I’m a real history buff and I will use almost any excuse to dig into the past and learn something new. So guess what? Earlier this month we celebrated Columbus Day, which is increasingly being celebrated as Native American Day, which leads me to a related surveying question – How are Indian Trust Lands surveyed?

In the US, everybody knows a little bit about the Declaration of Independence. This document was the formal announcement of the split between the Colonies and the British Crown – ultimately creating the United States of America.

As a surveyor, did you ever have the opportunity to be part of a historic project? Jack Savlan, now of Milwaukee, did. He was one of the surveyors on the original Cadastral Survey of the Navajo Nation that began on June 21, 1982 at the corner of the sections 35 and 36, T24N, R14W, New Mexico Principal Meridian. Jack’s going to take over the blog for today and share this incredible experience.

I was on the back ridge of maples where a large 30” hemlock stands; the branches were covered with snow – it looked like a Christmas card! Birds were chirping and the tracks of deer, fox and snowshoe rabbits were outlined in the pristine, crunchy snow. An eagle made a slow, silent arc overhead. I couldn’t think of anywhere in the world I’d rather be than on this plot of land in the forest.

At the Custer State Park in South Dakota, kids can take the “Trail Challenge” that rewards them for hiking eight of the many trails in the park over the course of the summer. To prove they’ve walked the trail, they take a rubbing of the unique Berntsen medallion placed along the each trail. Once they have all eight rubbings, the kids turn them in and receive a Custer State Park Trail Challenge Pin. This is a significant achievement, because the eight trails include some rugged terrain.