This week we were on Polar Mesa examining some former uranium mining sites. It was a nice day, and fairly productive, but the gnats were swarming and they made it nearly impossible to stand around. June is gnat season in southern Utah and I have certainly experienced them before, but this was the worst attack ever. They were in everyone's eyes, ears, and hair. And they are not simply annoying, they also have a vicious bite out of all proportion to their size. These "cedar gnats," as they are known locally, are the size of what we used to call "no-see-ems:" They are way too tiny for swatting and you can, um, almost not see them. But, the resulting bites are swollen, oozing, itching infections that last for a week. I ended up with dozens of them, including on places that imply I wasn't wearing boots, socks, and jeans. But, what made the whole thing seem particularly unfair, was that we were on Polar Mesa. Where was the snow and ice?
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