We Got New Phones

Over the years, Tim and I have been Verizon and then AT&T wireless customers. Our plan for some time, however, had been to switch to T-Mobile because of its free international roaming service. With AT&T, we have spent several hundred dollars on each cruise for internet access.

We would have switched to T-Mobile before our France’s Finest cruise but discovered that AT&T was the only service available at AGFO. Although we had free Wi-Fi there, we didn’t want to lose our ability to make and receive phone calls.

Yesterday, however, we finally made the switch to T-Mobile. Not only do we get unlimited data while traveling internationally, but our new plans are much cheaper than AT&Ts.

We also got new phones, and they are quite an upgrade from our old ones. Existing promotions made the costs extremely low. I decided on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, which Tim had also picked. However, once he saw the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 at the T-Mobile store, he changed his mind. That is a very cool phone, and I’m a bit jealous. 

Our New Phones (images courtesy of T-Mobile)

I’ve transferred everything from my old phone to my new one. Now, I just need to learn how to take advantage of all the new features.

An AGFO Facebook Post Mentioned Us

Since neither Tim nor I are on Facebook, Tera Lynn sent us a link to AGFOs Facebook post today about the contribution of volunteers to the park. Thanks for recognizing us!

That's Us (image courtesy of AGFO Facebook page)

Finishing Our Projects at AGFO

On our way back from South Dakota, we returned to AGFO for two reasons. First, we had to pick up the RV, which we had left there when we went to the conference. We also had a few loose ends to complete for projects. We wrapped up those in a few hours and finally hit the road for Scottsbluff, where we spent one last night. 

Tim and I have worked on many projects in national park units all over the country, but this time at AGFO has been one of my favorites. Completing the redo of the Archives Room was extremely satisfying and one that spoke to my organizational skills. 

Tim and I have also worked with lots of volunteer coordinators at these various parks, and Tera Lynn certainly ranks as one of the best. She always had a smile on her face, and she has the most positive attitude of anyone I’ve ever met. Tera Lynn went out of her way to enable us to successfully complete our projects. She was also a lot of fun to be around! 

Sarah, Tera Lynn, and Tim

We also loved working with the rest of the staff at AGFO, and everyone was so helpful to us. Because it’s such a small park, we got to know everyone, from administration to interpretation to maintenance staff members. There is such a strong sense of community here, and we were lucky to become a part of it.

The Staff at AGFO Was the Best!

Last Sunday, Tera Lynn hosted a potluck to say “goodbye” and “thank you” to both the departing seasonal staff and the volunteers. What a nice evening! The park even presented Tim and me with volunteer “swag,” including a huge NPS umbrella, an arrowhead cutting board, and an NPS mug. Thanks everyone! It’s been great spending the last few months with you!

Thanks So Much!

Plains Anthropological Society Conference

Sessions for the conference started on Thursday. While Tim attended the presentations, I took the day off. I originally had planned to take a road trip to several national park units in the Upper Midwest while Tim was at the conference, but I reluctantly decided to scrap that idea. I was just too tired after working nonstop at AGFO for the past several weeks. Driving long distances no longer appealed to me, and I decided to take a break. It was a good decision.

One of the parks that I had hoped to visit was Pipestone National Monument. By chance, one of the rangers from the park was at the conference. She was doing a pipestone carving demonstration, and I was able to watch her for a bit. It was quite interesting.

Pipestone Carving at the Plains Anthropological Conference

On our last evening, Tim and I ventured to downtown Rapid City. The city has done a wonderful job with its historic district, and I admired the historic preservation efforts underway. We ate dinner at an early fire station that is now Firehouse Brewing Co. It’s the same restaurant where I ate on my Retirement Road Trip in 2005. The food is still very good.

Rapid City's Historic Fire Station, Now Firehouse Brewing Co.

A Trip to South Dakota and Badlands National Park

Tim had always planned to attend this year’s Plains Anthropological Conference in Rapid City, South Dakota, so our goal had been to finish our projects at AGFO before heading out yesterday. We almost made it! We left the RV behind, so we will return next week to finish up a few loose ends. 

The drive to Rapid City was an easy three hours long, and we checked into our hotel and had a light dinner.

Today, we had the day free since Tim had not signed up for any of the tours. So, we decided to drive to Badlands National Park. On past visits, I had focused on the rugged beauty of the park and its geology. For some reason, I had ignored the fact that these geologic deposits contain one of the world’s richest fossil beds. After having met the park’s paleontologist while working at AGFO, I was much more aware of this aspect of the park’s significance.

