1/11/19
Today the enviro team with some wastie friends flew out to Miers valley to remediate an old Antarctic New Zealand stream weir. We had SUPER beautiful weather, so the work (often nearly knee deep in the stream) was pleasant and the views, especially on the flight in and out were amazing
Tonight was mustache roulette. It's this event for charity where people create crazy beard designs, then people bid money (for charity) to pick their favorite designs. Once the designs have been picked, different groups (light weight, mid weight, heavy weight, and grab-n-go (last minute entries) sit together at a table and then a bottle is spun (like spin the bottle from high school days) to determine who will get what design shaved into their face. There are also people with huge beards or dreads that will cut them off if a certain total amount is given to charity. And some gals also will shave their heads. I think this year, they raised about $5000 to wounded warriors and also to a charity that gives bikes to poor communities in developing countries.
I was in the mid-weight beard category and the design I was given was The Big Dipper. Danny Gregory was the person who shaved me. Surprisingly, Elisha chose not to buzz her hair! haha
1/12/19
Today was McMurdo Marathon Day! Another gorgeous day. I had been debating running the marathon, but the knees haven't been feeling the best this year, plus it's way more fun to do a non-running event in the Marathon b/c then I always feel like I can enjoy the race and the aid stations so much more. The aid stations can be really fun. For example, the Kress aid station, which you pass 4x if doing the full marathon, plays music, grills burgers and brats, hands out beer and whiskey, and has couches and sometimes hammocks, and always friendly people. This year it had corn-hole as well.
This was to be my 5th year participating in this Antarctic marathon. The first year I skate skied the marathon and Elisha ran the 1/2 marathon. My 2nd year both Elisha and I ran the full marathon. My 3rd year I did a triathlon marathon (biked 1/2, skied 1/4, and ran 1/4). I can't remember what Elisha did. Our 4th year we did ski jouring where I biked and pulled Elisha who was on skis. We had a lot of fun doing that last year, but this year, since Elisha badly hurt her knee, she couldn't be on skis. So this year I came up with the idea of getting a sled and towing her on the bike.
We were lucky as it was a beautiful day with no wind and full warm sunshine. Sometimes the wind is terribly demoralizing on the way back as it's in your face and definitely slows you down. I had gotten a sled from the BFC and we set it up with foam pads, a crazy creek camp chair, fleece blanket, tea, and music with speakers. So Elisha lounged in that as I pedaled away. It actually wasn't too hard. I took it easy as I've been sick for about a week and just pedaled in an easy gear and enjoyed the day, the sunshine, the music, and the camaraderie of the event. It's fun to cheer and high five people as you go by. Safety snowmobiles go by and cheer, and Amy of course was playing her trumpet. It's actually one of my favorite events b/c it's a suffer fest for most, but everyone is so positive and cheering and high-fiveing and such, so that it's a lot of fun.
Stopping at the aid stations to grab a brewski, burger, and chat (be encouraged) by friends is one of my favorite. As I biked in to the Kress aid station, they gave me a whiskey shot, but then we pulled in and ate some snickers and M&Ms, and they gave me a couple of beers to enjoy and keep hydrated on the route until we were back to the Kress once more. On our 2nd pass through, we enjoyed pretzels, brats and burgers.
Since it's probably not the most enjoyable to sit motionless on a sled that bumps along the ice road in 34 degrees, we decided to just do the 1/2 marathon. Not a bad choice since we made it back to McMurdo in time to have brunch and then walk out to hut point.
A small area of open water has opened up by hut point, which has caused a prolific amount of wildlife to gather. And b/c the pool is small, the wildlife is close by. We spent nearly 2 hours at the point watching 2 minke whales swim around the pool to catch their breath before diving under the water to find food. There were also over 20 adelie penguins in the area, swimming about, and 3 on shore quite close to us. Additionally there were 4 emperor penguins in the far distance as well as some seals lazily swimming in the pool
In the evening we attended a showing of Reel Rock in the big gym, which is a climbing movie series
1/13/19
Another beautiful day! Elisha and I walked out to hut point at lunch. We watched groups of 20+ adelies swim and jump through the water, which is so cool. And when they swam right below the point, we could track them as they swam under water, which was very cool. Right before we left to go eat, a group of 3 walked right up to us. Curious little guys!
After work I ran around ob hill and then out to hut point. What an amazing run! On the run I saw minke whales, seals, penguins, and a sun dog (perihelia)
The weather was so nice and the pool so calm--like glass--that I convinced Elisha to walk out there with me again. Again there were 2 minke whales swimming around, an emperor penguin quite close, so many adelies everywhere: swimming this way and that. Again, a group of 3 of them came out of the water and up on the point and the curious little fellas came up really close to us as they went about shuffling along and testing out various rocks in their beaks
Today the enviro team with some wastie friends flew out to Miers valley to remediate an old Antarctic New Zealand stream weir. We had SUPER beautiful weather, so the work (often nearly knee deep in the stream) was pleasant and the views, especially on the flight in and out were amazing
Tonight was mustache roulette. It's this event for charity where people create crazy beard designs, then people bid money (for charity) to pick their favorite designs. Once the designs have been picked, different groups (light weight, mid weight, heavy weight, and grab-n-go (last minute entries) sit together at a table and then a bottle is spun (like spin the bottle from high school days) to determine who will get what design shaved into their face. There are also people with huge beards or dreads that will cut them off if a certain total amount is given to charity. And some gals also will shave their heads. I think this year, they raised about $5000 to wounded warriors and also to a charity that gives bikes to poor communities in developing countries.
