bed every night! It’s awesome!

Except for the part where I’m basically standing around for 8 hours a day watching a bunch of construction/driller guys push buttons.

But still! My bed! A full kitchen! Woo!

Time for fall

Looks like the hot weather is finally starting to wind down here. We’ve had a few rainstorms, but nothing drastic yet, should be pretty chilly by the beginning of November though… which means it’s almost time to put the top back on my Jeep. 😦

As for work, I’m about to finish up on one project that’s been pretty crazy. I’ve had to drive across the entire Northern part of Nevada about 15 or 20 times for it since the middle of August. Oof. But next week should be the end of that, and then I’ll be starting at another company for a fiber optics line that’s going to run from Reno to Barstow, CA. It’s a survey, one crew (mine) is going to start in Reno and work south, while another is going to start in Barstow and work north. The plan is to walk toward each other until we either meet or the snow flies, whichever happens first. It’ll be a nice way to end the season. After that I expect, with the weather, I’ll be taking some downtime for a few months, which I’m looking forward to. It’s been a long season of work!

Update & Link!

Well, I’ve been working pretty consistently all over Nevada for the last few months, which has been great. The cats are doing fine – they must keep each other pretty entertained while I’m gone – and so am I. It’s been very hot though.

I have decided to start keeping a photo journal, which is here. I’m taking and posting a photo a day, which would give you a little more of an idea of my day-to-day. I’ll keep updating this when big things happen, but to be honest it’s kind of just the same sort of job over and over, so there’s not really anything to post about. The photo thing is cool, though, because I can show you some of the things I find (or don’t find…) on a daily basis.

Tonopah Crescent Dunes Survey

Just did a 2600 acre survey in Tonopah, NV – even had to survey parts of the big sand dunes that are there! They’re putting in a huge solar-panel field in the valley, so we get to see what’s out there before they start working on building the panel arrays.

Taking a short rest while someone checks on whether the flake just found is a site or not.

It was cold! And windy! And I’m the most conspicuous ninja on the planet.

A whiskey bottle we found.

This is the mid-section of a larger lithic tool – like a point. You can tell that it’s from the middle because there are “snaps” on both ends of the piece.

It’s a rock! Actually, it’s a milling stone. There’s a section on the top of it that’s worn down from being used as an abrasive surface.

Overview of the project area.

There were a lot of these posts – they have to do with the process of creating, testing and marking the mining prospect pits that were all over the place.

Walking the dunes. Some parts were just too high and steep, so we had to go around.

More sand. It doesn’t even look like the same place, really.

Climbing the Big Dune on the last day.

On the way home we were lucky enough to see a herd of Nevada Bighorn Sheep. This is actually very exciting because not only are they the Nevada State Animal, they’re also on the endangered species list. Everyone in the office was very jealous because many of them have lived in Nevada their whole lives and not seen a single one.

The company that’s doing the solar panels have also decided that they’re going to go ahead and extend the survey area to include another 1000 acres in the same area, so we get to go out again tomorrow.

And, since I guess I should mention it even though I think most people who read this probably already know from talking to the family (or me), but I am now a Renoite. That’s right! I no longer live in Washington, I now have an apartment in Reno that I’ve been in since the beginning of 2010. I’m enjoying it so far. Luckily I already know a bunch of people in Reno, from working in Nevada, and they’ve been helpful in getting to know the city a bit better.

Back to Nevada for a bit.

Since  Centralia I haven’t done much, just took a long forced vacation because there weren’t any jobs.

I’m back in Nevada now though, working near Ely (another small town no one’s ever heard of) and another gold mine. The mine is owned by the same company as the one I was at near Elko, but the archaeology company is a different one. I’m doing basically the same thing though.

It’s cold, we’ve had a bit of snow and will probably get more next week, but that’s not too bad since I’ll be done after that. This is just a short project doing excavation on one prehistoric site. So far we’ve found a few tools (arrowheads and such), a lot of flakes (the bits of rock left behind when you make tools), and a hearth. Nothing particularly cool to take pictures of though. We’ve got one more week of excavation – starting on Tuesday December 1st and ending on Tuesday the 8th – and then I’ll be back home probably.

Nothing interesting happened. I swear.

Well, all done in Centralia. There may be some upcoming work with the same company in Puyallup and Bellingham, but for now I’m unemployed. And it’s boring.

Which is why I’m going to Mazatlan for a week to hang out with grandma and grandpa.