We are now alone . . . . last flight.

The last plane of the season coming in.
Today, April 17, 2008 was the last flight of winter. The plane brought a few new people, fresh vegetables, six triwalls of mail (!), and other miscellaneous cargo. It took science cargo and some of our best people back out. I'm sad to see them go, but also excited to get into a winter rhythm with the people who are here.

I had planned to just head up to transport in town to say goodbye to all of the extended season folks. However, on my way up I was detoured into a van heading out to Pegasus. I had never been out at the runway when a plane left, so I jumped at the chance. It gave me the chance to see things up close and have a little more time to say my goodbyes.


The last plane, a C-17 Globemaster, at Pegasus Field.


Chris in the reflection of her compuer.
On our way out to the airstrip, we were lucky enough to see the plane come in and land. It was only a dot in the sky from where we were, but it was exciting to see. I wonder how different everyone's emotions will be the next time they see a plane come in. Once I got out to the airstrip, we had a lot of downtime while they plane was unloaded and loaded back up. It was a lot of time to idle, but it was a gorgeous day out.


Last goodbyes at the airstrip.


Chris on her way back to Denver. She'll be missed.

It was certainly sad to see so many good people leave, but it wasn't as emotional as everyone suggested it would be. A lot of people had talked about regret, wanting to get on the plane, relief, etc. For me, it feels like another day so far. That might be because I told myself that I was staying long ago and this plane was just a formality. Kind of like graduation. The deed was done in my head, the ceremony didn't matter.


Last call . . . . all aboard.


When there are no more goodbyes . . .

I think the biggest difference that I am really excited about is everyone is in a good mood. It is a transition period and the last flight injected a ton of great energy into base. I hope it stays that way. There are definitely a few people who are hurting because their best friends have left, but more people than not seem excited. I just got back from a start of winter champagne toast and moods were definitely cheery. That might be the alcohol though.


Goodbye plane, goodbye extended season.


One pass over the airfield


and one final pass over town, then winter started.
I don't know what experience holds for me yet. I'm not sure what to expect or even what I want out of it yet. I just know I am here and that is enough for now. There were a couple of times where I almost decided to come home. I am not going to get to see En Sabah Nur play this year a single time and they'll most likely be playing at nationals in my backyard. I'm definitely missing Alicia and Lucas' wedding. Also going to miss Joe and Lidia's wedding. I might end up missing John and Cecilia's wedding. These are people that are important to me and it is tough to turn my back on them and these one time events to pursue my own dreams. Yet, here I am. Here it goes.


Sunset rays over the peninsula and winter, but every exit is an entrance to some place else.
I also want to wish good luck to Cabrini who had her first day of Peace Corps training in Philadelphia on her way to Botswana to fight the AIDS epidemic.


Chris and I at the runway.

Attitude

Meg at sunset at Hut Point.
Change your socks changed your attitude. Changes in latitude lead to changes in attitude. No matter how you look at it, attitude is everything. Do you go to sleep with a smile? Do you wake up with one? Do you make the choice to be in a good mood? I realize there are a lot of events beyond our control, but we still choose our reaction.


Meg and Annie, two people with the best attitude EVER!
A lot of my attitude depends on my ability to get out and do the things I love. If I don't have those things, I need good people to prop me up and let me steal some of their good energy. Unfortunately, I'm not too close to too many people down here who will be sure to notice and pick my mopey butt up. I'm getting those friendships slowly though. The past couple weeks have been pretty tough for me because of a negative attitude (hence the lack of blogging). My lack of sleep, having a bum ankle, and the incessant complaining about corporate policies (like changing the date of WinFly) have been rubbing on me. I finally realized it and made the choice to be more positive. It worked. That simple. Each and everyday, I simply made the choice and wah-lah, better day. Make the choice, sometimes known as fake it until you make it.


Annie at Hut Point.
Tomorrow the last flight leaves. We'll be down to 120+ people for five months. No one knows when we are leaving yet due to some changes coming up in the program. It is an interesting state of limbo to not know what to base my future plans on. As I hinted at earlier, a lot of people are fussing a good bit about it. Hopefully, that will change when the flight leaves. In the mean time, I'll start planing for tomorrow 2pm when it gets a whole lot quieter. There are a lot of good people leaving and it is going to be interesting to see how base changes. Even if a lot of people are excited to see them go so they can settle into their winter routines, the extended season people will be missed.


