The week of July 6 was predicted to be sunny and ideal for a two day excavation to recover additional remains of the baby and toddler encountered at the end of the May dig. As in the past, Evans Rental hauled the rented crawler to the site a day in advance.  Will Mott arrived midmorning with a large gas-powered pump which rapidly pumped the accumulated water from inside the levee.  He estimated the capacity at about 100 gallons/minute, quite an improvement from the battery-powered bilge pumps used previously. After the pit was ‘dry,’ Will relocated the levee protecting the previous dig about 12 feet north and then removed the muck resulting from two floods from the excavation floor. This was accomplished by 7:00 PM. Unfortunately, overnight thunderstorms produced heavy rains which lasted into the following day. While the creek did not overtop the levee, the rain was sufficient to flood the excavation and render the area too slick for the crawler and people.  We gave up hope for digging in the newly opened about 10:30 in the morning because more storms were predicted later in the day. The volunteers vowed to return as soon as possible after the area dried. Participants were William Mott, Lee McNair, Bill Wiechman, Aaron Last, David Brenzel and Holmes Semken.  

Holmes Semken and David Brenzel, July 9, 2009.