There's Gold in Them There Hills

Five days in and I still like it so that is a good sign. According to Wikipedia, Wells has a population of about 236; apparently this is a generous summer estimate as the current population probably sits somewhere near 50, including all employees of Barkerville Gold Mines. Kind of like Enilda with a better view for you High Prairians out there.

I've been pretty busy so far learning the ropes and such. Turns out I'm a the resident GIS software expert, which isn't a surprise since I am pretty sure that 75% of the people I work for were alive before the invention of television. The first person I met that didn't have gray hair was Holly the core tech. It's funny because everyone kept telling me how tough she was, hauling these 50-80lb boxes of drill core around(20 ft of core in 5 ft lengths about the diameter of a Red Bull can all in one box), and when I meet her, instead of some big butch lady, there's this freckled redhead who is smaller than me and around my age. I only managed about five of those boxes before my muscles gave out on me.

This place has been explored and mined for gold for decades and there was even a running mine back in the 30's which had to shut down due to lack of manpower because of the war. I've been sorting through old maps trying to find info on the area we are drilling and have come across everything from 70 year old mine plans to the route of the annual sled dog race that used to be held around here. Crazy stuff. My main job is helping to inspect the core being drilled and though it sounds dull, it's nice to get my brain working again. My own office, good pay, and a company vehicle don't hurt the situation either.

My boss is this older fellow named Arnie, and I don't think he could be more of a character if he tried. He's a good teacher, which is a surprise because he comes across initially as one of those old school hard ass field geologists. He is a heavy-smoking diabetic who listens to classical music in the office and often spouts off about how the world has gone to crap and there are never any good movies or TV anymore. I keep waiting for him to say "I'm too old for this shit" to complete the cliche. That said, he is definitely one of the better bosses I've had, even if he does insist on smoking in the core shack.

-A.