The Day Tori and Cody Nearly Died

The Culprit

The "JARED GET IT OUT OF THE CAR! KILL IT!"

Something along the lines of this monster was somewhere inbetween the size of a nickle and a quarter!! It was in the truck climbing on the back of Michael's headrest NEARLY on his head! We screamed, within reason and finally got Michael to pull over, and before he could get to a full stop from 45 miles-per-hour Tori and I jumped out of the moving vehicle only to be made fun of. BUT really, WE COULD HAVE DIED from a spider!

Also, Michael nearly killed us from laughing too hard at a joke by nearly driving off the dirt road! I'm beginning to think the state of Montana is trying to kill us.

Day Two in Laurin, Montana

Tori's big find after a week of picking up bone shards.

She named it Dave Matthews.

We think it's the remains of an Ox.

Oddly in perfect condition.

Except for the whole dead bit.

Kate's dog Dutch helped out all day too

Contributing entertainment by means of

carrying around a recently deceased deer's leg

and refusing to part with it.

Needless to say, someone was stoked about their find

The field school crew participating in a

pedestrian survey.

More Pedestrian Survey

We went back to Laurin today with the Montana Heritage Commision staff archaeologist Kate and did a few pedestrian surveys on the Woodson Ranch and Preserve. Forming a line at an edge of a field and all standing about five feet apart from each other and walking across the fields in lines over and over again until we find something. On the way back to the car and during the field debrief Tori discovered a bone sticking out of the ground and as she pulled away the dirt she just kept finding more and more of it and soon enough found that there was most likely an entire Ox skeleton buried in perfect condition under a tree. Pretty cool!

We also came back and went to interview some local ranch owners who own property with an array of artifacts on it with Professor Svingen, Bill Peterson of the Montana Heritage Commission, and Leo Ariwite of the Lemhi Shoshone. They were the sweetest people, had so many great stories, useful information and AMAZING artifacts! If they are reading this, Once again, Thank You so much!!

Day One in Laurin

My cool photo of Tori showing off a piece

of foundation remains from an old building

that was just recently torn down

*What we originally thought was the Laurin Ranch House, Laurin, Montana

In 1868 the Shoshone, Bannack, Sheepeater Treaty

was signed.

A piece of glass that's about a hundred years old.

We found it in a hole.

The Catholic Church in Laurin, Montana



Fake Flowers are Classsayyy

The creepy attic stairs that

Jared and I opened so he could

get in the belltower.

So today we went to Laurin, Montana trying to compare what buildings in town are the same and still existing as they were around the time of the 1868 Shoshone Bannack Sheepeater Treaty. We measured some distances between buildings, investigated the old church built in 1901 and measured plots where an old stage stop and mercantile shop from the time had sat until recently. Kate gave us all a little intro into archaeological work and we dug around a bit in some dirt piles that had been recently dug and piled up. All in all it was definitely a pretty cool day. We even had the luck of meeting the renter of the old Laurin Ranch House and got a chance to step inside. It's definitley eerie standing where such significant people once stood even if it looks like the middle of nowhere.

More local weekend outings..

We bought gold pans for $6 and decided to try our hand at panning and fly fishing down on the Madison River today in between Ennis and Virginia City. We didn't pan any gold yet. Or catch fish. BUT it was gorgeous out and plenty of other fishing holes. We also went antique researching in Ennis and came up with a 1943 first edition book, Sacajawea of the Shoshones AND Michael found some great stuff! An original photo of the Fort Laramie Treaty signing and an original copy of a Virginia City newspaper from the 1880s. Winner! Winner!

Second Buffalo Jump and Pictograph Adventure

Jared crossing the creek full of Garnets

Pictographs at the unnamed ranch

Working on the documentary

Pictograph and Second Buffalo Jump

In 1868, someone wrote their name and the date on the cliff face with

axel grease and still here it is.

Went hiking at an 'undisclosed' ranch property today, the guy has 20,000+ acres. I swear it's everything the eye can see! We drove up on top of a second buffalo jump in the trucks and walked around up top and then on our way back to camp stopped in an old cattle camp. We hiked along a stream there to an old cliff wall with pictographs. There were parts of the streams that were literally just solid red with garnets. I found one the size of my pinky fingernail, that's huge!

Weekend Outings!

Ennis, Montana
Went and explored Ennis today! So many cool shops and art galleries! And garnet, turquiose, and Montana sapphire jewelry galore. So cool! If you ever get a chance go visit Ennis, Montana!

Home home on the range where the deer and the BUFFALO JUMP

Tori and I at Madison Buffalo Jump

Tori Peering over the jump

Three Forks

The Gallatin, The Madison and The Missouri

So today we all toured all over the Gallatin Valley in Montana. We saw the Three Forks headwaters of the Missouri, the Gallatin, and the Madison rivers. It was at that site that Sacajawea was kidnapped at 12 years old and watched her mother and siblings murdered. It would be at that same site years later where in company of Lewis and Clark, her husband and her son Pompeii she would be reunited with her original homeland. It was AMAZING to know that I was standing where these people once stood.

Later we continued on to the Madison Buffalo Jump. I have never felt more impressed with a historical monument! To think that people herded Buffalo over the cliffs to their deaths to survive 12,000 years ago and I was standing there today.

So of course a few of us had to climb it. And then after that exhausting but AMAZING trek we of course had to scale the cliff down to find arrowheads, bones and other interesting little tidbits!

Today at the Buffalo Jump is a life experience I will never forget!

Where in the world are we?

Nevada City, Montana

May 2010

So Tori and I drove from Pullman to Virginia City, Montana today. Every mile deeper into the wilderness of Montana we had to question what the heck and why we signed up to do what we're doing. About a mile from our destination we passed through Nevada City and had to pull off the road to take in the half mile stretch of a late 1800s wood cabin ghost town. We pulled in Virginia City only to see dirt roads, no cars, no stoplights, wood sidewalks, yet another ghost town scenery. BUT we did make it, this is definitely something exciting, but we are definitely a long long way from home!