If you know, you know . . .

Like Mary Poppins, "Practically [and acoustically] perfect in every way.

There are always surprises. You just have to be open enough to receive them. While I've spent a lot of time in a very small part of Antarctica, there is no way I've discovered everything. I was very fortunate my first year to work as a PC Tech which gave me a reason to be in almost every building. This year, I spent most of my time in a single office, but a few new spots still managed to show themselves and they turned out to be some of my most memorable. I've heard that someone once familiarized themselves with base by using every bathroom. I suspect they have a different definition of most memorable.

This year, they had a few scavenger hunts which had to be a great way to discover the curiosities around base like the skier, troll, snoopy, or a sign from the old bowling alley. There is no master list of neat stuff to see on base. The scavenger hunts were based on suggestions from the community. I can't imagine the loss of information if the people who have been coming down for years suddenly left. Would the replacements rediscover and identify each oddity around base? I feel that so much of the McMurdo experience is based on that knowledge and those people. While getting to explore new parts of Antarctica is what inspires, most of us don't travel for our jobs so it has to be something else that brings us back unless we are just hoping to travel (that is part of why I came back). I think it is the community.