I was in the mid-weight beard category and the design I was given was The Big Dipper. Danny Gregory was the person who shaved me. Surprisingly, Elisha chose not to buzz her hair! haha
1/12/19
Today was McMurdo Marathon Day! Another gorgeous day. I had been debating running the marathon, but the knees haven't been feeling the best this year, plus it's way more fun to do a non-running event in the Marathon b/c then I always feel like I can enjoy the race and the aid stations so much more. The aid stations can be really fun. For example, the Kress aid station, which you pass 4x if doing the full marathon, plays music, grills burgers and brats, hands out beer and whiskey, and has couches and sometimes hammocks, and always friendly people. This year it had corn-hole as well.
This was to be my 5th year participating in this Antarctic marathon. The first year I skate skied the marathon and Elisha ran the 1/2 marathon. My 2nd year both Elisha and I ran the full marathon. My 3rd year I did a triathlon marathon (biked 1/2, skied 1/4, and ran 1/4). I can't remember what Elisha did. Our 4th year we did ski jouring where I biked and pulled Elisha who was on skis. We had a lot of fun doing that last year, but this year, since Elisha badly hurt her knee, she couldn't be on skis. So this year I came up with the idea of getting a sled and towing her on the bike.
We were lucky as it was a beautiful day with no wind and full warm sunshine. Sometimes the wind is terribly demoralizing on the way back as it's in your face and definitely slows you down. I had gotten a sled from the BFC and we set it up with foam pads, a crazy creek camp chair, fleece blanket, tea, and music with speakers. So Elisha lounged in that as I pedaled away. It actually wasn't too hard. I took it easy as I've been sick for about a week and just pedaled in an easy gear and enjoyed the day, the sunshine, the music, and the camaraderie of the event. It's fun to cheer and high five people as you go by. Safety snowmobiles go by and cheer, and Amy of course was playing her trumpet. It's actually one of my favorite events b/c it's a suffer fest for most, but everyone is so positive and cheering and high-fiveing and such, so that it's a lot of fun.
Stopping at the aid stations to grab a brewski, burger, and chat (be encouraged) by friends is one of my favorite. As I biked in to the Kress aid station, they gave me a whiskey shot, but then we pulled in and ate some snickers and M&Ms, and they gave me a couple of beers to enjoy and keep hydrated on the route until we were back to the Kress once more. On our 2nd pass through, we enjoyed pretzels, brats and burgers.
Since it's probably not the most enjoyable to sit motionless on a sled that bumps along the ice road in 34 degrees, we decided to just do the 1/2 marathon. Not a bad choice since we made it back to McMurdo in time to have brunch and then walk out to hut point.
A small area of open water has opened up by hut point, which has caused a prolific amount of wildlife to gather. And b/c the pool is small, the wildlife is close by. We spent nearly 2 hours at the point watching 2 minke whales swim around the pool to catch their breath before diving under the water to find food. There were also over 20 adelie penguins in the area, swimming about, and 3 on shore quite close to us. Additionally there were 4 emperor penguins in the far distance as well as some seals lazily swimming in the pool
In the evening we attended a showing of Reel Rock in the big gym, which is a climbing movie series
1/13/19
Another beautiful day! Elisha and I walked out to hut point at lunch. We watched groups of 20+ adelies swim and jump through the water, which is so cool. And when they swam right below the point, we could track them as they swam under water, which was very cool. Right before we left to go eat, a group of 3 walked right up to us. Curious little guys!
After work I ran around ob hill and then out to hut point. What an amazing run! On the run I saw minke whales, seals, penguins, and a sun dog (perihelia)
The weather was so nice and the pool so calm--like glass--that I convinced Elisha to walk out there with me again. Again there were 2 minke whales swimming around, an emperor penguin quite close, so many adelies everywhere: swimming this way and that. Again, a group of 3 of them came out of the water and up on the point and the curious little fellas came up really close to us as they went about shuffling along and testing out various rocks in their beaks
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| grilling at the Kress aid station |
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| corn hole at an aid station |
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| aid station...mcmurdo style |
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| our friend Eric |
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| i still have my mustache roulette beard |
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| race support |
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| alex getting his new beard |
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| the beard shaving area |
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| mid weights post shaving |
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| danny shaving my beard |
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| eddie |
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| penguin under the water |
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| mcmurdo and penguins |
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| deany |
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| Phoenix airfield aid station |
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