Monthly Archives: June 2013

Dear All, Happy upcoming Independence Day! No matter how you feel about the recent scandals in Washington D.C. regarding the IRS and secret surveillance of American citizens, we think it’s important to remember what are, perhaps, the most stirring words in the history of America, “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,” dated July 4, 1776: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,–That whenever any Form of government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its power in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Thomas Jefferson would be saddened, we think, by recent events… Happy a Wonderful Independence Day. Mike and Kathy

Hi All! Well, today was wonderful. John Fish from Hot Springs State Park took the IU Field School on a tour of local petroglyphs, and it was just fabulous. Petroglyphs are ancient rock carvings, also known as “Rock Art.” These petroglyphs date all the way back to around 11,000 years ago, and the images are the stuff legends are made of. Magnificent. John, thanks for doing such an amazing job showing the students the rock art. And thanks to Audrey, Sam, and Gabriel for riding in the truck with Mike and Kevin Jones. Great conversations, folks. At the end of the day, just for extra fun, we went to a site on the ranch that we call Ground Stone Creek because it’s filled with prehistoric grinding stones, and were surprised to find fresh mountain lion tracks. She must have been just ahead of us on the trail. Kathy didn’t get to go today (she’s seen most of the petroglyphs before). Instead, she spent the day working on the final chapters of People of the Songtrail, the book about the first contact between Vikings and Paleo-Inuit peoples in North America, which should be out some time in early 2015. Hope everyone is well. Have a great summer. Mike and Kathy