 |
| Endeavour's final journey taken from behind my wife's school, Cape View Elementary. Credit to Sammie Bauer. |
 |
| Another layer of seawater pumped onto the ice pier. The snow berm around the pier keeps the water in. |
 |
| A fine looking pier in Winter Quarters Bay! This is the only place in the world where this is done. What is cool is that it is now 18 feet thick and the surrounding ice is about 3 feet. The pier sinks whenever another layer is added. A hockey game would be fun now. |
 |
| A fine Antarctic day! Taken from my dorm. |
 |
| A program showing the polar orbiting satellites tracked by this station. McMurdo Station is in the lower right corner. Whenever McMurdo is within a satellite's zone it can be tracked. These polar orbiting satellites travel from the north to the south. |
 |
| This view shows the tracking area in the upper right with McMurdo in the center of the "target". |
 |
| The store is out of Speight's Beer so I have been enjoying Canterbury Draught out of Auckland. |
 |
| Clouds around Mt. Discovery. |
 |
| Another fine Antarctic sunset. It looks like fire on the ice. |
 |
| I voted already. |
 |
| A windy Sunday hike. Behind me is the generator that will be dragged out to the sea ice runway. |
 |
| If I were a helicopter pilot this would be premium duty. Observing the Antarctic from the air would be fantastic. |
 |
| Helicopter operations building on the left. To the right is the big gym quonset hut. |
 |
| The pilots spend the summer ferrying passengers to the field camps. I'll bet they get some excellent pictures. |
 |
| The fuel line going out to the sea ice runway. |
 |
| A diving hut on the left with the runway fuel line. |
 |
| A nice hike. |
 |
| Looking back to town. |
 |
| Looks like a junk yard. |
 |
| This pad contained the nuclear power plant |
 |
| Mt. Erebus 25 miles away at 13,000 feet. |
 |
| A new fuel tank to be constructed this summer. |
 |
| The sea ice runway equipment at the backside of Observation Hill. |
 |
| A cloudy sun between Mt. Erebus and Mt. Terror. |
 |
| This snow plow is used to groom the runway. |
More question from Chris. Thanks.
Mike,
is it very dark down below or can light pass through the ice? (do they need flashlights?
There is plenty of light that passes through the ice.
How about a top 10 things you won't miss from the Antarctic (and the ten that you will)
I'm working on that for a future post.
Did you gain or lose weight? What's normal for you guys
I lost 15 pounds. Most people gain on average of 20 pounds through high calorie food and the sedentary lifestyle during the dark months. People that work mostly outside need the high calorie food. It is very easy to get in a rut. I stayed active and watched what I ate.
Where is the unicycle gal (first female in US to travel cross country on a unicycle) off to for her next adventure?
She and her husband will spend several weeks tramping (hiking) New Zealand then going home to Colorado. I hope to meet up with them while cycling. If they make it to Florida this winter they plan on visiting us.
How is the crown holding up?
Excellent dental work from a well traveled (67 countries) dentist who has worked around the world.
When will you open up the Crazy Guy on a Bike (CGOAB) site for public to see?
Soon. I'm waiting until I really know it will happen.
Hey Mikey,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very informative blog and I am sure that most people who read it have learned a lot about the Antarctic. Thanks for the photo credit, but that clear one is not mine. Sammie Bauer took that one and I copied it from an email.
Well, you will be on another island soon, and we look forward to the greener pictures. Take care and love always, Andee
Thanks. I'll update the posting and give Sammie credit. Looking forward to a green island.
ReplyDelete