Thanksgiving weekend

This Thanksgiving I gave thanks to having two days off in a row! I had a very eventful weekend filled with eating, drinking, running and jumping into 28 degree water. Since Sunday is our normal day off we celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday so that we could have a two day weekend. Saturday started off with the annual 5K Turkey Trot, a fun run that takes you from town out to the ice runway and back. Pre-Turkey Trot...




Dinner was served at 5pm. It was amazing what the kitchen put out for 1000 people. We had everything from greenbean casserole to homeade whipped cream for the pumpkin pies. However, it's the first Thanksgiving dinner I've ever eaten on a cafeteria lunch tray...



That night was the "block party." Brian, a fellow janitor, put together flyers about two weeks prior to Thanksgiving advertising this "block party" for our particular hallway. I think the whole station was there at one point or another...even the beakers (a.k.a. scientists) showed up. Here's Brian in front of the "wall o' panties" that happens to be one door down from my room. This fine collage started when a certain pair of "man panties" were tacked up on the wall after being kicked around the hallway for two weeks. The attached sign says "touch the man panties for good luck." I haven't tried my luck.
Here's Brian sitting in front of the wall o' panties getting warmed up for the block party...


The night ended with Jesse, another fellow janitor, getting "bisquik'ed."


* * * * * *

On Sunday I was lucky enough to hook up with a science group from Clemson University who have been diving for invertebrates. We left for the Cape Evans dive shack around 11am Sunday morning via two Pisten Bullies. After a bumpy hour and a half and two seal sightings later we arrived at the base of the Erebus Glacier where the dive shack is located.





This particular group is studying egg masses that are present on invertebrates such as sea slugs and sea spiders. There is more oxygen in colder water so their goal is to find out whether these organisms produce more eggs than simillar species in warmer waters.

We literally drove an hour and a half across the sea ice to get to this shack, which is also on the ice. The ice is about 5 feet deep at this point. Inside the hut, there is a hole about 3' in diameter drilled through the sea ice. The hut is heated in order to keep the water from freezing. Soon, the sea ice will be unsafe to drive on and will eventually break apart.

Here is the dive shack and the two Pisten Bullies we took out...




The hole...


There were 6 divers who dove in pairs. Each pair dove twice and were down for about 35 minutes each dive. Surprisingly, they say the only things that get cold are their hands and feet. With them they would take specimen containers and nets to keep samples of algae, sea spiders, snails, sea slugs, and tiny, tiny starfish. As I said, the dive shack sits at the base of the Erebus Glacier so while diving they have incredible views of the part of the glacier underwater.

John diving...



Afterwards, some of us decided to take the "polar plunge." You have to be careful when jumping into the hole because any forward momentum can be ugly...Erika and I both suffered from skinned knees. Luckily, I didn't notice because of the 28 degree water I was scrambling to get out of...

Bruce...



Me...


Yes, we're crazy!


Here is a pic of the Erebus Glacier, just outside of the dive shack...




We left the shack around 4pm and decided to go for a bit of a penguin hunt. Unfortunatly, we were unsuccessful. However, we did visit the Barn Glacier. Earlier in the season I posted pictures taken from Shackleton's hut with the Barn Glacier far in the distance. We drove the Pisten Bullies within a quarter mile of its end and walked the rest of the way. There was a colonly of about 15 seals at its base which we got within 20 feet of. This was the most amazing part of the day. The glacier didn't look real but instead like bluish white styrofoam towering 150 feet above us.

Walking up to the Barn Glacier with Erebus in the distance...










Looking back from the glacier with the Royal Society range in the background...





We saw a snow petrel which is VERY, VERY rare. One of the divers who was with us has seen about 10 of them within the past 28 years he has been coming to the ice...






That's about all of the photos I have to share right now. Temps topped out at 34 degrees earlier this week. I'd say it was about 25 today, windier and overcast. It doesn't matter where I am, even Antarctica, I can't seem to escape mud season. Not only do you have to jump over rivers of muddy water when walking through town, it makes it much harder to keep the buildings clean. Earlier this week I was feeling a bit over my job and somewhat frustrated. I think it had to do with all of the nice weather we've been having and not being able to enjoy it during the day. I gave myself a little attitude adjustment and today I was feeling much better. Sometimes I have to remind myself where I am.