Meg and I at Hut Point.

A Hike

A Fata Morgana.
A month ago, I wanted to head down to Hut Point to make sure Baby Skua had flown away. While out there, we saw some spectacular Fata Morganas. I posted about them before but not everyone was able to see what I was talking about. I think these pictures will help those visually impaired people (Julie!) be able to see them easier.

What you are looking for in the first picture is the repeated (vertically) small islands. They are seen once where the island meets the sea ice and again a little bit above them. This is most easily seen on the vertically smallest islands. Once you notice the effect there, you should be able to see it on the thicker parts of islands as well.


Another Fata Morgana with Mt. Discovery.
This second picture may be a little harder to see the Fata Morgana in. You are looking at Mt. Discovery. The base of the mountain doesn't sheer off into cliffs. The bottom part of the mountain that is meeting the sea ice only looks like a cliff (the repeating pattern) because of the Fata Morgana that allows sea ice level images to appear higher than they are.


Just a neat picture of the Ross Island coastline.
It might just be that my ankle is all messed up and I can't hike anywhere right now, but I don't know if we've had such a nice day since that hike. I miss it. I miss being able to get out. I'm headed to physical therapy in twenty minutes, but as usual, I'm impatient to heal up. Lisa says I'm supposed to stay off it for three months! As a lot of you know, the chance of me staying off anything for three months is slim even if my x-rays came back inconclusive about if I do or do not have a fracture. However, this might be a great chance to heal properly too since I can't go too far. If nothing else, I'll be patient today since it is Condition 2 out. I was waiting all night for something to break through my window. Luckily, nothing did and I was only robbed of a little sleep.


Discovery Hut with McMurdo base in the background.

When pretty colors aren't that pretty . . .

Katie and Rachel on Rachel's b-day! (photo by B-Nelson)
On March 17th, we had the privilege of celebrating Rachel's birthday with her. She got Hut 10 and Katie whipped up some basic, but great grub for Rachel. Major kudos to Katie since it was her day off and did what she always does, cook. Rachel wanted a basic dinner because our dining hall usually makes more complex dishes. Katie made chicken wings, mac & cheese, cake, and other yummy stuff I can't remember to go with Rachel's favorite drink - Pepsi (sometimes mixed with Rum).


B-Nelson hiding in window sill of Hut 10 (photo by Rachel J.).


Jude, smartly inside Hut 10 staying warm (photo by Rachel J.)


The rest of us enjoying sunset outside of Hut 10. (photo by Holly T.)
Outside of having stupendous company, a yummy dinner, and being in Antarctica, I think Rachel might have gotten the sweetest present of all - a sunset that I'm not sure I have ever seen matched in the world, not even in the Pacific or Atlantic oceans.


Rachel's b-day sunset (photo by Rachel J.)


Rachel's b-day sunset over Hut 10's backyard (photo by Rachel J.)


Holy Orange Batman! (photo by Rachel J.)


Disappearing sun light (photo by Rachel J.)
Fast forward to this week and I was attending another birthday party in Hut 10. Papa Bravo didn't have a great sunset, but Cathy and he did whip up some great Cuban sandwiches and Cuban style beans and rice. At his party, Papa Bravo said he used to live in Batman in a Southeastern US state. I can't remember which state and can't google it. Are there any other superhero towns out there? Where is Batman?

As for me, I just got done with a work order in medical. It seems they didn't want gansta rap to be playing in their waiting room . I thought they were setting a trend and were soon going to be outsourcing their new idea to the world, but maybe not.

This week is a short week. We get a two day weekend which I have mixed feelings about. Normally, I'd get to go out and play, ski, etc. However, I can't do that this weekend. I managed to sprain my ankle Monday night and that leads into the theme of this blog 'when pretty colors aren't that pretty . . . ' The pictures should speak for themselves.


4 days since the sprain.


4 days since the sprain, notice the pretty colors on top.

Sledding

Shawntel and B-Nelson Heading towards the second sled hill.
An old Sabah teammate and friend, Jon Stadlin, is working with a group of kids called the Y Explorers that teaches kids about the Earth. They asked what we do for fun. This post is for them, specifically Daniera and Nadina. Unfortunately, there is no way that these pictures will do the experience justice.

