Forgive me Father, it's been three days since my last shower.

I think I've given up on a full recap of the drive out. Suffice it to say the drive with the folks was a blast and the places my mom found for us to stay were lovely. It's funny how quickly one starts to feel at home in a place that waits for you after a long day.

Yesterday we finished up our survey of a major portion of the sage flats on the Western Rim of the Rio (which is NOT near Pilar I came to find out). After sitting on the edge of the plateau looking down into the Rio valley we headed towards Pilar (for real) to check out a site called Suazo that was surveyed last year. We got our rock art tutorial there. Some pretty incredible glyphs there.

We then went a mile or so down a road and began a glyph survey up a VERY steep and high hill. We found quite a few things and returned this morning to document. The view from the ridge was incredible and the fact that we climbed it would make my mom cringe. Had my first run in with a cactus. Blood sacrafice to the gods necessary for a sucessful project I'm told.

The undergrads and Sev had dinner at a roadside Mexican place (everything is roadside here) and then went to lecture at SMU. As interesting as it was we were all totally exhausted and struggled to make coherent conversation with the lecturer when he approched us. No great impression.

Woke up a quarter before six again this morning. Waking up with the sun is a really good feeling.

After documenting the glyphs north of Suazo we headed out to Vista Verde trail down in the gorge. Major boulder hopping. I think this may be my favorite kind of survey. Keeps you interested lest you fall off a ridge. We didn't find much until the end of the day when we found some incredible archaic and pueblo glyphs. [I don't have any photos but will tomorrow.] We were all astounded as they are incredibly beautiful, and far more complex than we (meaning Sev) have ever seen for glyphs that old. Sev started talking about them and the site in an incredibly reverential way and I have to admit that I definitely felt some sort of difference standing under that particular rock face. A huge yellow and black butterfly kept circling the site too. I'm taking it as a sign. Cheesy as it may be.

Sev, Anand and I boulder hopped back to the cars as the rest of the group walked the trail. It's really such an dynamic landscape I want to get in as much of it as I can in this short month.

I write now from the kitchen as the "grad students" cook dinner. They've taken control of the food situation very successfully and us youngling offer not complaints. We moved our tents to a immensly better site out in a pasture off the kitchen under some trees. Should be nice sleeping away from the barking dogs next door. Tomorrow we head back to the Vista Verde trail Grad student-less as Sima is leaving and Anand and Kaet are going to ABQ to pick up Anands "love interest," Ginger. We've been teasing him endlessly. They'll be staying in the "enchantment room" as the wooden plaque on it's door proudly proclaims.

Today is Lyndsy's birthday so we're having cookies and ice cream and building a shrine somewhere down on the river to celebrate.

Nicks

Knees (cut and bruised)

Neck (RED)

Knacks

Katsina mask glyphs

buffalo burgers in tortillas

[There's not enough bandwidth here to post photos but I will as soon as I figure it out]