the north tip of the roadtrip

We took a relatively short drive up to Airlie Beach on our next day of driving. We were ready to stop somewhere and figure out where we should take our trips out to the Reef. A friend of mine was staying in Airlie and so we wandered into the town, booked a trip for Storey and then promptly left to find a place to put down the tent for a couple nights before his trip took off.

The little town we found to spend some time in was Bowen; home of the big mango. This beach town is normally distinguished with many beautiful beaches, but due to recent storms and a levy breaking in a river, the water was silty and had damaged a few establishments close to the water. We seem to miss the rain wherever we go, so everyone has some weather to talk about and we nod our heads and are grateful that God has blessed us with beautiful sunny beach days.

We found Bowen to be a sleepy little town with genuine hospitality an little to do after 6pm (even the grocer). I suppose in that way, it was a nice place to spend a couple of days after being on the road so long!

While we adjusted to our new surroundings by doing about 12 laps around the town in our little Toyota, we found the "best view in town" on the top of a hill with a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. We also found Rose Bay Caravan Park where we plopped the tent down at a discount because it was the owners 50th birthday and her maiden name matched Storey's last name.

On yet another loop around Bowen, we found a beautiful sunset. We pulled over and watched it for awhile. We also realized that this town sported "Storey Street." However, this was the only street in town to be missing its' street sign; a true disappointment!

another driving day

We spent another day driving up the Australian Coast. We were hoping that the A1, Bruce Highway Motorway would be a little like the Pacific Highway 1 in the States. Unfortunately, we infrequently were able to take in the coastline as we drove through eucalyptus trees and kept a line of hills or mountains between us and the coast. We did take a couple of 25-40 kilometer detours to check out the coastline, or find information on an area.

While Storey took a rest break in Sarina, I went in and talked to the two nice women who worked in the information station there. They were very kind and one had never seen snow before. Coming from Antarctica, that seemed ridiculous, but it gave her something to accomplish yet in life! Sarina prides itself in the sugar industry and since I worked in that industry in Chicago, I found this and the surrounding cities quite nostalgic. I rattled off quite a few sugar facts to Storey as we cruised through hundreds of kilometers of sugarcane country!

We also cruised through Rockhampton. The city's claim to fame is the beef and cattle industry, but it also boasts the Tropic of Capricorn; that little invisible line that wraps around the bottom half of the world indicating we are in the tropics. Hello, humid sunshine!

For our evening of camping, we found Cape Hillsborough National Park on the coast and called it a day. We had our rainforest, we had our beach, and we even found that we had kangaroos. Since we'd only seen a dead one on the side of the road, we were thrilled that kangaroos were hopping through the campground and on the beach as well. For the second night in a row, we found a fantastic place to camp.

After setting up the tent on the spot right next to the beach, we walked around to explore our park. We found the kangaroos feeding on scraps left by the park staff, and then we took a walk on the beach to enjoy the sunset and water. We had entered "stinger" country which is the northeastern shore of the Coral Sea from November to May. The box jellyfish can give you a sting you won't forget. The smaller Irukandji can issue a death sting and is as small as a fingernail. Both will land you in the hospital for three days while the body detoxifies! That said, we stayed out of the water, but enjoyed the broad beach and the unique-to-us shells and beach life at dusk.

The next morning we took another daylight walk on the sand and saw our kangaroos making themselves at home near the surf as well. I've never put kangaroos and beaches together, but that's how they roll in these parts.

the christchurch arrival

I have had a hard time adjusting to the idea of being back in a world of decisions and choices. McMurdo sort of wraps you in a security blanket and keeps you safe from the issues of the world around us. We are not forced to indulge in the consumerism of the grocery store or malls, and we can avoid the news around the globe if we choose to.

In any case, I had a treat on the plane on the way home; a continuation from my flight deck privileges from the previous post: I was able to sit in the cockpit for landing in Christchurch! In a place and time in the world where no one gets to see the cockpit, much less sit there for landing, I was thrilled to be strapped into the seat behind the co-pilot! I listed to the radio chatter between the tower and the our co-pilot and to the conversations of the crew.

We came into New Zealand as the sun was sinking in the sky and I was impressed at how the rivers glowed under the bright sun. For a woman who hasn't seen a sunset in four months, this was pretty exciting and impressive from my perch in the plane. The pilot pointed out Akaroa, and Lyttleton, the port town that hosts our cargo container ship, The American Tern, when it departs for and returns from McMurdo. Seeing the runway in front of us for landing was very impressive as well. I got a front row seat in a huge cargo plane as we touched down at sunset. What a huge kick-start to life in the living world!

