All posts by Warren Ward
Law & Order
The sunlight had magically poked through the winter aspen forest in such a way as to warm through two areas in the snow, both of them survey monuments lying about four feet apart. One was a 3 and 1/4-inch aluminum cap, stamped with the surveyor’s state license number, posted with a government-issued, yellow “Forest Service...
The Land Office: Potawatomi and Surveyor History
The Art of Retracement Pictured above: The rover stands on the original monument, which predates two newer monuments, next to each other 12 feet away, by 100 years. Credit: Warren Ward. Igor Kidinski, or Eager (the Kid) as he was known, started to shout “Got it!” when he saw a point on the ground. But then...
Retracement in the Land of the Free
Art of Retracement By Warren D. Ward, PLS “I have to walk like a moose through this stuff!” claimed Glenny Dale, known on this crew as Glutton, The Old Man, because of his old legs. He had found a game trail that gave him about eight inches of flat path. But he had to tightrope his...
Retracement: The Hidden Corner
The Art of Retracement The Old Man–Glenny Dale–paced slow and steady, picking his way through the ankle-bending sagebrush while enjoying its sweet, springtime smell. Eager (The Kid)–Igor Kidinsky–took a straight path along the old barb fence, crushing the twisted sage stems with solid stamps of his boots, lacking the patience of the old-timer. Four white-tailed...
The Certified Theoretical Monument
Igor Kidinsky, aka Eager (The Kid), estimated that both monuments—for the same property corner—were to be found nearby. Glenny Dale, aka Glutton (The Old Man), turned on the metal detector, but both surveyors soon spotted the old, grayed stakes in the shadows and knew they had found their pins. The task was to determine which...
The Record 1/16 Corner
Glenny Dale (The Old Man), picked his way slowly through the pines, looking down and left and right, trying to remember where the old pipe was. Two Steller’s Jays perched on a pine branch directly above. One of them blended into the deep blue sky, the other into the black pine shadows. Their slightest flicker...
