Don's Journal:
Monday, our last partial day at Toolik, we had more snow this AM. More
than even yesterday. I have a cold too, so I am not enjoying it as much
as I normally would. Anna and Fritz went to Imnavait Creek again to get
some more data and Javier and myself went to SA-10 in Prudhoe Bay. SA-10
is a hotel that services this area if you have oil filed connections or
scientific connections. We have the NSF, so we were acceptable (at least
for them). This place is great. All the food you can eat and SHOWERS!
It feels so nice to be under hot, running water again. We
cleaned up and I crawled into bed to try to get better before the work
would start on Tuesday. MYM
The data from the Toolik Site was analyzed and the active layer is about 6 cm thicker this year compared to last. Anna is not sure why yet but thinks it may be because of the abnormally dry year the region had. Tomorrow morning is an early one as we need to go to the oil field and learn how to be safe.
The new labs at the
Toolik Field Station.
JAVIER'S PIECE:
We woke up a little late today. After breakfast, Ron, Don, Sam and I
left Toolik for the last time this summer. We affectionately waved goodbye
to the wonderfully graffitied toilet stalls and the toasty sauna and headed
for the luxurious Service Area 10 (S.A. 10) at Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay.
The
whole trip lasted from about 11 o'clock at Toolik, where the snow was
still falling quite heavily, to one o'clock at Deadhorse (S.A. 10) where
we ate lunch. The temperature was a bit cold, but nothing extreme: no
snow and fierce breezes like those at Toolik.
After lunch, we attended to personal hygiene matters, clothing washing, etc while waiting for Anna, Dr. Nelson, and the crew to get back from the field where they had spent the day.
The rest of the night was spent preparing for tomorrow (night. Why? What are we doing tomorrow night? The same thing we do every night, Pinky...)
A self-portrail outside the Toolik Lake dormatory (photo by Javier Lopez).