1/27/19
The Coast Guard cutter, the Polar Star, generously decided to allow 150 McMurdo residents to sail with them as they broke ice between McM and the open ocean. So they had a lottery on Saturday night. Elisha was picked to be a primary. I did not get a primary nor an alternate position, but on Sunday, I had a sneaking suspicion that there might be some room available just b/c some people maybe didn't check their emails and others might have partied too hard the night before. I also had hopes that my cousin could figure out how to get me on.
Well, it turned out that they did have room for more, so I was allowed to hop on! We sailed for about 6 hours. It was really cool to watch the front (and back) of the ship as we broke through the ice and headed out to open water. Almost the entire time we stood outside watching in mesmerization as the boat broke up the ice. We did, on the way back, spend a bit of time on the bridge where they captain the boat. It was also fun to watch the seals and a few penguins scurry away as the boat approached, but the captain did a good job of avoiding hitting the wildlife. We had hoped that we would get to seem some orcas, especially when we made it to the open water, but alas no such luck. But it was still really cool to be on a giant boat breaking ice out in Antarctica. And also cool that we got to hang out a bit with my cousin as well.
2/3/19
This cargo vessel, the ocean giant, came in while I was away to the dry valley. So vessel evolution has begun. It means a good chunk of the town is working 12 hour shifts with no days off. Yesterday was a fairly significant snow storm with quite a lot of accumulation for McMurdo and today is super windy. Condition 1 out on the ice shelf and just bitterly cold and windy in McMurdo. But I think it means it might blow out the sea ice, which would be nice as it would transform McM into a seaside village. And with open water comes the chance to see whales!
2/14/19
Been awhile since I wrote anything. Nothing much very eventful has happened. We did get a pretty big storm that blew out a lot of the sea ice, so we are an oceanside town now. We've seen a few orcas and minke whales here and there
For valentine's day the janos threw a Prom party. It was pretty cool. They had yummy treats and some people got really dressed up. Crazy the kinds of dresses some of the girls bring down. Elisha made me a really sweet hat with a picture of Long's peak on it that she drew for me. super cool!
2/17/19
Well, if all goes well, we'll be flying home tomorrow. Last night we went to some nice live music at gallaghers bar and today we're going to be packing and cleaning up the room
The Coast Guard cutter, the Polar Star, generously decided to allow 150 McMurdo residents to sail with them as they broke ice between McM and the open ocean. So they had a lottery on Saturday night. Elisha was picked to be a primary. I did not get a primary nor an alternate position, but on Sunday, I had a sneaking suspicion that there might be some room available just b/c some people maybe didn't check their emails and others might have partied too hard the night before. I also had hopes that my cousin could figure out how to get me on.
Well, it turned out that they did have room for more, so I was allowed to hop on! We sailed for about 6 hours. It was really cool to watch the front (and back) of the ship as we broke through the ice and headed out to open water. Almost the entire time we stood outside watching in mesmerization as the boat broke up the ice. We did, on the way back, spend a bit of time on the bridge where they captain the boat. It was also fun to watch the seals and a few penguins scurry away as the boat approached, but the captain did a good job of avoiding hitting the wildlife. We had hoped that we would get to seem some orcas, especially when we made it to the open water, but alas no such luck. But it was still really cool to be on a giant boat breaking ice out in Antarctica. And also cool that we got to hang out a bit with my cousin as well.
2/3/19
This cargo vessel, the ocean giant, came in while I was away to the dry valley. So vessel evolution has begun. It means a good chunk of the town is working 12 hour shifts with no days off. Yesterday was a fairly significant snow storm with quite a lot of accumulation for McMurdo and today is super windy. Condition 1 out on the ice shelf and just bitterly cold and windy in McMurdo. But I think it means it might blow out the sea ice, which would be nice as it would transform McM into a seaside village. And with open water comes the chance to see whales!
2/14/19
Been awhile since I wrote anything. Nothing much very eventful has happened. We did get a pretty big storm that blew out a lot of the sea ice, so we are an oceanside town now. We've seen a few orcas and minke whales here and there
For valentine's day the janos threw a Prom party. It was pretty cool. They had yummy treats and some people got really dressed up. Crazy the kinds of dresses some of the girls bring down. Elisha made me a really sweet hat with a picture of Long's peak on it that she drew for me. super cool!
2/17/19
Well, if all goes well, we'll be flying home tomorrow. Last night we went to some nice live music at gallaghers bar and today we're going to be packing and cleaning up the room
 |
| breaking ice |
 |
| Elisha and MC |
 |
| Some of Elisha's work group |
 |
| My cousin Gena on the left |
No comments:
Post a Comment