Part 2 of my Sunday.

After my hike I stopped by the Chalet to see this sculpture of Admiral Bird. All these early Antarctic explorers really impress me with ability to survive in such harsh conditions especially with the equipment that existed then. 

The Chalet deck with a sculpture of Admiral Bird.

The first to fly over the South Pole.

Nice deck and view.

I then checked in at the fire house. When you leave town for a hike you must fill out an eFoot Plan to let the dispatcher know where you are headed and when you will check in. If you don't check in within 5 minutes of the expected time the Search and Rescue (SAR) group is put into action. And they take it very serious here. Some of the hikes are solo while some require two people. They all require a radio and an eFoot Plan.

Brunch was being served next.

Sunday brunch - Banana pancakes, bacon with cheese and fruit.

This was delicious.

Real hot cocoa.

 

There are 14 dorms on station. All but three are shut down for the winter with everyone getting their own room. Unfortunately my dorm building was having boiler problems so the decision was made to shut it down. A room is a room but I lost my beautiful view of McMurdo Sound. Which in the grand scheme of things really doesn't matter as it will be dark for the winter so won't be able to see much anyway starting next month until the sun rises again mid August. Oh well.

My new room.

It's easy to figure out what to wear. There's six months right here!  T-shirts on the top shelf.

Nice big screen entertainment center with built in VHS player!

Door to the bathroom on the right.

Fridge and sink.

It is a room for two but winter-overs get their own room.

Inside the bathroom.

It is shared.

A fine Sunday meal - prime rib, baked beans, string bean casserole, lemon turkey soup, spinach and carrots salad and a glass of milk. Saturday evenings wine is allowed in the galley. 

On Sunday evenings the recreation department shows Antarctic documentaries at the Coffee House. So after dinner I took a walk to Hut Point (where Scott's Discovery Hut is from a previous post) and was back for the start of The Last Continent. Narrated by Donald Sutherland this documentary chronicles a group of Canadian scientists who sailed to Antarctica on a 4 masted schooner spending a total of 440 days onboard while wintering-over for global warming research. 

The Coffee House bar and theater. The NASA station is to the left.

Inside the theater. The entire ceiling and walls are covered in old wood planks.

The game area with quite a selection of board games, cards, and puzzles.

Snow shoes add to the atmosphere...

along with this old sled.

The bar. Coffee and wine.

Very comfy in the theater!

Some cool Antarctic art with wine corks.

One more view of the theater.