If Indiana Jones had a much younger little sister with an appetite for adventure and archaeology, she’d probably be just like Ashley Rudd.

Like Indiana, Rudd doesn’t love spiders and snakes – and she definitely prefers fettucini alfredo over foreign foods. But she hasn’t let that stop her from taking her own adventures in archaeology in the Middle East.

The freshman at Brighton High recently returned from her second trip to Israel where she helped excavate the Beit Lehi archaeological dig. This time, she recorded her travels on a blog – digitinisrael.blogspot.com – so friends and family could follow along.

“The first time I heard I got to go, I was so nervous, and I thought, ‘I don’t know if I even want to do this,’ ” Rudd says about her big trip. “But I did it and it was one of the best experiences of my life.”

While in the Middle East, Rudd rode camels, floated in the Dead Sea, visited Petra, and explored the intricate tunnels of an ancient buried city outside of Jerusalem. Her father is chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Beit Lehi Foundation, which represents the site where archaeologists have discovered olive presses, burial chambers, and a columbarium – a spacious room where birds were raised for sacrifice and food and trade.

Rudd took pictures of her travels and posted them, along with interesting facts about the area, on her blog. She says she was nervous at first to travel to a different country and eat different food, but as soon as her two-week trip was over, she was already looking forward to going back as soon as she can.

“I’m always like, ‘Let’s just go have an adventure now!’ ” Rudd says. “That’s just the word that’s in my mind. It was great.”