Final Week

The edge of our excavation on a beautiful day

The backdirt pile - all that dirt has to go back in the hole!

This is the last week of community archaeology! Things get a bit crazy during the last week as we try to finish up our excavations, profile the walls, draw maps, and BACKFILL. The weather continues to be amazing (how do I get so lucky everytime I do archaeology in Kodiak?) but that is a blessing as well as a curse. Backfilling is HARD work, but when it's hot, it is particularly exhausting (especially for a bunch of Alaskans). But I will refrain from any formal complaints about the weather because well, when it's sunny in Kodiak I am quite sure there is no place on Earth that compares! And it is amazing that we have only lost half of one digging day to rain.

Things are crazy for Ryan right now too. He flew home to Seattle yesterday and leaves for work in Thailand TOMORROW. I'm excited for him, even though he won't get to spend more than a couple of days on shore he'll still get a taste of Thailand. And in almost exactly one month my cousin, Ann Marie, and I will be meeting him in Malaysia.

Ann Marie is finally (almost) en route to Kuala Lumpur for her one-year study abroad scholarship. I can't wait to hear how things go for her once she gets settled in and starts classes. And I am excited to be there in September for two weeks to hang out with her.

I just have to tackle that giant pile of backdirt first...