The Great White North

Our "camp" is the little blue and white building on the right side.

I've finally made it!  We flew in to Prudhoe Bay today, and are now in the middle of nowhere.  It still amazes me how much infrastructure is here.  The thought that I am living in essentially a dorm room that is about  400 square feet, but I have an HD television, and have the choice to eat a variety of foods that would not grow or survive in the surrounding area.  It feels surreal and a little unnatural, yet when we drove away from most of it for a little bit, it felt a bit more natural.  However, it is really nice to have a warm bed and some comfort to come back to after a long day of work.  Well, once we actually get to start working.  I really can't imagine what it would feel like to live here in the winter time.

All in all, I have a feeling that I am going to really enjoy being here.  Except for later in the season when the mosquitoes come out...

We had a really nice day today, and saw a lot of really neat wildlife.  Musk oxen!  They are so cool.  There was a pretty large group hanging out near our camp with a few babies.  We also saw some Arctic ground squirrels; they were about the size of prairie dogs.  I think I saw the most new species (of bird) today that I have ever seen in a single day, not including the first time I ever birded and didn't know anything.

Musk Oxen

Here is a list of what we encountered today (those with an * are new to me):
Arctic Tern*
Greater White-fronted Goose
Pectoral Sandpiper*
Semipalmated Sandpiper*
Dunlin*
Ruddy Turnstone*
Long-tailed Duck* (actually saw one the day before, but counting it for today)
Northern Shoveler
Brant*
Snow Bunting*
Long-billed Dowitcher*
Short-eared Owl
Sandhill Crane
King Eider*
Lapland Longspur*
American Golden-Plover*
Long-tailed Jaegar*
Glaucous Gull*
Common Raven
Red-necked Phalarope*
Northern Pintail
Cackling Goose
Tundra Swan
Greater Scaup*
American Wigeon

I'll post some pictures later, I just wanted to update for today!