After gathering our bags and checking through customs, we walk over to the USAP buildings and turn in our gear and get our accommodations for the night. On our walk, the huge moon had risen in the sky. Nevermind that we didn't get to see the eclipse like many people in North America did, we hadn't seen the moon in a night sky (or at all) for months! I collected my gear and took a shuttle to the YMCA. They have a nice clean hostel there and I dumped my stuff to head out for the evening at Ducs-De-Lux. It's a popular hangout for Ice folks and they were one of the few places open yet at 10pm for food. J ordered some of our favorite, kumara chips (like french fries out of kumara; similar to the sweet potato).

the world is waiting

While we were delayed and canceled in McMurdo, my motto was "The world can wait." We kidded about how that would change after we were waiting for our flight for a couple more days to "The world is waiting." Now that I'm back on "living" ground again, I feel like the world is waiting.

I'll start at the beginning, waking up in McMurdo to blowing snow and low visibility. Our transport coming down Scott Base Hill is to the left. We honestly didn't think we were going to see a plane land at the Pegasus White Ice Runway. But, the C-17 ducked under the clouds and made it's descent towards us. After unloading, waiting for a bit with anticipation, and then loading the Air Force plane, we finally took off toward the northern living world.

Since our department, Antarctic Terminal Operations (ATO) is in charge of transport and airfield logistics, those of us on the flight, ICE55, from our department received a special transport in a separate vehicle. We have a nice group camaraderie and watched the hour long transport pass along under white skies and over white sea ice. J, my traveling friend from last year and I were on the same flight out of McMurdo this year. I'll miss his companionship while traveling this year.

As a perk for being in Air Services and giving the Air Force crews tours of McMurdo at the beginning of the season, the five of us get to have some flight deck time on the plane when we redeploy. The cockpit of a C-17 has a lot of windows compared to other (commercial) aircraft. There are windows at the feet of the pilot and co-pilot, windows to the side, and to the front, too. I was able to see some stunning views of Antarctica as we flew over. The pilot explained what different mountain regions were and pointed out the mountains that Sir Edmund Hillary climbed to prepare for Everest. I cannot explain, nor put into a photo what it's like to fly over glaciers that feed into other glaciers like rivers off the continent, or to see snow covered steppes and buttes and white mountain ranges!

gray days

My "crud" has finally moved through and with a bit warmer weather on the horizon, I took a walk with a friend to Hut Point. There have been penguins out and about lately, and we thought we might see a few of them, but we only saw some footprints along the water.

While the weather was a bit warmer, there was a thick fog rising up from the ice edge, capturing the Swedish Icebreaker in its' haze.

We are processing redeployment paperwork at work and answering many travel questions. In the next weeks, I will see a few ships come in, a few planes fly here, and there, some friends leave, and hopefully some wildlife, in the meantime.

One month from today I will be departing this beautiful continent of Antarctica.

snow and sickness

You know how sometimes when it's a cloudy day, everyone seems to get a little blue? Here in McMurdo, we've had about a week of cloudy gray days and the station's immune systems got knocked out from under us. Combine some snowy days with an influx of personnel on station and we end up with a whole heap of sick people. The flu is the prevalent force right now; if you get it, you're quarantined to your room between three to five days. I am lucky enough to only have a cold, officially known as "the crud" in McMurdo (perhaps my flu shot earlier in the season is working). When disease gets down here, it spreads quickly since we all use the same dining facility, bathroom, and bedrooms. It's amazing how close we indirectly become when we work, eat, and live in such a small place together!

Despite the general health on station, we are pretty enchanted by the massive snowfall. This much snow is pretty peculiar for the month of January and while it has hampered our flights and delayed the distinguished visitors (DV's) from coming down as scheduled for the dedication of the new South Pole Station, it's a beautiful white way of making our operations station appear clean and beautiful. Typically, this part of the season is reserved for running, biking, and the annual New Zealand v. USA rugby game. The game will go on, but running in drifts and digging bikes out of snow isn't as fun as it might first appear!

