Stuff

Happy Halloween! I saw only one person in costume today. It was someone in a scary jester's outfit. He had no face and it scared me! Halloween was already celebrated her on 10/27. They had a big party at the "Big" gym where everyone dressed up (some dressed down), had a costume contest, then the dancing and the drinking. I was working tho my boss got coverage for me so I could go down there and see what it was all about. That was nice of her but I didn't go. It was a good thing too, because one of the firemen dressed as a Sumo (he's kind of a large man). He wore a sheet tied up like the sumo's tie it, like in a diaper and shaved most of his head except for a small tuft of hair. I saw pictures and THAT was bad enough! I guess the party goers were calling him "Fat Bastard" from Austin Powers! EEWWWWW!!

I got off work Monday morning 10/29 and was just about asleep when my phone rang. Now mind you, my phone NEVER rings! I stumbled over to it and it was one of the LT's on the line. He said he had an opening for Sea Ice Training and wanted to know if I wanted to go. I'm sure I sounded like a complete moron. He explained it again to me and said I had to be at Byrd Field center in a half hour with all my gear on. So that's what I did. What is Sea Ice Training? It involved 2 hours of classroom learning about the different types of ice (who knew?) and then we went out on the ice. Here is the description of the course:

The Sea Ice course is a one-day eight-hour course stressing safe sea ice travel and how to manage sea ice survival situations. Every new USAP participant working on or traveling over the sea ice, regardless of prior knowledge or experience, must take this course.
The course covers sea ice dynamics, hazard recognition and evaluation, local geography, weather patterns and weather conditions, and cold weather injuries. The course also covers VHF radios, and setting up and anchoring survival bag tents.

After the classroom, the 9 of us loaded into the Hagglund and drove out 1 1/2 hours out onto the Sea Ice in search of cracks, seals and penguins. We saw 2 of the 3 (no penguins). It was so much fun!! Here are some pictures from my day on the ice!

Digging Down to the Sea Ice

Readying the Drill

Drilling a Hole in the Sea Ice to See How Deep It Is

What a Crack Looks Like

I went with a bunch of Beekers. In fact, here is blog from one of them I was with (Dan):  http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/10/28/rediscovering-ross-island-getting-ready-with-survival-training/ 
I was with the other 2 people in that article as well Paul and Erin.

So I was up for 26 hours on Monday. I pretty much slept all night til the next morning! On Tuesday evening I went to Helicopter Training. It was with the firemen and it was familiarization on the operations of the helos that fly here. In case one crashes we were shown how to turn it off, where to put out a fire in the engine and how to cut people out of it. All I know is that it was cold out there!



In Front of a Huey



I had a good couple of days off! Went back to work tonight and actually got 2 whole calls!! We had a medical call and then a call for one of the butt cans smoking outside one of the smoking huts! WooHoo! It only took me 30 days to get my first call!! Thank goodness as I was getting really bored! Here's some pictures from out on the Sea Ice!

The Active Volcano, Mt. Erebus (You can see the smoke rising from the top of it!)

A Seal Hole We Found at a Crack in the Ice Note the Blood in the Upper Left Corner

The line in front is a crack. The larger white line in back is the Erebus Glacier - an actual moving glacier that comes off of Mt. Erebus on top of the sea ice.

Our Hagglund in front of Mt. Erebus

The Start of a New Week At the Bottom of the World

Good Morning! It is 0100 and it is light outside with light snow coming down. It is currently 6.8 degrees F; -14 C for all you Beeker Heads! "Beekers" is what everyone calls the researchers and scientists down here. They are live in certain dorms and the street where Crary Science Lab is located is called Beeker Street.

Over my weekend I went for a hike on the Ice Runway Road. They opened it up to recreation traffic so I took myself and my camera a short distance on the road. I also wanted to say that I walked on the Sea Ice! Close to shore there were these huge ice chunks. And I was able to watch a science crew cut a hole in the ice. I didn't get too far because it was cold (duh!) and I didn't want to slip and fall. That would be just my luck. I'd slip and fall and the fire crew would get a call (!) and have to rescue me! Heck, I slip and fall on perfectly good linoleum why would I tempt fate and walk any distance on ice? A woman has got to know her limitations and this woman DOES!

Sea Ice Runway Road



Ice Chunks




Drilling a Hole in the Ice - the Vehicle is Called a Piston Bully



Graveyards

Back at work tonight working the Graveyard shift or as they call it down here "Mid Rats". I really don't like to call myself a "Rat" let alone a "Mid Rat" so I'm just going to stick with Graveyards. I had my first drunk dialer tonight and I think it was one of the firemen. Yeah, that's a huge shocker! It helped to break some of the monotony.

