Snow in the Mojave Desert

I spent the last two weeks working in the western Mojave Desert, surveying transmission line routes for Southern California Edison (you know, I gripe about clients, but SCE really has been a fantastic client - they pay on time, they have us supervised by other archaeologists who speak our language, and they work with the agencies rather than against them - and I am very happy that we have won a contract that pretty much promises our job security for the next couple of years).

So, we were in the Mojave Desert in the winter, and it snowed. In the desert. It was pretty damn cool.

So, here's some photos of the fieldwork. I hope you enjoy them.

The Joshua Tree against the snow:




And now some snow-covered mountains:





And now, perhaps, some odd but pleasant clouds, plus a shot of John actually working while I take pretty pictures:





And, of course, artifact photos, check out the Prince Albert in a Can:




The black stuff in the top photo - that's slag, melted brick. This is from a site with a boiler - a brick structure that housed a furnace for powering a steam engine - and the temperatures would get hot enough to melt the bricks over time.




And it's interesting to note that sodas have now been around long enough to qualify as artifacts in archaeological sites - and because of the changing corporate logos over time, they are great for determining the age of the sites: