Alaskan Dinosaur Expedition

In Nuiqsut

It's true. The mosquitoes are as bad as they say they are. I've been killing hundreds all over my body. So far, my record is 11 in one swat.

Fog has set in, and I don't know when we'll set out for the Colville. The pilot is here, but the visibility is low. It's been cool -- the temperatures are in the 40s during the day and in the 30s at night.

An important elder has died in the village recently, and her funeral is today. It's a major event for the town, which is planning for heavy mourning. I met her son today, who seems rather jovial. But perhaps the mourning will set in later, at the funeral.

The village of Nuiqsut is quite a bit bigger than I had expected. That's probably because the Alpine oil field is being developed nearby. Part of the development includes a hotel. It's in the trailer-home style, but it has running water and electricity, satellite TV, and a pool table.

The oil interest has created some new buildings in this town, but most are fairly old. The apartment we've rented has electricity and some plumbing, but the toilet is a "honey pot'' - a bag-lined bucket that gets emptied at the end of the day!

I've met some of the expedition members already. There's Dave Norton from Barrow, a veteran of such trips; Linda Cassassa (a University of Alaska museum volunteer) who is in her third season; and Mary Lacatena (another UA museum volunteer) who is a rookie like me. I stayed up until 1 in the morning talking to Roland about all the things we might find.