Pearson - 1998 dry dry; fenced all the way, so there were animals there once. From Piedra de Aguila to Plottier, much of the route is monte desert with Larrea bushes and almost nothing in between them. No birds, no squashed hares, no rheas, no guanacos. No Rosa or Scotch Broom after leaving Alicura, maybe even none after leaving Confluencia. We stopped at the dinosaur tracks at the edge of the resevoir at Chocon. There is a metal walkway built above them for observation, but no "concession" or buildings of any sort. Two busloads of schoolchildren. Weather sunny and hot. The tracks are huge, 6 feet apart, wet down with water to make them more visible. Then on to a hotel in Neuquen. December 2- Neuquen. Clear, warm, windy. Went out to the University to the Museum, which is in a new building shared with the Library; entrance to the Museum is through the Library door because it is too windy to use the Museum door. The exhibits and signs are excellent. Several types are on exhibit, including a huge Andesaurus? as it was discovered in the desert, only partly excavated. The biggest beast, Argentinosaurus, is up at Plaza Huincul. Then headed home with a stop in Piedra de Aguila for honeydew melon and a visit to their local museum. We were given a conducted tour through it (no other visitors), mostly historical items such as old Argentine money, stamps etc., but then we came to an exhibit of indian artifacts found in Cueva Traful I ! Our guide said that Borrero had been in the Museum only shortly before we arrived, and that he was going to return tomorrow. Photos of houses in Picun Leufu and Piedra de Aguila. Home at 8:30 p.m. Most noteworth event of the trip was to see the desertification of the route between Collon Cura and Neuquen. No birds except a few chimangos, no livestock, just terribly beat-up desert. Hectares of pampa grass at the Collon end of the stretch with some green below but with the terminalparts all dry. One lagoon with water and flamingos. Numerous Canastero nests but no canasteros seen. We took apart two nests, but nothing ran out. A few burrows in the ground but not looking recent. Saw about 4 squashed hares and one live hare the whole rout, plus one squashed armadillo. The only sheep seen on the way home were four or five between the road and the fence; they had escaped the last roundup. The high temperature at the Neuquen airport yeswterday was 34.5C, and the high today was 36C , the hottest of this spring, which has been unusually warm. December 3- Bariloche. Overnight minimum was 57F. Yesterday's max was 760. Wrote notes and data processing. Clear and sunny all day. Maximum temp in afternoon was 800. December 4- Bariloche. Overnight minimum 60° (sic). Eileen and Lisa came by.