Cheers

I love Sundays 11.19.06

Not much to report this week. Lost in Monday night volleyball, won in Friday night dodgeball and no crazy costume parties or talent shows.

For those of you who frequent morning shows, you may have seen the bit on McMurdo station and its science projects on Monday's edition of Good Morning America. There was a live feed shot somewhere between 1-3am Tuesday morning outside of the National Science Foundation Chalet. A group of us chose to stay up that late hoping to be caught on camera. Unfortunately, there were communication problems so they took the interview inside. We opted for hot chocolate over standing outside in the wind after only a half hour. It was a cooold night!

Another interesting thing here on station is the presence of film director Warren Herzog. Herzog is German and the director of the documentary The Grizzly Man. For those of you who haven't see it I highly recommend it. Hopefully we will see something from Herzog featuring life in Antarctica but no word yet.

Yesterday was my second penguin sighting only this time it was from a telescope in the Crary Lab. There were six Emperor Penguins who wandered onto the ice runway a half hour before a C-17 was scheduled to land. It was quite comical watching three firefighters escort six very confused penguins off the runway! Yesterday was my day to clean the ice runway bathroom so after viewing them from the Crary Lab I high-tailed it out to the runway but unfortunately, they were long gone. We did manage to see a baby seal on the way back into town although he didn't look like he was doing so well :(

I recently received a request via email to talk more about what types of things are being studied here at McMurdo and what exactly I do. In case I've been unclear I am working as a janitor, hence the title of my blog, "polarsweep!" I'm going to do my homework this week and get all of the facts straight before I talk more about some of the things going on down here. I apologize for not talking more about my job and for tending to focus on my free time but with a six day work week and the nature of my job I'm not usually excited to "talk shop" on my day off. I encourage anyone to ask questions by leaving comments. I'll do my best to get you an answer.


Baby seal near ice runway...



My friend Jared and I skiing the Cape Armatage loop earlier today...




Have a good week everyone.

Another week 11.12.06

Life is good here and continuing to go by quickly. On Mondays the six day work week seems like it will never end but then all of a sudden it's Saturday night again and it starts all over. Today I slept in until 11am after a very late night, went skiing and am now enjoying company and a latte at the coffee house.

We are lucky to have a super "rec" department here who manages to keep us very busy throughout the week and on the weekends. Last night we had "Freak Train" which is a talent contest including everything from stand up, singing, skits, you name it. One of my good friends Etosha, at practically the last minute, decided that "yeah, I could do a Tina Turner lip-sync act." So we through together an outfit in about 20 minutes, complete with Crazy Mike's Beaver fur hat from Russia, and picked "Rollin' Down the River" as her theme song (I feel bad for Tina Turner that a beaver fur hat so closely resembled her own hair). She nailed it! Her performance had the whole bar lit up and she ended up winning the grand prize of $300! It was great and we were all so proud of her especially since "she wasn't sure if she should do it!"

Thankfully, partying isn't the only thing that we do down here although, I can't speak for everyone. Last week my roommate Tracy and I rented X-country skis from gear issue and skied the Cape Armatage track which takes you out onto the sea ice, around the Cape Armatage Horn and to the Kiwi's Scott Base. I can't believe I grew up in the state of Wisconsin and have never x-country skied before. It was great and I can't wait to invest in a pair of my own. Hopefully Bob and Mary can give me a few pointers! Since going out last Sunday, we've managed to get out 3 more times, including today. Between skiing and dodge ball, I think I have permanently pulled the muscles of my inner thighs!

Last week, temperatures finally climbed into the 20's. I ditched my "big red" and started wearing only a fleece around town. Things have cooled down a bit since then and temps are back into the single digits. Today the high was 8 degrees with clear skis and little wind, perfect weather for skiing. Looks like it will stay that way through the week. If anyone is interested in tracking the weather and temperatures for McMurdo I've learned of a reliable site...weatherunderground.com

There is a house on station known as "hut 10" which is reserved for higher ups and even senators or politicians who have visited McMurdo. Usually this is where departments will host parties each month but as individuals, we are allowed to use hut 10 for personal use once during the season. Friday night I reserved hut 10 and had friends over to relax, sip wine, look at pictures from home and watch a movie. Jared had a great idea which was to have everyone in our circle sign up for one night over a block of time so that we could all move in for a couple of weeks! It felt good to escape dorm life for a night and relax in an actual house.

