Pictures!

Nothing too exciting, but here are my pictures starting with the flight to McMurdo.  I will try and note in the blog when I upload more.

http://picasaweb.google.com/uliv1x/McMurdoStationAntarcticaJan2008

McMurdo Station, Antarctica!

The weather was good yesterday so we left on schedule and did not 'boomerang'.  A 'boomerang' flight is one that gets to the 'point of no return', which is just over halfway, and the weather is not good enough to land.  The record is supposedly seven.  I feel sorry for the people on those trips because that means that they basically spent 35 hours over seven days on flights from Christchurch before they actually made it.  The C-17 flight down there was actually a lot better than most commercial flights as there what a lot more room for someone my size.  The seat wasn't as comfortable, but extra space more than made up for it.  We had to circle a few times before we could land because there were a few penguins on the runway.  By the time I got off the plane there was a helo flight coming and they rushed us to 'Ivan the Terra Bus'. It wasn't until we were on the bus back to the station that I found out about the penguins.  Unfortunately, I did not get to see them. :(  Some of the others got pictures, but not I.

When I heard stories about McMurdo in the office, most people described to be like a mining town and I think that description fits it well.  There is very little snow in the station and it is fairly windy.  I has been crazy since I got here and I haven't had any time to take many pictures.  As things settle down, I will take some pictures and upload them.  More to follow.  I have another orientation to go to. :)

Big Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow is my flight from Christchurch, NZ to McMurdo Station, Antarctica.  I need to get up at 5am to go to the airport to check in at 6am.  The flight is supposed to take about 5 hours and will be on a US Air Force C-17.  Supposedly they sometimes use the C-130 for this flight, but not much anymore.  This is a good thing as the flight on the C-130 is 8 hours and a lot more cramped.  Anyway, I need to get to bed to get my 5 hours of sleep before tomorrow.  I will try and do a post before the flight if I have time.

My Schedule For the Next Few Days

I have clothing issue tomorrow (3 Jan) at 1pm and then on Thursday (4 Jan) I have to be back at the airport at 6am.  I guess the flight usually leaves around 9 or 10am and is about 5 hours.  I'm sure that 5 hours on a military transport is going to make coach on a commercial airline seem like first class.  That should put me in McMurdo around 2-3pm.

A note on the time difference for easy conversion.  Currently there is a 20 hour time difference between MST and NZT.  So for an easy conversion from the time in my posts (NZT) to MST, add 4 hours and subtract a day: 4 Jan 2008 at 0600 NZT = 3 Jan 2008 at 1000.

All Beer Is Good, Some Is Better

The weather the past couple of days has been great (Sunny, mid-80s).  I decided to go for a walk and get something to eat.  A co-worker recommended a place called 'The Tap Room'.  I was just going to have one pint with lunch, but their beer was so good I had three! :)  This pub features the  brews of Monteith's Brewing Co. and they were very great.  I tried the Celtic Red, Black Beer, and the Reddler.  The Celtic and Black were excellent! The Reddler was good, but a little too sweet for my taste.  The food was good and the menu had a lot of great quotes by famous people about beer and drinkinng.  The title of this post comes from Monteith's slogan.  I wanted to buy a t-shirt with it on it, but no luck.  Thanks for the recommendation, Mark!

Yesterday, Dave F (a co-worker) and I went to the Christchurch Botanic Gardens near downtown.  The weather was beautiful and I ended up getting a decent sunburn.  The gardens were free and definitely worth it.  They had all kinds of different plants but our favorite were the trees.  I took a bunch of pictures to get better at using my new camera (Nikon D40x).  I will have to upload them later as the hotel's Internet charges over $1 for each MB for 10 and it could get pricey.  When I get to the station I will upload them.

Happy New Year!

I've made it to New Zealand safely and with all of my bags.  They were checked in at Denver and I didn't see them until today.  I was planning on a more detailed post, but I'm too tired having been up for most of the last 48 hours or so.

Here We Go Again!

Well, today (29 December 2007) at 1750 MST I begin another journey to Antarctica.  I setup this blog for my first trip because I was going to be on a boat with only limited email access and wanted an easy way to keep family and friends up-to-date on what was going on.  To my surprise, it was very well received and many asked if I was going to start it up again.  So here here is the first post.  I have three hours to kill at LAX on my way to New Zealand so I'll try and get an update out then.  Still a lot to do but I hope that blog improves upon the last.