Segway 1: Casselton, North Dakota

I had the opportunity to spend my first four-day weekend on a road trip to Casselton, North Dakota (just west of Fargo and the Minnesota border and heart-wrenchingly close to Indiana!).  I like getting out of Cody on the four-days, and in this particular case I had an opportunity to be of service to one of the field school students, whose truck broke down just west of Casselton, and had been in the shop for a new transmission during the first ten-day at Bighorn Canyon.

We had an epic 15-hour haul from Cody to Casselton to Bismarck on our first day, and then spent the second day sight-seeing.  The highlight of the trip for me was getting to see the Knife River Indian Villages, a set of earth lodge villages occupied during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.  Lewis and Clark (THE Lewis and Clark) visited the Hidatsa village on their journey to the Pacific and on their return trip.  Walking the site was an amazing experience – even now, with the site fully open to all the public the ground is littered with the detritus of past lives. 

 (The ground was just covered in amazing artifacts!  Here is a particularly interesting ceramic sherd with cord impressions.)

Coming from a background working in a small museum, I was totally blown away by the quality of the exhibits in the visitor center as well as the full size replica earth lodge which we were welcome to explore.

 (Inside the earth lodge.)

20 Days at Bighorn Canyon

Hey gang!  Once the field season gets rolling it gets harder and harder to stay in touch.  Here’s a few photos from our two 10-day sessions at Bighorn Canyon.

(Some students getting ready for a ride out to the site.)

(Flagged tipi rings on site.)

(Students stop work to check out our daily visitors, members of the park’s herd of wild mustangs.)

 (Students gather around a ring for an on-site teaching moment.)

 (A couple fine gentlemen help a girl out with her RTK GPS equipment.)

 (Two herds of ghost buffalo.)

 (Noel poses for my camera.  REPTAR and BECKTAR!)

 (It rained a lot!  Sometimes all you can do is wait it out on the porch.)

 (Rainy day lecture.  We never stop working!)

 (Our field trip was cut short by unseasonable snow.  The Meteetsee bear says it all.)

 (Rose demonstrates complete submission to her papa, Dr. Finley.)

 (My first complete project of the summer!  These went to Katie because she said they reminded her of Xena.)

 (Double rainbow over Paleo Point….ALL THE WAY!)

 (Sunset over our base camp, the historic Ewing Snell Ranch.)