It's Sunday night and I'm having a hard time deciding whether to stay here in the coffee house and watch the movie "Constant Gardener" playing at 7:30 or go to the science lecture on the ice burg B 15. There is so much going on here. If you get bored than you probably don't have a pulse!


Outside of Hut 10...


Tracy and I skiing Cape Armatage 11.5.06...


View of McMurdo, Ob Hill and Mt. Erebus from the Cape Armatage track 11.5.06...



Joe and Tracy skiing up to Scott Base 11.12.06...


Skiing upto Scott Base 11.12.06...


Sunday at the coffee house. That's my roommate Tracy, also a Wisco girl who now lives in Juneau, Alaska...







Cheers!

Good Times in MacTown 11.2.06

Week 4…it’s hard to believe that on Saturday it will be one month since arriving at McMurdo. As of Tuesday the Polies (those headed to the South Pole for the summer) were finally able to fly out as temperatures climbed above -50 degrees, the minimum temperature required for flights to reach the pole. Just to clarify, that's -50 at the Pole, not at McMurdo. Before Tuesday the station was bustling at 1085, 15 people below capacity. From what I've been told, temperatures are about 10 degrees below average for this time of year, giving us highs of between 5-10 degrees. I was told today that certain weather websites have been reporting highs of 20-30 degrees for McMurdo. Since we arrived on Oct. 7 the highest temperature I’ve seen was about 12. If it was 25 degrees I think we'd all be sporting beach wear! It's amazing how quickly you adapt. Today temperatures topped out at 9 degrees. I just walked over to the coffee house with only a sweater and no jacket.

Other than below average temps the weather has been quite agreeable. There has been little wind with more and more days of blue skies and sunshine. If there is one thing I don't like about my job it's that I don't get to spend much time outside. If only I could clean outhouses! I'm planning to start cross training with cargo next week which is a good way to secure a job for next summer in case I decide to return.

The Halloween party was last Saturday night. It actually seemed a little mild compared to some of the stories I've heard but definetly still a trip. The people on base proved to be quite creative. Some of my favorites were King Kong and the Empire State Building, Richard Simmons, Thing one and Thing two, a complete "flight lunch" (each person dressing up as an item you would recieve on an airplane lunch), Mr. Clean complete with a sprayer full of rum, a helicopter, catholic school girls...myself as a viking!

It was a fun Saturday night follwed by an even better Sunday. Each Sunday, sea ice permitting, there is a delta trip out to Cape Evans. Cape Evans is about a 1.5 hour delta ride (see pic of a delta below) away and also the location of the Terra Nova Hut which was built by Englishman Robert Falcon Scott and his party. Scott and his men were the second party to reach the South Pole, after the Norwegian party led by Roald Amundsen, and also died on their return trip. Inside the hut, things are kept precicely the same as they were found after the men died, so much that you feel that they could have just left. If you look close enough you can see inscribings on the bunk walls where the men had recorded when members of their party had not returned or someone perished. It is incredible to imagine the strength of these men to have lived in such conditions with none of the modern communication abilities we have today. In the stables there is still a stack of seal blubber in the corner as well as full trays of penguin eggs. This was all great but the most exciting part of the trip was the ride home when we were lucky enough to see a seal and 3 Adelie penguins! The little tuxedo wearers were about 50 yards away and very comical! Some people return to McMurdo for years and never get the chance to see a

Recover post

penguin...we were very lucky! See for yourself...

This Saturday the Kiwis are having a "beach party" over at Scott Hut that we are all invited to, as well as a dance party at Gallaghers AND the housing department is having a hut 10 party for the department. I'm sure I'll have some more interesting pictures on Sunday! Enjoy the pics!

Me in my Viking get-up...

None other than Richard Simmons...

Alison and Leah as Blackjack...


I need to figure out how to download a video because my Halloween videos are much more exciting than my Halloween pics!

The Delta...

Barn Glacier, near Terra Nova Hut...

Terra Nova Hut with Mt. Erebus in the distance...

Ice slug...

Cuties...

WHEEEE....