Thankful

As you've probably already heard on the news, a 6.3 earthquake hit Christchurch, NZ yesterday killing an estimated 65 people and wreaking havoc on the downtown area. The floor of the airport bounced like walking on a trampoline.

I know that because my husband was there. Waiting for the plane that was supposed to take him on the first leg of his journey home.

It's rather ironic, really. I tend to think of Antarctica as the more dangerous part of his trips given the bitter cold and isolation from help, but NZ gets 14,000 earthquakes a year - and this is the second time in a row there's been a significant quake while he's been in Christchurch.

Eric called last night and sent an email this morning, assuring me that he and the rest of his crew are safe and just biding time until the airport can be reopened and their C-5 cleared to leave. They're prepared for such contingencies, and making the best of it.

I'm very thankful this morning. For their safety, for the strength and positive attitude with which Eric and his coworkers consistently approach the interruptions and unexpected events often involved in their work, for a global communication network that allows him to contact me and let me know he's all right.

Waking up to the realization of how richly one is blessed and how different the world could have looked this morning but for the grace of God really puts life in perspective!

109th Special Feature

Eric and his team were featured (again) on ANG TV! :0)

Departing World's End

It's my last day on the Ice, and I took some photos of the Runway Fire Department. Only here is it standard practice to put a lift kit and oversized tires on every vehicle, including the local ambulance. But out here, driving through a foot deep snow drift is status quo.





Then, of course, is the tracked Fire Engine and Chief's Truck. Depending on the density of the snow, these guys can almost float over it.

Which is good, because in Antarctica, it's not uncommon for a mid summer snow storm to blast the countryside with 40 mph winds and sub-zero temperatures. Here I am in my Goose-down Parka suit, goggles, face mask, and triple layered gloves. This suit is rated for temperatures below -50F, which is a temperature that can freeze your skin in a matter of seconds! Needless to say, I was quite toasty on this blizzard of a day, where the wind chill was a balmy -37.





There's the first 3 of many. The wind blows so much down here, that we have decided to produce some energy from it. This rising star of a wind farm rests on a hill adjacent to Ob Hill, approximately at the midway between New Zealand's Scott Base and America's McMurdo Station. Since the wind can hit triple digit speeds on this icy, unforgiving continent, these wind power generators are not vane guided, but manually adjusted for direction and pitch, so their bite can be decreased in high winds, preventing them from overspeed damages. Plus, the design cuts down on ice accumulation.

It was a short season for me, but I had a truckload of fun, and look forward to another opportunity to visit a land whose beauty and prowess always reminds me of how small us humans really are.

More "Cool" Pics

Hello Everyone! The weather subsided today, just in time for Christmas Eve. I decided to take a walk out to Hut Point, where the Discovery Hut is, and took some nice photos. To illustrate how clear the air is down here, those mountains that are forcing that warm South Pacific air to condense are almost 80 miles away!

That very ugly bird is called a Skua. It's the local version of a seagull. This guy is very fat off of leftover human food, and is a good thief to boot. Several people down here have had food stolen from their very hands by these crafty fowl.

When I got to the end of Hut Point, I was surprised to see that through a break in the frozen ice of McMurdo Sound, there was a Weddel Seal convention. These guys were popping out of the water, one by one, and laying out to soak up some rays on this wonderful tropical heatwave of a 30 degree day.

Home At World's End

After 2 days of travelling, I have made it to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. This has been my home away from home since I graduated, and have been looking forward to this for the longest time!

The first pic shows the center of town, which in the middle of the summer months, November to January, is the happy home of 1000 scientists, engineers, and us NY Air National Guard guys, hopping from glacier to glacier in our ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules aircraft.

Ahh, you gotta love the 5 star accomodations down on the Ice, featuring a twin bed (my first twin bed since basic training), a wall locker, and a 13 inch TV that gets the base's local weather channel, transportation schedule channel, and a terrible movie channel. I have a US Army issue wool blanket tacked over the window, because the sun never sets down here in the summer months, and it's rather hard to sleep with that bright sun blazing through at 3:30 in the morning.

And finally, my work station, aka: Hut 25. Here us engine guys wait out storms and check our email when we're not out on the frozen icepack that is the Pegasus Runway, making sure our beloved Hercs are ready to fly anywhere on this continent.

The NY Air National Guard has been an awesome assignment. Only here was I able to trek to the Fjords of Greenland and to the bottom of the planet, where so very few people have ever been. Life is good.