Wednesday 14 August 2013

An Ode To My Tent


Surrounded by four walls,
Apart but still near, And this makes me smile, I'll stay for awhile, And dream--
Of things past, And things still to be
Surrounded by four walls.
A resting place, After a day spent, A day that has went, Away--
At hard work, And discovery
Surrounded by four walls.
My studio, To write, to create, Though it may be late, And sit--
Pondering What it means to be And discovery
Surrounded by four walls.

Monday 12 August 2013

The Story of Andy


Some stories need to be written down.

This has been my story of my time in the Yukon. I can’t say how it has changed me with any certainty, but I am wise enough to know than an experience like this must have changed me.

I did not do as Andy at Eagle did. I did not road trip up to Alaska and then to Whitehorse to float down the Yukon River with a few pans, a tent, a saxophone, and nothing else on my person, and end up starting a homestead. But still, this was my adventure.

I have done as he suggested on the boat ride out from the David Site: make short term, medial term, and long-term plans. He said that things in his life have worked out—not necessarily in the way he imagined, but they have worked out and sometimes in better ways.

Maybe that’s a cop out, a wish, a hope to make us feel better or to fear less, though for my part, I believe it to be true.

I remember the evening spent up late, talking with my sister. The night I realized that if I were to do archaeology, I would want to work in the community and do public archaeology. I remember the wish to do this up north.

Here I am. I have gotten to do that. And it was amazing.

My only regret is the goodbyes. More happened today as I said goodbye and will say goodbye to my field crew—I feel grateful for each one of them being here—for both the good times and the little bad parts—for making me stronger, for letting me help them, for teaching me; for making my time up here all that it was.

Maybe it’s a cop out to think our paths will cross again, that I will get to see all of my wonderful crew again but to pull a line from Brittany, “Good friends are like stars. You don't always see them, but you know they're always there." 

In the land of the midnight sun, perhaps truer words have never been spoken.

Here’s to the Little John Field Crew 2013. Love you long time. 


Lab Rats



A final week was spent in Whitehorse after we metaphorically crawled back from Dawson (the truck/camper had to be towed—but no need to get into that; we and it made it back). In this week we did archaeology, not the glamorous though filthy excavating and recovering of the holy grails, but the meticulous and necessary details.

Mainly this constituted of cataloguing, photographing, labeling, and storing our hundred or so artifacts.

It’s interesting to recreate a level, examine the cobbles and less obvious artifacts and find that they may in fact actually be something. But to know also that some of it is in fact nothing. And always to hope that enough notes and photographs were taken in the field to reveal the difference.

Things learned in lab:
1. You may think you have artistic ability, but archaeological illustrations can still be tedious.
2. Organization is key.
3. Little breaks can be helpful for a tired mind.
4. Happy music = a happy lab.
5. Artistic ability definitely does not apply to the tiny, practically invisible font needed for labeling artifacts.
6. Copious hours spent in a lab may cause you to wake yourself up in the middle of the night talking ice fracture or heat fracture debates. (Yes, this really happened to me—sad, I know).
7. Perfection must be sought at all times.
8. It may be time for another rock/mineral identification class for me.
9. An archaeologist should always have a geologist friend.
10. It is very satisfying to finish cataloging in the knick of time (I knew making myself learn to type fast in Gr. 7 would pay off one day).

Throw in a final on a Saturday morning, and it was a bit of a consuming week. But that’s what 24/7 Tim Horton’s and friends to study with are for.