Chapter 3: Over the Hill

I took off Saturday morning when the rest of the crew went to the bar. Archaeologists are a thirsty bunch and the whole crew was over 21. I'd been there, done that, got several bar tee shirts, so I don't need to drink to have fun.

If the truth be known, I'm a loner. I prefer my company. At least if I get arrested it's my fault. The last few days off I'd been sticking pretty much close to camp ... there's bears and rattlesnakes in them thar hills and the boss asked me to stop bringing my pistol. Like I said ... sticking close enough to holler if I need it.

Today I went south over the hill to the next valley. There's never been gold mining in that one so I meandered up the valley floor.

I looked around a lot. Archaeologists suffer from the "grazing cow syndrome." We look at our feet and swing our heads side to side like cows looking for a delightful bit of grass, but we're really looking for evidence of prior occupation in the form of cultural material. It doesn't have to be artifactual debris, it can be the white mans' trash. You might be surprised at the things early settlers throw away, or drop during times of stress. It's junk out of place we look for.