Settling in

I have been SO BAD about taking pictures so far. It's been a chaotic first week at McMurdo, with the station still really really full of people (800+), most of whom really want to leave and keep getting delayed (and more and more stressed out about foiled vacation plans) as planes break and are delayed due to weather, etc. It's insanity, but at the same time, pretty much par for the course in Antarctica as far as I can tell.

I'm also not really feeling at all settled in since I'm in a temporary room with a (very sweet, quiet) roommate and have to wait another week+, till the station actually "closes" for winter (though it's not a true closing, as we're scheduled for three winter flights), when my permanent room in another building will be available for me to move into.

In the meantime, on the plus side, I have gotten lots of turn-over time with the summer store people and have gotten to ease into my job here very gradually, and the weather continues to be gorgeous. (Temps ranging between 10-25 degrees F these days.) On a walk to Hut Point the other night I even saw two penguins! (See second picture.) Seems like a good omen for the season. And man, but the view is amazing. Fun Fact: McMurdo Station is actually on an island just off the main continent, called Ross Island. These pictures are looking out over the Ross Sea, and the open water is only because it's the end of summer. We won't be seeing that for much longer, and definitely not again by the time I leave here in October, as the bay is completely frozen over most of the year.



Here's the view looking back at McMurdo from Hut Point (that's the corner of Scott's Hut in the right foreground). My home for the next 8+ months!

I love the landscapes, but I know some of you like a little more substance.

So I will share that....

-- South Pole Station officially closed for the winter today when they brought the last 11 summer folks out amid worsening weather. There is definitely a part of my heart that wishes I was at Pole for the winter again. But I also really like this store job (which doesn't exist at Pole in the winter as a full-time gig) and am excited for a new experience at a new station. But it does feel like I will have to return to Pole at some point, because thinking of it makes me so nostalgic! They have about a month more of sunshine (till the March equinox) before the sun starts setting and the long winter dark begins for them.

-- Here at McMurdo, the sun will dip a bit below the horizon next week--for the first time since late October. It will not completely set until late April.

-- Click here to access the Antarctic Sun, a periodical that will give you more info about the continent than you could possibly have time to absorb completely....

Okay, I'll do my best to start taking more pictures and I'll be back when I have a good batch for you.