Wildlife

Yesterday, I went out to see all the open water. McMurdo Sound has more open water than it's seen in a long time; stretching all the way out to Scott Base and the pressure ridges. While I was out there, I saw a baby leopard seal swimming around in the water. It popped out of the water and came up to about three feet. While watching it, I saw a pod of orca swimming out in the water. There were about nine to a dozen of them just swimming and playing out there. Of course, I dragged my bags in the morning and managed to pack my camera, so I don't have any pictures...

BBC EMS

I just stepped off the BBC EMS. It is the container boat that showed up this season, which means ship offload and onload is underway. Lots of people are on station, and everyone is busy.

Even the Mundane Is Out of the Ordinary

I just updated my Outlook Calendar. The meeting location I entered was USNS Matthiesen. It is funny events like that that make me think about where I am. When else am I going to hear, "hey, can you run down to the tanker?" or "we need to get that computer on the next helo/C-17/LC-130 out." Who knows, maybe my next job? I don't have any idea what my next job will be, though. I'm also dead tired. I want to travel after I hit Christchurch, but I fear I may end up vegging for the week.

Hitchhikers

There were four emperor penguins hanging out by the road to Pegasus today. I had a service call out that way, but I didn't really feel like hopping out of the van to take pictures. As we passed them, they started flapping their wings and squawking like they were trying to flag us down for a ride. It was really cold out...

Palmer Tour

The Palmer crew was kind enough to give tours while she is docked on the ice pier. I just got back into the shop, and the rest of the PC Techs are out doing line-handling. The Palmer and Oden leave today to collect data around the coast of the continent. They will return in a month to ship many scientists and support crew back by C-17/Airbus.

Nathaniel B. Palmer

The Oden is on the ice pier clearing out ice so that the Palmer can dock. The Palmer is hanging out in the turning basin, and I've gotten a few shots of it sitting out there.

From Antarctica: 2010-2011 Winfly/Mainbody

No News Is Good News?

Hmm, this is going to be a really boring post. I don't have anything to report. The season is coming along and has been pretty uneventful. Christmas and then the rush to the end of the season are coming up soon. The two winfly months make the season feel MUCH longer. I can't believe it is almost Christmas. It really doesn't feel like it; I guess I need to get my "It's a Wonderful Life" fix soon.

I'm a little worried about the Korean conflict and how it might affect my travel plans. Maybe it will turn out for the best, as I can't see many people wanting to travel to the area unless they are on business. Hopefully, flights and accomodation will be cheap.