Yesterday I went to the Crary Science Lab and took a tour. Quite an amazing place and there is a lot of science and research being conducted there. I got to hold a "Blast" rock from Mt. Erebus. It was a rock that got blasted out of the volcano. The rock was quite large but it was super light! And I got to hold a Sea Lice!! Here are some websites of the science going on down here:
http://penguinscience.com/index.php
www.cedarweb.hao.ucar.edu/
www.antarcticgeospace.org
http://cires.colorado.edu/science/groups/chu/projects/mcmurdo.html
www.wissard.org/

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/10/18/rediscovering-ross-island-the-2012-expedition-to-understand-the-geologic-origin-of-ross-island-antarctica/

http://erebus.nmt.edu/index.php

 And a webcam:   

http://www.antarcticanz.govt.nz/scott-base/webcams 

Blast rock

Touching a starfish

Holding a Sea Lice!!



Specimens at Crary Lab



HIke to Hut Point

Me at Hut Point Standing Next to Vince's Cross

Robert F. Bird's Hut Hence Hut Point

Leopard Seal!

Leopard Seals on the Ice



Mumified Seal - Yep, I Got a Picture of THAT!



All Ice

Last night I decided I wanted to go for a hike. I asked my roommate if she wanted to go and she agreed. So we put our bib overalls, boots, hat, gloves and Big Reds on and started the half mile trek to Hut Point. It was so pretty out there and we saw several Leopard seals. Here are some pictures! My plan is to go out there every 2 weeks or so and take pictures and document the changes such as the ice melt and change over to open water.

Pictures

Here ya go!!

Coffee House!

My Dorm - I can't figure out how to flip it!

Fun at Work! James is the Creeper!

Scott Base Ewwww!!

My Dorm Building is the last one on the right ^

View from my hike

Engine 1 Anarctic Fire Department, McMurdo Station

My Photo Has Been Published!

I get to work this evening and open my e-mail and what do I find? I found an e-mail titled "USAP McMurdo Station Situation Report FY12 #2 Week Ending 14 October 2012". I opened the attachment and right there on the first page (the title page) is my picture that I took of the Erebus Chalice (see above)!! Needless to say I was all crack-ish and stopped every fireman that walked thru the door and hollered, "Look! Look it's my picture!!" I'm sure they all think I am some freaky old woman! Whatever. I am pretty excited about it!

I have tonight and tomorrow night and then I am on my 3 day weekend. I am hoping to go to the gym, find some people to go hiking to Hut Point (I hear there is a mummified seal there - I gotta get pictures of THAT!), go to the coffee house Friday evening for the showing of the "Twilight Zone" (yes, the old TV series!), I have to go to ethics training for an hour and a half on Saturday and then find something else to do, Church on Sunday then a tour of the Crary Science Lab and then Sunday evening take in the science lecture. That's the plan. I'll probably be so exhausted from working graves that I'll sleep Friday away, go to the coffee house Friday evening, watch the movie, be home by 8:30 PM (that would happen even if I didn't sleep the day away!) be up all night and have my sleep all messed up! I hope that doesn't happen! :-)

Day Off

So far on my day off I have done laundry and then separated my garbage. That is really a chore in itself as I have to take everything out of my can and place it in the right bins. It can get a little yucky tho! Here's a picture of the bins. And today is Monday here but it is Sunday everywhere I care about so that means FOOTBALL!! I was able to watch Dallas lose!! Woot Woot!!

Here are some more pictures!

The Delta we rode to the station in

The Radio Room I am working in

Windmills

2 Weeks On Continent

Today marks 2 weeks I have been on Continent. The following are my observations.

• We all look pretty much the same when we are outside. All of us have our Big Red parkas with the fur hood. When it is blowing snow all of us have our hoods up and are bundled up like the kid in a Christmas Story. I can't tell a man from a woman let alone if it is anyone I know!
• The food overall, is pretty good...except for the breakfasts. I stood in the "Egg Line" the other day hoping that an egg white omelet with mushrooms, onions and peppers would be better than the other breakfasts I've eaten while here and was sadly disappointed. It had a faint taste of fish. YUCK! On the other hand, the prime rib with scalloped potatoes and asparagus last Friday evening was fantastic!
• There are no trees here. There are no bugs here. (And that's a good thing!) I miss hearing birds.
• People like to drink alcohol here. There are 2 bars, Gallagher's and Southern Exposure and both are open Tuesday thru Saturday 1900 to 2300 and Sunday 1800 to 2200. And there is a "Day Bar" at Southern Exposure on Tuesday, Thursday and Staurdays from 0700 to 1100. I would think with so many other things to do here that maybe, just maybe people could go to the gym, take a spin class, play volleyball or basketball, go to the coffee house, hang out in a dorm lounge and play pool or watch a movie, volunteer at the radio station, go to a science lecture or present a travelogue, to name a few things.
• The coffee house has free coffee drinks!! Capuccino, Latte, Americano, etc. It's free! And on most nights around 1900 or 1930 they show a movie in the attached movie house! It is my favorite place to go!!
• There are no flowers or grass or anything that grows on land here so that means there are no pleasant smells. In fact, there are no smells at all outside.
• It stays light for 24 hours. Like now. It is 0100 and it is still light outside! It looks like dusk but it is still light! Very Freaky!
• Firemen are the same EVERYWHERE! Though I have to say, thy have taken good care of me. They give me breaks and let me eat with them at the dining area and have invited me to....the bar!!
• Snow might as well be sand. It is all over the place! And speaking of snow, it is nicer over at Scott Base. There seems to be more of it and it is cleaner and fluffier.
• On TV is whatever the Armed Forces Network decides to show. I wish I had an "in" with someone so I could watch more Bears games!

