It’s a nice sunny day…so I thought I’d get some pictures of what’s right outside the building. But first, some other stuff. The gal in this picture is a heavy equipment operator here during the Ice Carving event every year. Her career is as an archeologist. She wrote the book about Alaska’s now famous ‘Mesa’ site which pushed back paleoindian habitation of interior Alaska to 12,000BP. Google her name for several links like http://www.ele.net/arctic_artifacts/arctic_artifacts.htm The people that occupied this site preceded the Eskimo by thousands of year. Being an amateur interested in archeology, I enjoy getting to talk to her about the Mesa site and other archeological questions that interest me. Like pre-clovis sites, Kennewick man (who’s grave I probably walked over as a kid because I grew up in Kennewick and played on the beach where he was discovered), the Monte Verde site (which is pre-clovis but was discovered in almost pristine condition), etc. She’s also the one I go to to borrow books. I’m grateful she had so many of David Weber’s books and I’ve been greatly enjoying them through 5 volumes so far. She also loaned me her Christmas present, ‘First Peoples in a New World’ by David Meltzer. Scholarly to be sure, but written in a lay style so that even I can enjoy wading through it. She’s planning on reading it when she goes on a field trip this summer, probably to that cave above the arctic circle that has all the dinosaur bones. I’m thankful she loaned it to me. I’m half through it all ready after just 5 days of reading during my spare time here at the park. This link will download the PDF of her book: http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/ak/aktest/ofr.Par.6519.File.dat/ofr86.pdf
Connie Adkins B'day party.
If you read through that PDF, note how primitive the points look. Few have the typical clovis features.
Across the street from the building, the ice maze.
I seem to have forgotten to turn off the date stamp on the pictures. Oh well.
The train station.
Some of the incidental artwork for the crowds.
Ross and Ralph working on an ice lens.
Heather out there taking pictures & getting background info for the web site.
I got curious so I wandered over and check out their work.
One of the incidental peices.
OK, enough for now, I’ll put up more soon.