The Swedish Icebreaker, The Oden, just made it to our Ice Pier today as well. This ship cuts the path towards McMurdo to clear the way for our fuel tanker, cargo container ship, as well as a couple of research vessels arriving in town. It is a strange sight to see a boat pull up in the area that was once an airfield, and has been covered with flat sea ice for a few months.

The great part about the boat churning up the ice, is the wildlife that may visit our station. We already had a group of Adelie Penguins come to visit and explore last Sunday afternoon, but I missed them while I watched a movie. We hope the sea ice blows out this year allowing the seals, whales, and penguins easier access to our bit of island here.

My pictures are of an icy ditch. When the weather is warm, we make ditches to control erosion and direct meltwaters to the sea. Recently, these streams cooled down again and made amazing designs and shapes in the water. The shadows and sun gave me an opportunity to take some really cool pictures!

the colors of icestock

Icestock is an annual event to help celebrate the changing of the years. This year was no exception. Multiple musical groups from around station come out to sing their hearts out on an outdoor stage. And, adding to the excitement is a chili cook off. My favorite was the Kiwi's dish; but they did have an advantage in their access to venison to add to their stew!

I noticed a lot of color at Icestock this year; this is appropriate given the huge variety of colorful personalities at McMurdo Station. Everyone has a story. So, without further ado, here are some of the colors I took in yesterday!

Chalet Admin Cindy tasting snowflakes.











Painter Leah sporting an up-do.











Cargo Cary showing his band face.











Shuttle Jaime smiling her finest.











Shuttle Taryn dancing the day away.











Crary Admin Katie coloring the gray day.

the more things change, they also stay the same

I recently ran across some old photos of the McMurdo area on our shared network drive. When I say 'old,' I mean from the year 1957 when this place was but a speck in the imagination; or on the continent of Antarctica; and when black & white photography was en vogue.

The first picture is something you don't see around the area anymore unless you are fortunate to shadow a penguin scientist for a day. The Antarctic Treaty prevents us from touching or interfering with wildlife if it changes their behavior.

The second picture though is common practice around these parts. When a penguin shows up, everyone surrounds the critter looking for the best shot and hoping the little guy wanders up close to us. The birds don't adhere to any treaties and if they approach us we just get to sit still, snap a few photos, and enjoy the unprecedented view of Antarctic nature at its finest.

ice pressure

Today I wandered out on the soft sea ice and found my way through the pressure ridges by Scott Base. The temporary sea ice and the permanent Ross Ice Shelf collide in this area, creating some unbelievable ice sculptures in the sky. Yesterday was the last day for these tours as the melt pools are getting deeper beneath these formations and ice conditions are getting dangerous.

The temporary sea ice has been known to "blow out" up to the permanent ice shelf before. The wind helps aids the warmer summer temperatures down here to push out the ice. When this happens, a boat could pull up in front of Scott Base. This hasn't happened in a number of years, but we all hope the open water comes this far in. Until the temporary ice leaves the area, the pressure will continue to mount between the two frozen bodies and create intricate designs in the sky.

The permanent Ross Ice Shelf forms from glacial ice flowing off the continent. Our island is half surrounded by the edge of this massive ice flow. The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest floating glacier in the world and our sea ice sheet is roughly the area of California. Beneath our feet at our Williams Field Skiway, or Pegasus White Ice Runway there is 600-800 feet of ice. This is the "shallow" end of the glacier which actually floats on the water.

The day was a bit cooler than our just-over-freezing temperatures which made for a little more solid footing. A few seals lined the ridges (nothing like the hundreds that will populate our area in a month). We actually heard their sublime calls echoing through the icy structures. They have their grunts and groans, but they also have beautiful pings and whistles like a whale or submarine.

Back on station, I reflected on the awesome power that was reflected in the energy of the sea on itself in the Coffee House while I downloaded my pictures. In the bigger picture, these little ridges are such a small part of a much grander creation. They are but a reflection of the 12-14 thousand foot mountains across the sea; and those mountains are but a fraction of a reflection of what my God is.

amazing sunday

Today is an amazing day. It’s such a great day because I’m wearing capris in Antarctica and I’m not even cold outside! It’s also a great day because it’s my first Sunday off in a long time where I can have Sunday morning brunch with unlimited fresh fruit, and Belgian waffles and everything breakfasty that I could possibly want! It’s a great day because I was able to go to the Chapel and sing Joy to the World to celebrate Joy on the third Sunday of Advent; I love to sing! It’s a great day because my favorite mountain range, The Royal Society, is out so brilliantly it forces me to believe in some Creator far greater than I, who squished and squeezed the earth together to form such a tremendous natural skyline. It’s a great day because I slept 10 hours, feel refreshed, and had a casual morning over coffee and tea with Lucas; my best Antarctic friend. It’s a great day because God has been good to me and I can feel Him; his love, beauty, life, grace, joy, and creation moving around me in the beautiful people, places, and scenes.

Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire. -- Hebrews 12:25-29 --

following a star

And the star the wise men had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.
-- Matthew 2:9-11 --

The wise men followed a star to mark the birth of Jesus. And, not that I followed a star to come to McMurdo Station, but I did neatly fit into God's plan when I flew down here, again, this fall and found myself standing underneath this silvery apparition.

I stood, alone, under this holiday decoration strung between some power poles on our dirty road the other day, looked up at the brilliant blue sky, and just smiled; giggled, actually, with joy. Who would have ever believed that I would celebrate Christmas (two years in a row) in Antarctica? It certainly wasn't me, but here I am. And, who would have believed that a child born in a barn would counteract the effects sin brought upon this entire world? But there a Savior was born and people from all around knew, saw, and felt the glory of God come down and the went to seek it with blind faith!

My laughing under our fabricated star came from a joyful heart; a believing, faithful, thankful heart. Sometimes, though, I feel a little like Sarai when she was told she was going to give birth to a Isaac in her old age. Even though I've seen God's work, part of me still laughs at the possibility of God coming up with more big things happening in life, because of their peculiarity, or outlandishness. But, he brought me here. And, he brought Jesus to the world, and no matter where he sets me next, I am still His; doing big things in little invisible ways, or in huge statements.

melting permafrost

It's the time of year when the sun's power becomes overwhelming our Antarctica island, and the ground begins to thaw, and refreeze, and then thaw some more. Ross Island consists of three volcanic peaks; Mount Byrd (out of sight, out of mind), Mount Terror (visible from Scott Base), and the ever-present Mount Erebus (the most active, continually steaming, and occasional lava-bomb-shooting peak). While the island is host to a few glaciers and good deal of snow pack, the summer months, the radiant solar heat produces a good deal of snow melt; even though the temperatures have not warmed up to the freezing mark.

On my way to my dorm the other day, I took note of the dirt and ash on the ground. It is wet right now; which is a relief, as the dust becomes excessive and a nuisance in January. Wet also means it is not frozen on the top any longer. But, not too far under the surfaces is a lot of permafrost-laden ground.

At night, even though we are experiencing 24 hours of daylight, it still cools off. Right now, it is still chilling out enough to freeze the streams and puddles that form during the day. Sometimes we see fun ice formations; but most of the time, I think people overlook what is happening right under their feet.

Tonight I was walking out of my building and came across a ice coated puddle. Normally, I like to see things untouched; in their pure form here. But, like a 9 year old, bent on testing the waters, I tested my weight to the flimsy skim of ice. It didn't take much to crack through the puddle and watch dirty water seep through the fissures I created. I continued to break the little puddles all the way up to my work center. Sometimes it crashes through. Other times, it's a bit like stepping on a Christmas ornament and hearing a thousand tinkling glassy sounds under my feet!

a few more folks

Thanksgiving in Antarctica is a made up of the new friends you spend time with down here. In the absence of family, we gather together around our galley tables and give thanks for our food, our place at the bottom of the world, and each other. So, appropriately, I have posted a few more photos of those amazing faces in Antarctica and added what they do at McMurdo Station this year.

audrey, shuttles

chris, airfield supervisor

jim, shuttles

kris, shuttles supervisor

lucas, cargo handler

faces of antarctica

At Tia's party, I took many photos of some friends and acquaintances of mine who happen to be in my camera's eye. Every person here has their own particular reason for deploying. Some believe the common theme is the notion that none of us got our way in the 'real world' so we defaulted to make something work out for us in Antarctica. Others believe we all social outcasts. I tend to think we all simply share a quirky adventurous streak. The people here are at least half the reason I came back this year. So, here are some of the many faces in Antarctica:

tia, mac-ops (mcmurdo comms operations)

michael, carpenter helper

richard, senior food services materialsperson

julie, fixed wing assistant

andy, food warehouse materialsperson

j, shuttles

betsy, store materialsperson

debbie, solid waste technician

genevieve, firehouse dispatcher