My July 2023: Excavation time in rural Alaska

July was all about Alaska, a dream destination of mine that I finally got to cross off the list! I spent the month excavating an incredibly well-preserved archaeological site on the west coast, and ended the month in Anchorage, the largest city in the state!

Destinations visited in July 2023

Alaska, US

• Bethel
• Quinhagak
• Anchorage

Top 3 favourite new destinations

1. Quinhagak, Alaska, US
2. Anchorage, Alaska, US
3. Bethel, Alaska, US

Archaeology and adventures in Alaska

An afternoon in Bethel

I flew to Alaska from Canada on the first day of the month! After a loooong stopover in Anchorage in the middle of the night with no sleep whatsoever, I flew to Bethel, a town located in the middle of nowhere, far from the Alaskan road system. I had four hours to explore the town before catching yet another flight to my final destination, Quinhagak. I’d deliberately made the stopover as long as possible so I could see a bit of Bethel, as I really like exploring remote corners of the world.

Bethel is an interesting place. It’s the main hub for the whole Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta area with around 50 Native villages that are all without a road network. Bethel has all the official buildings, but still seems like a tiny village as opposed to a town. Walking around Bethel was an interesting experience for sure, and I’m really glad that I took the time to explore it, although I did prefer the small-town feel of Quinhagak over Bethel.

A month of excavating in Quinhagak

Some hours later, I arrived in Quinhagak, where I spent the next four weeks working on an archaeological excavation at the incredibly well-preserved pre-contact Yup’ik site of Nunalleq that dates back at least 700 years!

The first week was rainy, windy and muddy but it came with some amazing finds. I found the first wooden doll and the first wooden mask of the season – the latter of which is a very rare find!

The second week wasn’t much better in terms of weather, but we did get to see the sun for a few moments! I was really tired most of the week as I had (HAD!) to stay up until very late three nights in a row to try to grab Taylor Swift tickets for the Europe leg of her Eras Tour next year (and I won The Great War!!!). My week at the excavation wasn’t quite as successful as the first week, but I did find half a mask and uncovered a boardwalk with my French girls!

The third week improved weather-wise, but not finds-wise. I found hardly anything, and started to realize that I’d peaked on the first week. The others did have some amazing finds though, including the second mask – a really well-preserved seal mask! But this week was interesting for another reason too as a bear had seemingly joined us on the excavation. We found his paw prints on the beach next to the dig site but (thankfully) never saw him.

The fourth week was a bit more exciting for me as I got to dig into a house floor, which was full of wooden artefacts, human hair and braided grass – and it still smelled of the seal oil they used back then! I also spent a day in the lab washing artefacts and another day cataloguing finds and writing a blog post for the excavation blog (read it here!).

When we weren’t excavating, we spent the time exploring the village, joining a church service, stealing cool license plates from the dump, drinking delicious smoothies from the local café, watching films, going fishing on the Kanektok river, beading with local girls, picking salmon berries and rescuing a cute little puppy (true story!).

Excavating was a ton of fun, but it wouldn’t have been half the fun without the amazing team I worked with. Saying goodbye to them was a new kind of pain I haven’t experienced before. It was such a great month and we became so close so quickly. I miss them all so much, but who knows, maybe we’ll all be back again another year? One can only hope!

This was an incredibly quick recap of four amazing weeks – but that’s only because a much more detailed post is in the works! Give me half a year or so and it should be out! 😛

Relaxing days in Anchorage

On July 29th, I flew to Anchorage along with one of the guys who’d been helping out with drone shots at the site. We spent the evening together trying out some local goods, and then it was time for my alone time in Alaska. I’d been dreading this time as I usually feel incredibly lonely after spending a lot of time with good people, but I didn’t feel so bad this time. I think it helped that I was kind to myself and didn’t pressure me into going out exploring a lot. Instead, I took it slow, listened to T-Swift (she’s my favourite therapist), walked without a purpose and relaxed a lot. I also spent 2+ hours in Walmart seeking out all T-Swift vinyls and cds…. Don’t judge!

I’ll be back in Anchorage in a few days where I’ll do some exploring, but I’m glad I took these days to unwind after an intense month!

New on the blog

Most popular post

• My June 2023: Summer in Denmark & the Canadian Rockies – As per usual, my monthly recap was the most popular post!

The other posts

• Děčín, Czech Republic: The perfect cheap base for exploring Saxon Switzerland – My first post on the Czech Republic on this blog – but definitely not the last. Still have a few to come from last summer!
• Mulling around on the Isle of Mull: The Carsaig Arches and a sunset drive – A gorgeous day spent on the second-largest island in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides!

Most popular Instagram picture

My wee photo series of Canadian wildlife got the most love in July!

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Et opslag delt af Mel (@north.trotter)

Coming up in August 2023

My Alaska adventure continues into August! I’m currently hanging out in Kenai Fjords National Park where I’ve already seen some of the best nature and wildlife Alaska has to offer! I’ll be going back to Anchorage in a few days to hang out with some friends from the project and explore the city!

I arrive back in Aberdeen on the 11th, and I’m moving into my new apartment three days later. I can’t wait for this new chapter in my life. It’s all very very exciting!

I’ll spend the rest of the month working on my dissertation – and probably take a few trips to the mountains before my family arrives on the 21st for a two-week visit!