The journey begins (part 2)

LAX was a zoo and it would take about 3 paragraphs to explain that but I'm sure the folks reading this don't really want to read anything about LAX airport and it's negative aspects.   I had an 8 hour layover so I found a TV and had dinner as I watched Boston beat St. Louis in Game 5 of the World Series.  I moseyed up to the gate about 2 hours early and found several people chatting and one of them had a red USAP ball cap on.  I figured these folks were 'Polies' and going the same place as I was so I introduced myself.  My new friends were Greg, Mick, Cheryl and Ian.

We began our 14 hour flight to Sydney about 7,500 miles on Qantas Airlines.  It was the first time that I had flown on a Boeing 747.  Basically they fed us a big meal and put us to bed.  The meals were prepared and served like airlines did in the late 1900's where the tray had little containers for each food and the wine glasses were, well, glass.  After we were all snug in our chairs with pillows and blankets, the lights were turned out and we slept.  Near the end of the flight, they again fed us again (breakfast) and after another hour or so we landed in Sydney at about 9:30 in the morning.  We left LAX on the 28th and landed in Australia on the 30th, skipping a day by flying over the international dateline.

We didn't have to go thru customs because we officially weren't entering Australia and stayed in the international area of the airport but I must say that I had added another continent to the list of ones that I had been in.  Technically, I had my feet on the ground there.  As we walked towards the next gate we met more and more people who were headed for 'The Ice'.  We boarded our Emirates Airline flight for the last leg of our trip to New Zealand.  it was a Boeing 777-300 and the stewardess said they had just moved it over here from Dubai.  Most of us 'going to the ice' folks had seats in the business class for some reason.  Our seats levitated out like Lazy Boys but electrically. the entertainment consoles were huge with so much room around them and the seats. We couldn't believe our luck.  We acted like a bunch of kids in a toy store, moving the seats, back and forth, up and down, figuring out how the remotes worked, switching back and forth between the cameras looking outside of the airplane and the entertainment channels, etc.  When it was time for the meal, we pulled out these big tables from their slots and the stewardess put linen tablecloths on them and produced fancy menus just like an upscale restaurant.  With our menu they produced a wine list.  I order the Stir-fried chicken with cashews and a glass of Sarget de Gruaud Larose 2001-  they really did serve a 13 year old wine and for desert I had Indulgent dark chocolate dome with a delicately flavored lavender vanilla cream sauce. The food came on real dishes with real silverware.  This was all free.  Not once did they ask for my credit card.  Unbelievable for an airlines - so this is how the people of Dubai live.  Eat your heart out, Alaska Airlines.They also ran their duty free store right on the airplane.  Needing a watch before I got 'on the ice' I purchased a Sturmanskie at a very reasonable price. 

Soon we were flying along the coast of New Zealand.  I have always heard how beautiful it is and it really is.  It looks a lot like Alaska to me but warmer.  Most of us were put up at the Elms Hotel in Christchurch.  I went to bed early being tired from all of the traveling.  Day by day I was getting closer 'to the ice'.

The Journey begins ... (Part 1)

On Monday, Elsie dropped me off at the Fairbanks airport in the dark. We kissed and I walked away.  Before entering the terminal, I set my bags down and turned to look.  We looked at each other and I nodded as she drove away.  It was the last look that we would have of each other for 3.5 months until I come off the ice and she meets me in Christchurch, NZ in mid February.

Inside the terminal, I tried to get my tickets at the kiosk but I wasn't in the system.  The ticket agent asked me for my passport and visa.  She told me that my visa was only good for three months.  As she read the info on her computer screen, I could see that I had a growing problem.  "Where is Christchurch?" she asked.  "New Zealand.  It's the jumping off point for the folks working in the Antarctic." I explained.  My visa asked New Zealand for an extension to 12 months since I was working in the Antarctic.  Deep in thought pondering what might happen, I heard her ask, "Are you going to be in the Antarctic less than three months?" Not wanting to spend the rest of the day in the Fairbanks airport to sort this out and miss my flight to Sydney tonight, I fibbed, "Yes, less than three months".  I figured that I would let the Antarctic Support Contract folks rescue me in Christchurch if need be.

Next was TSA.  For some 'unknown reason', I was selected for extra security.  Finally I get thru to the gate.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw Janna, my ex-O&M supervisor at Pump Station 1 waiting for a flight to Prudhoe Bay.  I hate to call her my ex-supervisor because I'll be back working at Pump Station 1 next spring.  I just think of it as taking a 'leave of absence' from her supervision until my return.  Janna and I chatted a minute, shook hands and bid farewell.  I got to my gate just as they were starting to board.

As the 737 lifted up off the runway in the gathering light and gained altitude, I looked over at the Chena River and picked out our home standing by the river looking like a silent sentinel. It was a bit sad but I'm guessing that most explorers/adventurers have this moment of reflection as they leave home to be gone for awhile.  As the plane turned southwest we flew over the Tanana River which looked like a table lace in the half light.  We flew over North Pole, Eielson AFB and Salcha down towards Delta Jct.

We lived in Salcha on an old homestead on the banks of a river for most of the 80's and 90's.  Our grown children call it 'the place where we grew up'.  I couldn't pick out the homestead but I did see Pump Station 8 (where I worked for 12 years or so) and the Trans Alaska Pipeline.  My livelihood has been on the Pipeline for over 30 years and has provided a good living for me and my family.

While I looked out the window and was reflecting, the clouds marched in and I could no longer see the features on the ground.  I withdrew my book from my pack.  I'm reading 'Dark Winter' by William Dietrich.  It was recommended by our son, Daniel.  It's an adventure, psychological thriller novel that takes place at the Amundsen-Scott Station at the South Pole.  Hey, wait a minute, that is where I'm going.  I'll give you a little hint - the first person doesn't turn up missing until Chapter 9.

On approach to Seattle, we flew low over Ballard where our daughter Heidi lives.  I looked for her townhouse but wasn't able to pick it out.  It was interesting to see the whole Ballard Locks system from the air and the harbor where where some of the fishing boats in 'Deadliest Catch' call home.

It was a beautiful day in Seattle.  After deplaning, I texted Heidi and after 15 minutes of no response I called and left a message on her phone.  I'm sure she is very busy with being assigned to Boeing's 737 MAX team. Now onto LAX.

The long wait has come to an end.

It has been almost 2 months since I was PQ’d and about 3 weeks ago I took a leave of absence from my job at PS01 to work at the South Pole for 4 months. In the meantime, we all suffered from the government shutdown and debt ceiling crisis because everything was put on hold since the National Science Foundation runs the program down under.  Finally when the logjam broke, the fine folks down in Colorado went into overdrive and started processing the plane tickets for the folks going to Antarctica.  I leave tomorrow morning for the first leg of my trip to The Pole via Seattle, LA, Sydney, Christchurch and McMurdo.

I have been fairly patient, visiting old friends, taking walks along the Chena River that is beside the condo that we moved into this summer, taking photos of the sunrises & ducks, and I’m still unpacking boxes from the move.  I checked in with my family Doctor and friend, Dr. Peter Marshall out in the town of North Pole who has been looking after my health for over 30 years.  He congratulated me, gave me the green light and gave me something for my sniffles. 

Since I’ve been trying to go to Antarctica for three years I kind of feel like an astronaut whose mission has been scrubbed a couple of times but tomorrow is launch day, everything looks good and the mission is a GO!!! 

 Thanks to Pump Station 1, A Shift for a great summer!

 Chena River

 Chena River.

Dr. Peter Marshall and me.