A Cooler Day Today

Yesterday afternoon turned out beautiful with clear sky's. I went for a long walk after lunch. Today it is windy with a biting cold. Here is a link for the weather conditions and a cam:

http://www.usap.gov/videoclipsandmaps/mcmwebcam.cfm

On an earlier post I posted a picture showing the sunset at 0200. That was incorrect. It appeared to be a sunset. I found out later that as the earths revolves the sun appears to move through a 360 degree rotation around Antarctica. It is slowly dropping down with each rotation and will set on March 22nd. By May we will be in total darkness. The sun will rise again August 22nd. There will be varying degrees of light in between except for May, June and July.

Yesterday I participated in my first extracurricular activity. I attended the monthly meeting and barbeque of the Ross Island Yacht Club of Antarctica (RIYCA). I had a lot of fun meeting and talking with other members so I joined. We have plans to make sailboats and race them. That should be interesting! It was held at the bayside dorm called "Hotel California" on the 2nd floor balcony. The wind was blocked and it was nice and sunny. The bay was alive with lots of Minke whales and Orcas. I met a Kiwi engineer  from New Zealand's Scott Camp who invited me to visit. Scott Camp is about 3 miles away and staffed by 14 over the winter.

The summer-over people are leaving in droves. Yesterday's count was 88. It's interesting to hear their plans. During eating times I always sit with others that I don't know. I don't want to be labeled a loner. A girl I talked with yesterday has been coming here for the summers 10 years now. The main contractor people do 8 months. She is flying home to Alaska where she trains sled dogs for the other 4 months of the year. Another girl I heard talking is leaving here Monday and backpacking through Asia for 4 months before returning here. For someone who enjoys traveling this is certainly the duty to have.

This is the main 10 meter tracking antenna before the dome.

McMurdo is directly north of this caption and about 800 miles from the South Pole.

The weather really cleared up yesterday afternoon. The ice is about 1.2 miles away.

Mount Discovery a volcano named after the expedition ship Discovery. The space shuttle Discovery was also named after this vessel.

This is the dome that encases the 10 meter dish antenna shown in the first picture.

Tacos with preformed shells for lunch yesterday - a far cry from my wife's delicious tacos.

Who would pick this guy up? Maybe an Emperor  penguin perhaps!

The Commodore of the Ross Island Yacht Club of Antarctica preparing hamburgers for the meeting.

They were good!

A nice view of Mount Discovery.

The 10 meter dome again.

Recycling is really huge here.

You really have to think about the trash in your hand - where to put it?

A Skua bird. Larger that a seagull but with the wings of an Albatross. Very aggressive at getting food. They hunt in pairs and share what they steal.

The station's 24 hour sundial!

A troll waiting to attack when passing over a bridge to the Crary Lab.

A midnight view out my window.

The door to my office.

A Minke whale. Very abundant nearby.

A Skua in flight.