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McMurdo
Travel Blogs from McMurdo, Antarctica
The Fleet
These are some of the unique vehicles you may come across down here. Again, these people are doing much more interesting things than I ...
Scientists Diving
These are more photos that the scientists have taken...be prepared to be blown away! These photos are amazing, taken under the ice in the freezing sea! I'll have to find out what the water temperature is here...it must be just above ...
Icestock~ New Years Eve!
Icestock is an annual music festival with local musicians. It was held on New Years Eve, the weather started out pretty good, but soon turned very windy and ...
The march of the Penguins!
The Icebreaker finally got here. We've been watching it slowly trudge through the ice for weeks now. Leaving a trail of open water, a sign of life, behind it! The penguins and seals now have no excuse not to come up and visit us! The vessel is not far ...
Pressure Ridges
These pressure ridges are formed in the ice when the tide rises and falls. It is said that the ice actually moves up to 3 meters, everyday! So the ice is pushed up...similar to how mountains are formed, when the plates collide there's nowhere to go but ...
Happy Camper
Camping in Antarctica! Luckily, it was a very warm day, around 40 degrees. We were shoveling snow in t-shirts! I didn't even have to build a cover for my snow trench, I just slept under the blue sky with my head tucked inside my sleeping ...
Christmas in Antarctica
... at the bottom of the world.’ We served hungry people all day long and when we finished headed over to MAAG. The McMurdo Alternative Art Gallery. It is a yearly tradition and is a showcase of art that included a wearable art fashion show, a homemade ...
Hut Sweet Hut... Capt. Scott's summer home!
... a basketball court. However, sometimes the Rec department sets up special adventures to get people out of town and into the "real" Antarctica. One such trip involved an hour long Delta ride to an area called Cape Evan's and a tour of Scott's ...
More Random photos and work fun
Just before New Years a dump truck was driving along the main road when its bucket had a malfunction and unexpectedly rose up. This happened to be right before he came across a few over head power lines and ended up ripping them down. I know ...
Marathon... on ICE
... I had told my family, my friends, and my name was on the list. Plus how many chances would I get to run a marathon in Antarctica... on ice... on top of the OCEAN!!!! Sure I could have wussed out and just completed the 1/2 marathon, but then I ...
Gingerbread house making competition
No matter how many strands of garland, strings of lights, or festive pictures they hang up, it is still hard to tell it was Christmas. There were old wooden decorations on the telephone poles, lights and garland hung through Hwy 1 (the main hall in ...
DAlympics and Plane Crashes
This week was full of new adventures. The pending flight north looms over our heads as we try and soak up all the beauty and adventure we can. Our lead DAs hosted a DAlympics that included events like mopping, dish, juice, and a slalom course. These are ...
Emperors, Waste, Ice Breakers and Mirages
Well, the penguins have come out in full force. Just one week after seeing the adelie at Hut Point, I saw 3 emperor penguins on the drive to the ice runway. A friend who works in cargo at the runway told me they were molting behind a berm at mile 7 on ...
Thanksgiving at the bottom
Well, it isn't all play down here, so when we finally got two days off in a row for Thanksgiving, everyone was ready to party! I however was able to hold back because I wanted to be in top form for the Turkey Trot 5K race the next day... only ...
Around Mac Town
There's an entire department here called "Rec" or recreation. The aim to keep us entertained is very high and very important! Here's a few random photos of the town and some things that go on at the bottom of the ...
Christmas on the wrong end of the world
... lie, but they all pulled through! Looks like they DO want me home. Of course I sent them all heaps of Antarctica junk too. The weekend started out with a huge party at the Fstop building... that is the outdoor safety training ...
Life in MacTown
... Last Thursday we went to the neighboring Kiwi base. It is about a 5 minute shuttle ride away and has a completely different view of Antarctica. It is on the other side of 'Ob Hill,' which obstructs most of the view on Ross Island. They open up their ...
Tetris, PPE, freshies and Wyoming
... the ice is forced up as the waves hit the land underneath the ice. There is a spot where it looks like water ripples. I wish I had my own personal scientist to walk around with me and explain things in more depth. Antarctica is one big science ...
Bluegrass, Sun Dogs and Seals
Another week has gone by, and there is truly never a dull moment in McMurdo. I started out the week by going to a science lecture about microbial mats on the lake floors in the dry valleys. The talk was given by a woman who is also working ...
Tour Guide Farah
... It was pre-manufactured in Australia and built in the same design as buildings in the outback. Not a very good design for Antarctica because they are designed to keep the indoors cool... oops. Oh well, it made for great storage. ...
Why are we here?
We are often reminded..."we're here to support science". Here's a couple of pics I found on the "I" drive, which is a shared folder where everyone can post their photos, then everyone else has access to them for a week, before they're deleted. ...
Waste Water~Power Plant~Water Plant Tour
Paul took me on a tour of the waste water treament plant (where they detoxify the water we're using, then pump it back into the ocean)...a.k.a...take the shit out of it! He also explained the process of reverse osmosis and the water purification ...
"Turkey Trot" ~The Annual 5k run
Every Thanksgiving a 5k run takes place. We started at the Chapel and did a loop onto the Sea Ice and back. It was a really beautiful day, a little windy but ...
Polar Sea Cruise/Whale Watching
I was one of 400 lucky people who were able to go on the Coast Guard Ice Breaker, "Polar Sea" for a 3 hour cruise to the ice edge, where the whales were abundant! We also saw bunches of seals and skuas(the scavanger bird around here), also a couple ...
Dive Tending and Skinny Dipping
... and proud of. Christina was the first friend I saw and all I said to her was "taste my hair". She knew exactly what had happened and was very excited for me. Another random amazing day in Antarctica... if only they could all be like ...
Weddel Seals
These are some photos on the "I" drive that the Scientists have taken and posted there to share. They are some incredible shots of the Weddel Seals and their ...
Today is MoTday.
... bad enough to delay some flights, and was declared Condition 2. I had to check out on the radio with the firehouse before I left McMurdo, and had to check back in once I had reached Pegasus. "Firehouse, firehouse, this is galley truck 139. Destination is ...
LDB (Long Duration Balloon)
... and understand global warming, air temperatures, air pressure, oxygen and gas levels, winds and much more, it is tracked as it circles Antarctica and (hopefully) makes its way back to where it started, where it is retrieved. Don't ask me how that's ...
Mild chaos
... 5 months. It was quite strange to have tourists gawking at us as all these crazy happenings were going on. The rumor mill at McMurdo thrives, and that was evident over the last few days I spent there. "I hear they’re going to fly us into Tasmania ...