Looking For Dinosaurs, Can You Dig It?

Q. Any suggestions on where to find a dinosaur or fossil dig?

A. There are several dinosaur research projects that accept paying volunteers. The prices, which include accommodations and meals, do not include transportation to the sites. Volunteers may help search for fossils, chip or lift rocks covering fossils or work in labs processing them.

The Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University runs a summer paleontology program at the Egg Mountain area near Choteau. The area was named for the discovery in the late ‘70s by Jack R. Horner, now the museum’s curator of paleontology, of dinosaur eggs and nests and the remains of baby dinosaurs from the late Cretaceous period 80 million years ago. Weeklong sessions are offered June 29 to July 5, July 13 to 18, July 27 to Aug. 2 and Aug 3. to 9. The cost is $990, which includes accommodation in Blackfoot tepees. A longer session, for veterans of this or similar programs, is given Aug. 11 to 21, for $1,450. Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University, Bozeman, Mont. 59717; (406) 994-6618.

In Dinosaur Provincial Park in the badlands of southern Alberta, 10 beds about the size of a football field, each containing Centrosaurus bones from late in the era of dinosaurs, have been found. Research, led by David A. Eberth and Philip J. Currie of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller, Alberta, is aimed at testing the hypothosis that the disconnected beds result from the destruction of a single huge herd. Volunteers may take part between June 9 and Aug. 24. The cost, $600 a week, includes accommodations in air-conditioned trailers. There is a one-week minimum, but stays of at least two weeks are encouraged. One-day introductory programs, Aug. 25 and 28, are $95 a person, $75 for those aged 10 to 15, and include lunch. Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology, Post Office Box 7500, Drumheller, Alberta, Canada T0J 0Y0; (403) 823-7707.

Earthwatch, which recruits paying volunteers to aid scientific field research, offers some dinosaur-related possibilities. For information contact Earthwatch, 680 Mount Auburn Street, Post Office Box 403, Watertown, Mass. 02272; (617) 926-8200. One project, run by J. Keith Rigby of the University of Notre Dame, digs on the eastern edge of the Fort Peck Reservior in central Montana. He has found there remains of dinosaurs in layers of earth laid down long after it had been commonly believed that dinosaurs had become extinct. The dates are June 30 to July 12, July 14 to 26 and July 28 to Aug. 9, and the cost is $1,425, including acccommodations in Rigby’s summer house.

Another is in northeast Yorkshire, England, in a project run by Martin Whyte and Michael Romano, both of the University of Sheffield, searching for dinosaur tracks along the shore and in the moors. The dates are Aug. 26 to Sept. 9 and Sept. 9 to 23 and the price is $1,595, which includes a room in a hotel in Scarborough.

A project in the Ischigualasto Valley in the high desert of west-central Argentina, run by William Sill and Alfredo Monetta, both of the University of San Juan in Argentina, is unearthing remains of some of the earliest known dinosaurs. Dates are Sept. 14 to 27 and Sept. 28 to Oct. 11. The cost is $1,595 a person, with accommodations in tents.

Q. I plan to spend several months in Italy and to ship my car there. How does one ship a midsize car and what does it cost? What about license plates?

A. Here are three companies that ship cars overseas. In general, they require that travelers own the car outright or that they they get written permission from the bank or other lien holder for the car to be taken overseas. You are often required to buy maritime insurance, since your regular insurance would not cover damage or loss of the car at sea. Living near New York, you may drive your car to the docks and see that it gets on the right ship. However, the shipping companies say that most of their customers prefer to have their car taken to the ships, for a fee of $100 to $150. Shipping to Italy usually takes three to five weeks. You are responsible for picking up the car at the Italian city to which it is shipped. The costs are for shipping from New York; returning the car, which must be done through an Italian company, often costs up to 50 percent more.

Worldcar International, (212) 246-2556. Cars are shipped to Genoa. The cost for a midsize car is about $750. Maritime insurance is 1.25 percent of total of the car’s value and the cost of shipping.

Dependable Auto Shippers, (800) 626-2505. The cost of shipping a midsize car to Naples is around $1,300. Marine insurance is about 2 percent of the car’s value. Auto Driveaway Company, (800) 346-2277. Cars are shipped to Genoa. A midsize car is about $1,300. Marine insurance is 1 percent of the car’s value.

According to the Italian Automobile Club (A.C.I.), American tourists coming to Italy may use their cars with the original license plates for up to six months. The period can be extended for a further six months through the Automobile Club. During this one-year period, American licenses are valid in Italy. Your car should display a “USA” sticker; these are available from the American Automobile Association.

Q. We would like to take the scenic train from Digne to Nice, France, in May or June. I have heard that some of the track was destroyed by storms. Is the train running?

A. Service on the narrow-gauge diesel-powered train between Nice and Digne, 103 miles away in the pre-Alps, was indeed discontinued after floods in November 1994 washed away several sections of track. But service was resumed last fall. The self-propelled single-car trains, operated by Chemins de Fer de Provence run daily.

The fare is about $20 each way.

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