Tim and I had hoped to meet some of the staff, including the museum curator, but we learned that everyone was participating in the park’s bison roundup. The very helpful ranger at the desk graciously opened the paleontology lab for us, although it had been closed for the season. Tim was particularly interested in seeing how the fossils had been cavity packed. 

The Paleontology Lab at Badlands National Park

We drove along the park road on the way back to Rapid City, and I once again admired the scenery. We even had a few wildlife sightings, including a herd of pronghorn and two bison. We were relieved that the visitors photographing the bison were keeping a respectful distance. Although we have seen bison countless times, it was neat to see them today since we had just watched Ken Burns’ The American Buffalo.

Wild and Rugged Badlands National Park

Wildlife Sightings Are Always Fun

We were hungry when we left the park and stopped at the iconic Wall Drug Store where ice water is still free! The burgers were quite good.

Wall Drug Store

Finally Hitting the Trails at AGFO

Although Tim and I have been at AGFO for more than two months, I have not made the time to hike the two trails here. My excuse is that it was either too hot or too wet, or that I couldn’t afford to take the time away from my project.

On Saturday, I finally made it to the Fossil Hills Trail, which leads to the famous, historic excavation sites or quarries. I confess that I didn’t hike the trail, but caught a ride in the Polaris when Tera Lynn was taking Ranger Amelia to the top for her ranger talk. Although Amelia pointed out evidence of fossils in the exposed hillside, I had trouble seeing them. Obviously, I would never make it as a paleontologist! My favorite part was the views over the surrounding landscape.

The Fossil Hills Trail Begins at the Visitor Center and Leads to the Historic Quarries

Ranger Amelia Tried Her Best to Help Me See Evidence of Fossils

On our way back to the visitor center, Tera Lynn made a detour so I could see the Bone Cabin, which was used as a temporary residence for paleontologists who were working the fossil quarries in the early 1900s. Thanks for the ride!

The Bone Cabin, Views from Fossil Hills, and My Ride

Today, I did hike the Daemonelix Trail, which features fossil exhibits of the spiral corkscrew burrows of the Paleocastor, an ancient land beaver that lived here in the Miocene. Ranger Ember presented her geology tour, and I learned about the various geological layers of the area. It was especially cool to see the “Devil’s Corkscrews.” Even I was able to identify several of these fossilized burrows, apart from the ones preserved in the exhibit cases.

Ranger Ember Helped Me Understand the Geology of the Area

The "Devil's Corkscrews" or Daemonelix

A Change in the Weather

We have had incredibly good weather in Nebraska for the most part since we’ve been here. Bad wind storms have typically happened on weekends while we’ve been at home, and I’ve been able to handle the hot days surprisingly well.

Unfortunately, our luck seems to have run out. The last few days have been very cold and rainy, with sub-freezing nights. It even snowed a little last night, and the forecast is not good.

I finally decided enough is enough, and we checked into a hotel in Scottsbluff this afternoon. The commute is a long one at about 45 minutes each way, but at least we will be warm and not have to worry about our water lines freezing since we are winterizing the RV.  We decided to stay for four nights, and I’m looking forward to being out of the cold.

It's Hard to Believe We Were Dealing with these Temperatures Just a Short Time Ago

A Few Other Projects

Although our main focus was the reorganization of the Archives Room, Tim and I also tackled a few other projects at AGFO.

Tim spent part of his time rehousing fossils in the Museum Storage room. I never knew that Tim could make his own boxes!

Rehousing Fossils

I also tackled the historic photographs backlog project, which Tim and I had worked on when we first visited the park this past January. I am taking copies of all completed inventory sheets with me, and I will type the information into an Excel spreadsheet. This will be my remote winter project.

Reorganizing More Journals, and Books

Tagging and reorganizing the first group of journals took less time than expected, so Tim and I decided to then tackle the jumble of journals in another part of the Archives Room, the real “problem area.” Those journals, and some oversize books, were in a total disarray, and many were just stacked in random piles. (I wish that we had thought to take a “before” photograph of these sections!)

After reorganizing the journals, we were then able to move on to the books, adding paper tags to each one. 

After reorganizing the journals and books, we also inventoried every one of these items and updated the location information in ICMS, the NPS database for museum collections. Finally, we labeled the shelves.

We are quite proud of the way the Archives Room turned out and are a bit amazed with the amount of reorganization we were able to accomplish.

The "New" Archives Room

Everything Should Be Much Easier to Find Now!