The Castle Rock loop is about 9.3 miles round trip, but only 3.6 miles to the rock. We hauled a sled that is normally used to haul materials up to the rock. From there, we were able to go on the first of the two best sled rides of my life! Shawntel, Brian, and I hopped in the sled and came flying down the hill found in this old blog picture. Just follow the flag line and you'll see where we went and pretty much stopped. We all had to lean together like a bobsled team to steer where we were going. I was pretty amazed at how far we had gone, probably over a half mile. However, the best fun was still to be had.


The big sledding hill (and the Kiwi ski hill on the left)!
With a few attempts at sled surfing along the way, we moved the sled down to the next hill. This hill was a lot steeper and longer. The kiwis use part of it as their ski hill. The big trick about navigating this hill was that we had to follow the flag line. We have to follow the flag line whenever we hike in Antarctica because it marks the safe walking routes. If we left the flag line, we could fall into a crevasse. If you enlarge the picture above and look closely, you can see a set of vertical flags. There are also a few very hard to see ones one third of the way down that marks the beginning and right side of the Kiwi ski hill. Two-thirds of the way down, near a bunching in the vertical line, is a very hard to see horizontal flag line that marks a crevasse.

With all of the above in mind and plans to bail out if we got to far off course, we set off on our journey. We started from a spot just out of sight in the picture above. I was in the front and we started off slow. As we reached top speed, we couldn't steer quite as well and got a little off course. Brian dug his hands in the snow to get us back on track and we slid safely down to where the building was. It didn't feel safe though. It was scarier than the front of any roller coaster I have ever been on. We might not have gone as fast as a roller coaster, but we didn't have the same safety equipment either. I can't wait to go again.


Walking back to base after the best sledding EVER!

2nd to last flight

Castle Rock and Mt. Erebus
This set of pictures was taken over a month ago when the next to last flight of summer was leaving. Not too much to say about it, just a lot to show. It was amazing to get such a nice day when they were leaving because it had been bad weather more often than not that last couple weeks of mainbody (summer).


Mt. Terror from the Castle Rock loop trail.


Me in front of Castle Rock.


B-Nelson, Mt. Hood resident, research tech, and a constant source of laughter.



Looking at my backside while I am climbing up the back side of Castle Rock.


Looking down at Brian's head while he heads up Castle Rock.


Fabulous clouds over Mt. Terror.


Inaccessible, Tent, Razorback islands and Cape Evans.


Mt. Erebus from Castle Rock.


The next to last plane leaving (picture from B-Nelson).


The trail back to town.


Castle Rock with Joe L on top.


Brian and I leaving Castle Rock (picture by Joe L.)


Me on Castle Rock with Mt. Erebus in the background.

Southern Cross

When you see the Southern Cross for the first time,
You understand now why you came this way.
'Cause the truth you might be runnin' from is so small,
But it's as big as the promise, the promise of a comin' day.
-Crosby, Stills, and Nash

It is 3:45am in the morning and I just saw the Southern Lights/Aurora Australis and the Southern Cross for the first time. It is definitely a reason that I came this way.

A major thank you to Candy who woke me up for this and excitement for Cabrini who is on her way to see the Southern Cross for the first time next month.

Calling me in Antarctica

Sunset last night.
There seems to be a little confusion about time zones and calling me in Antarctica. To call, you must choose one of these three numbers.

1.720.568.1036
1.800.688.8606 x42604 (has voice mail, only available outside the 303/720 area codes)
1.303.790.8606 x42604 (has voice mail)

These three phone numbers ring two different phones in my office. I am scheduled to work from 7:30am-5pm, but I'm not always here. I eat lunch. I work out. I meet. When I actually work on a computer, I go to where it is so it can be difficult to reach me during a busy week. I feel the best time to reach me is Mon-Sat 8am-10am (paperwork time) followed by 2pm-4pm (downtime if there aren't any work orders).

I'm on New Zealand time which is currently 17 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. To me, that means I'm 7 hours behind, but a day head.

