A string is attached to a metal spike on one of the square's corners, and the spirit level is drawn out to any point in the square. The Mercantile here on 15th Avenue doesn't have a spirit level. You'd think archaeological digs never take place out in densely populated urban areas. Okay, there's the African Burial Ground in Manhattan. But most of the time digs are maddeningly remote from civilization.
Mom is still in town.
She came with me to REI while I tried on boots. Walking around with her is trying because she smokes and one of her knees is starting to be affected by arthritis. Even climbing the steps in the REI store was difficult for her. No luck, the only place nearby being a scary looking bar three blocks away. We sat at a bus shelter and watched a pile of Tacoma commuter buses go by, then walked back to the bus that would take us back up the hill.