Alliteration aside, the last week was just as adventure-filled as the others. For my final weekend, I went back to Grandma and Grandpa LiaBraaten's. We hung out again, and there was a huuuuge storm! We had no power, so we were unfortunately unable to have meeting on Sunday morning. I don't remember being in a thunderstorm that big in a very long time. Even with all the thunder and lightning, there were only a few branches down in the yard, so that was good.
Sunday evening, after I got back to Brookport, a friend and I drove up the road a ways to visit a place in the Shawnee National Forest called Garden of the Gods. These were big sandstone bluffs in the woods, which were really fun to climb over and just generally adventure on. (It reminded me of some of the times Adventure Hattie and I had in Greece, except with sandstone instead of limestone.) It was a good time, and the views at sunset were fantastic.
Monday morning the SEMO crew volunteered at the Brookport town cleanup while waiting for the new SIU group to arrive. We raked leaves, scraped paint off of the bleachers, and just generally straightened up the ballpark. Jay from Jay's BBQ was there, and so was Ms. Lucille Shannon. Remember her for later.
Monday afternoon and Tuesday were more fieldwork. I did some augering, which was interesting mostly because it was something new. Tuesday evening a group of us went out to the mounds to watch the sun set since it was the longest day of the year. It was amazing to climb up an ancient Native American mound barefoot through 5 foot grass on the solstice. The barefoot part was a bad idea.
On Wednesday, the SEMO group went over to Ms. Shannon's for supper. (Aren't you glad you remembered her?) You could actually see the gym from her yard, but we drove and walked around Brookport, and asked some locals before we were able to find it. As we were finally driving down the right track, the mayor happened to be walking by, and she did a dramatic wave and point (looking a bit like a referee, in my opinion) to direct us to the correct house. I loved that she just saw the SEMO van and knew what we were looking for. She ended up eating at Ms. Shannon's, too. Dinner was excellent, and so was the company. Talk about a hospitable and gregarious woman. I think I can speak for the whole group in saying that we were so glad to get to know her and hear her stories. She even came out to visit the mounds the next day!
The week wrapped up and it was time to go home, so I guess this is where this blog ends. Thanks for reading-I've had fun with it. Field School was a great experience. Everytime I talked to my mom on the phone she mentioned that I sounded like a little kid at summer camp: excited to regale her with tales of my minor injuries, new friends, and days spent outside. J
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