Mon-Sat 8am-10am my time translates to:
Sun-Fri 3pm-5pm Pennsylvania/Massachusetts
Sun-Fri 2pm-4pm Wisconsin!
Sun-Fri 1pm-3pm Colorado
Sun-Fri 12pm-2pm California/Oregon

Mon-Sat 2pm-4pm my time translates to:
Sun-Fri 9pm-11pm Pennsylvania/Massachusetts
Sun-Fri 7pm-9pm Colorado
Sun-Fri 6pm-8pm Colorado
Sun-Fri 6pm-8pm California/Oregon

IMPORTANT: On April 6th, New Zealand will leave Day Light Savings time, so then I'll be 16 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. Subtract an hour from all the above times after that happens.

A swing in the BFC being used after the travelogue.

For all of you who need a reminder . . .

Is it really lemon rock candy?
I realize that most of the people who read this are heading towards spring, but it never hurts to have a reminder of common safety items (especially for Nancy who felt that yellow rock candy or gobstoppers might be where it is at). Here at Raytheon Polar Services, they constantly remind us that 'Safety is No Accident.' There might still be a snow storm or two left where you are at. If you are in Colorado, you might even be getting a few more good days of powder skiing. I think my last day last year was around Earth Day on a Tuesday at A-Basin. Going riding is always better than going working. I miss it (and by it, I mean calling off work to go riding).

Last night while we played Risk, we enjoyed another spectacular sunset. The sun disappeared behind the horizon at 7:30pm, but was kicking colors up until at least 10pm. Simply amazing. That is never going to get old. South Pole's sun set for the final time a few days ago and, as I understand it, they'll be seeing sunset colors nonstop for at least the next month. It's good to be in Antarctica, if you can just ignore the cold (Latest weather 14F, wind chill 0F).


7:30pm sunset.

Condition 2 again

The makings of a Condition 2.
Last night was second of two wonderful weather nights. The weather has been some of the worst that I have experienced in Antarctic yet and I was giddy about it. Of course, that might have had to do with being near or inside buildings. If I was in the field, I probably wouldn't have been happy. I know that no helicopters left yesterday because of the terrible weather. It looks like it is clearing up today and I already heard a couple helicopters roaring to life.


Snowstorm! (picture compliments of Rachel J.)
I guess I've been outside in a couple condition two storms before, but this one seemed the worst. Maybe it was. Maybe I just lingered long enough to appreciate its ferocity. So many times we talk about the dangers of Antarctic weather coming up quickly, but this is one of the first times I felt it. My normal recreational habits keep me safe from the general cold, but I'm not sure they'd keep me safe in this. It is a good eye opener of where I live.


A lull in the storm. Taken from the 155 facing 209.


Brian, Katie, and I play in the storm. Taken from the exact same spot as the picture above (video compliments of Rachel J.).
I don't feel like these pictures or videos usually do our storms justice. I hope that adding a clear day versus a storm picture will help show the differences. If nothing else, just listen to the wind whip by in the video when we aren't talking. I'm not sure I could have made it home if I didn't know exactly where we were going or had reinforcing landmarks on the way. We just disappear into the blowing snow so quickly. I imagine being in the field during this particular storm wouldn't have been quite as hard as the exercise we did at Happy Camper where we put a white bucket over our head, but it certainly would have been challenging.


Brian cleans up after his snow battle. Don't wear moccasins.


This photo was taken from 209, my new dorm, facing 155, my old dorm.
When I got back to my room, I thought I'd be done with the storm. However, that wasn't quite the case. I'm in a corner room so I think I get a little more wind than others. It woke me up a few times during the night and was probably to be expected. What I didn't expect was a half inch of snow to be on my window sill wall when I got back. I knew my single pane window wasn't great, but I had no idea that the wind could force so much snow through.


My window sill.
The next morning things seemed just as bad. I checked the weather and it was confirmed - still nasty out. I took a quick look at the weather channel and found the following two slides.


Our weather man's clever report.


Evidence of our working conditions?
To the more jaded on station, the second slide is more important. Many people have suggested that management keeps the base at Condition 2 or 3 in the morning so that we have to go to work. They'll only switch the base to Condition 1 after we should be at work or when the conditions are truly terrible. I thought the conditions were truly terrible, but apparently they can be worse because we were only in Condition 3 or 2 all morning or management did really want us to get to work.

Either way, things momentarily started to clear up at noon. This is a picture of Hut Point taken from near the power plant. I thought things were going to completely clear up by night because of those blue skies, but apparently that was only the eye of the storm. With nightfall came the horrendous winds again. Today though, things are actually clearing up.


Hut Point during a lull in the storm.