"It's a long process," he said. Most scientists "will describe dozens of species in their lifetime, if they're really lucky."

On one long afternoon recently, there were dozens of soldiers dozing on their kit bags and staring at two large television screens - one showing college basketball, the other The Graduate.

Before long, Don was making dozens of trips across Disappointment Valley, driving two hours each way, in order to get documents certified at the bank in Cortez, Colorado.