Trek to Scott Base

I just got back from a trip over to Scott Base. That is the base just down the road that is run by New Zealand. We had to not only take our parkas off but we had to take our shoes/boots off. The carpet was very nice in there and everything looked clean and in its place (unlike the station I am at a 1950's version of a military base!). I bought some t shirts and other gifts and of course I took some pictures! It is a cold evening tonight. I gotta go back to my room and warm up! Oh and I got a TV today! We get the Armed Forces Network so hopefully I will get to watch some decent football games! As the Kiwi's say...Cheers!

Kiwi!

The Erebus Chalice

Last night I went to the Church of the Snows to see the arrival of the Erebus Chalice. The following is some information on what it is:

"Ms. Bird (a descendant of Admiral Bird) acquired the Erebus Chalice, which is thought to have been made ca. 1908 in London. To commemorate the 75th anniversary of Captain Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated 1911 expedition to the South Pole, Ms. Bird had it engraved and dedicated for the use in services here (Antarctica) on Christmas Day 1987. It is displayed in the Chapel of the Snows during the austral summer. During the austral winter, the Chalice is returned and displayed at the Christchurch Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand. (Which was destroyed in the earthquake a couple of years ago and is now housed at a Catholic Boys school there.) At the beginning of each summer season, the Chalice is presented in the special Opening Ceremonies worship service in Christchurch and carried to the Ice by the Chaplains. The Erebus Chalice is among the most treasured and historic items on the frozen continent."

Here's a pictures of the Chalice and the inside of the the Church of the Snows.

Erebus Chalice

The Priest FR. Yvan and the Chaplain Jake are really great guys! I will post more church pictures when I can. I am having technical difficulties with this computer I am using. The inside of the church has a penguin on the stained glass!

My Day Off

Today was my first day off I've had since I left for this adventure! I spent it doing laundry, making some phone calls to family, ate brunch! (yes, on Sunday's they have brunch at 1000!), read some and took a nap! We are currently in Condition 2. Condition 3 is normal weather, no wind things can be completed outside as long as one is dresseed appropriately. Condition 2 is altered visibility due to blowing snow and winds upwards of 65 MPH. Condition 1 is winds over 65 MPh and no visibility. We are in Condition 2 and have been most of the day. That's why I pretty much stayed in my dorm building except to go to eat. It is NASTY outside!! Here are some pictures of my dorn room. the room's furniture is circa Military Housing furniture from the 1970's! I am trying to decorate it as best I can!!

Hello From Sunny and Warm McMurdo Station!

It is a balmy 8degrees with a wind chill of 0.8 degrees! Actually it isn't too bad! Had a good day at work today. Nothing terrible happened and we had 2 flights come it. We got new people and what they call "Freshies" - fresh fruits and vegetables! I had asparagus tonight with dinner!! I was able to get a few pictures this evening after work. They are of Scott Hut and the Church. Also here's a picture of all of us dispatchers!

First Day Working The Radio

Today I got to work the radio for a couple of hours and my Ju Ju is back!!! I had my first "HAZ MAT"!! It was an oil spill at the helo pad. Spills are very dangerous because of the potential damage to the environment and I was the first dispatcher to get a call for the Summer season! Woot, Woot!! I am sooooooo happy to be back doing my first love....dispatching!! It was so much fun today! Tomorrow we have 2 flights coming in...one is a C-17 the other is an Airbus 319. I don't want anything really bad to happen but some excitement would be a blast!!

Busy Long Day and....

Yes, feeling a bit on Information Overload! Lots to learn with little time! I did learn that things can go bad...really bad...really quickly! i.e. C130 plane crashes, fires, etc. So far none of that has happened but I haven't started on the radio yet! :-)

Here's some pics from yesterday when I arrived!