Our second week at the park, the weather warmed up enough that we could start our training as...
CSI techs. That's right! Struggle to contain your envy.
If you want, we'll be happy to share what we have learned about cleaning 80+ year old broken shovels and pick axes (ahem... artifacts) with a paint brush and hepa vacuum. Curb your excitement. Your enthusiasm is overwhelming.
Seriously, though, isn't that a killer before and after?! Here's a hint: The left side of the shovel is prettier. Really, it is.
The Titanic in Death Valley?
By the way, did you know that less than 1% of museum artifacts are ever seen by the public? When we were done, we filed the shovel we were working on amongst the many others like it on a shelf in one of the archive buildings. Baring any major shovel destroying catastrophes, it will most likely remain there, on a shelf, for at least another fifty years and then some. So essentially, these pictures of the shovel will be seen more than the actual shovel will over the course of the next half century. Sure hope someone drops by now and then to dust it off. We wouldn't want all of our work to be in vain if this shovel ever really does get to have its day!
All kidding aside, we are learning a LOT and really enjoying this new area of volunteering.
Speaking of volunteering, check this out.
This guy has been reading our blog and communicating with us for a while now. Turns out, it was little ole us who opened up the world of volunteering to him with one of our posts on campground hosting. Now he's volunteering only three miles from us. What a small world!
Not something you see every day. This poor fella took a header of the worst kind. Talk about a crash landing.
We figured it was either that or he got stuck while taking a drink. Either way, it didn't end well.
Desert Holly, just in time for the Holidays.
By the way... did you know that National Parks are typically identified by the first two letters of the first two words in their name? That's why we're known as DEVA's (and we didn't even have to learn how to sing). Unfortunately for some the whole idea can be really LAME (Lake Mead) or in other cases a real bunch of CACA (Carlsbad Caverns). Oh the things you learn at Beer Thirty!
Palm Trees in Death Valley. Awesome!
Well, we should be wrapping this up. We're only in town for a couple of days and then it's back into the wild. Before we sign off we were wondering if anyone out there knows what do you do when you cut open your onion and...
it looks at you like this?!
Our answer was to cut our tomato, of course.
Seriously!? We're going to have to stop while we're a-head!
And, with that... we bid adieu and head back to the valley (which isn't really a valley, by the way). SEE YA NEXT YEAR!!!