eclipse and aurora

i went out tonight with a couple other folks to watch the lunar eclipse, a total eclipse. we drove out of "town" to get away from the lights. we were bummed because the moon was hazy due to cloud cover, but we decide to stay a little while anyway. and at least there was no wind. we watched in the cold as the moon got smaller and smaller. we were only going to wait until it turned orange, then go back to our warm home.

gradually the sky cleared and then just as the moon became completey in shadow and was about to go orange, there appeared a very faint wisp of green nearby. soon we had full aurora australis (southern lights) swirling around. my boss says she has been here at winfly 5 times, and this is the best auroras she has seen. a good show, but the moon must have felt upstaged.



pictures taken by my buddy, matt.

frozen snot

... and ice crystals on my eyelashes one day when i was out for about 30 minutes in the wind.

today is my day off. we work six 9hr-days. they have a big sunday brunch so get to sleep in.

went for a walk out of town to hut point, not far. saw scott's discovery hut from the outside only and "cage mary" statue of virgin mary but in a weird cage thing. a commeration of someone who died but i didn't read the whole plaque. i will next time when i can see better. i wore my glasses and that was a big mistake because if i wore my face mask to protect my cheeks and nose from frostnip, then my glasses fogged up and eventually iced over. i'll wear contacts next time i go on a hike. beautiful day though.

last night went to one of the bars. hung out there and played air hockey until everyone left to go to southern exposure (the smokers' bar). i made the mistake of going there too and when i got back to my room, i had to immediate do a load of laundry and take a shower before going to bed. so now that i've been there once, i don't need to go again. i look forward to when they open the coffee house (non-smoking) which will also serve wine (unfortunately not beer) and show art-house movies. that will probably be the place i hang out.

this afternoon i will either go on a hike up observation hill (however that place requires filing a foot plan and checking out with the firehouse) or i will go to the gym. there are a few gyms. the one with cardio machines is called gerbil gym. everything here is called either by an acronym or some nickname. i work at the bfc. there is also the vmf, femc, mec, ato, fstp, etc.

gone south

so i'm here--mcmurdo station, antarctica. been a couple days now, but i was trying to get settled and had to start working right away. i still don't have it together enough to write much. no delays or "boomerangs" for my group. the third and final flight of winfly season got delayed today due to bad weather out at the runway but will hopefully arrive tomorrow.

when i arrived, we got off our plane, a military c17, around noon in good weather of -32 with a beautiful sunrise/sunset. i had on far too much clothing and was quite warm on the walk to the terra bus and way too hot in the bus. woke up morning of second day in weather condition 2 so it was windy and cold. it's not so bad when the wind isn't blowing. good weather is condition 3. really bad such that you cannot even leave a buildling is condition 1.

everyone tells me i'm lucky to have gotten a job in the department i'm in--the "bfc" which is kind of like a big rei rental shop where scientists get their gear before heading out to field camps. also that i'm lucky to be in the dorm i'm in--i only have one roomate and not in a six-pack. don't know yet if i'll have a job for main season or will leave here after only the 6 week winfly season.

the bfc buidling is a nice looking one. we have a wooden floor and a kitchen upstairs. it looks sort of like a funky coffe shop with a great view. spent much of today at work testing binoculars getting them ready for issue (rfi). was a great excuse to have to look out the window all day. had a really lovely sunset this afternoon. we are gaining 20 minutes of daylight each day.

ok, i am going to go to bed early tonight, still fighting a bit of a cold. hopefully not getting the infamous mcmurdo crud.

northern fun & sun

i know it must seem to some that my summer job is like a vacation, but it is work, so it was nice to really get a vacation up in alaska before starting my next job. and of course to spend time with c after so long and before so much longer. she took a vacation too and we had great fun she showing me the locals' life, me dragging her to the good tourist stuff.

ate well. had yummy red salmon her sister caught dip-netting and moose that her brother hunted last season. and there is a new organic coffee shop in anchorage that we went to every day we were in town--fully back on the bean, sigh. c bartered for some alaska salmon her sister caught, smoked and jarred. i'll take that to antarctica along with some california wine and berkeley chocolate for a special occasion (like trying to convince someone to take me on a helicopter flight off-station).

drove to wrangell-st elias national park for a backpack trip. forests of "scrawny black spruce" everywhere. saw a moose--from the car, so no stomping us. the hike was a short one (hey, i was on vacation) but beautiful. camped near a herd of dall sheep in the mountains. every time we heard a rock slide c kept hoping a sheep had fallen off the side so we could "fry it up". instead we just ate oatmeal.

ok, done with backpacking, back to road trip. other side of park and 2.5 hour drive down a gravel road with 5 mile hike to check out the old copper mining town of kennicott--cool old buildings. from there hiked to root glacier after which c made me promise to never hike to another dirty glacier again unless we were going to use crampons etc and actually walk across it. i agreed except if it were for a job.

went to kenai to try and work the "slime line" at a cannery. we weren't going to be available for enough days to make it worth their while, and besides the sun was shining, so we went down to homer instead. then took off for seward because i'd never been. dragged c on a boat tour so she could see a tidewater glacier calving in to the sea. now that was worth it. also saw a pod of orca, a humpback whale (not to be confused with the salmon "humpies"), stellar sea lions, sea otters (with pup), puffins, bald eagles of course, and a "bait ball". those poor little fish don't even get called by a proper name, just food. made for good puffin watching though. wanted to catch up with another boss instructor who'd worked dog mushing in seward area last winter, but we missed him by two days.

thankfully had no bear encounters at any of our hiking spots. got back to the city though and c's sister came home from work telling us a bear had been in the parking lot that day. not too much of a city after all.

i'm back in oaktown getting ready to go far south. turns out i have three days to get ready rather than just one. so will have time to see family here (and more in denver). unlike going to india i don't have to get inoculation shots and such, however i do need extra supplies because i won't be able to get them there (like extra pair prescription glasses), so running around a bit now.