McMurdo

I'm at The Pole and I'm not feeling very well because I have altitude sickness.  I want to catch up my blog so I'm going to be less detailed.

After landing on the iceway in front of McMurdo we were hauled up into town by "Ivan' the Terra Bus, dropped off at the main building, had orientation and found our rooms.  When we landed on Friday we heard the that the first flight of the season (P-001) made it into The Pole.  So the next flight into The Pole (P-002) was scheduled for Saturday and I was scheduled for Monday's third flight P-003.  When we got up on Saturday, we found the weather to be bad and no flying happened on that day.  Because of that, P-002 was moved to Monday and I was moved up to P-002.  They dropped some of the cargo on this flight and put on more people.  I'm guessing the old crew down at the South Pole Station had a long winter and they want to get more of them out sooner.

So we had our 'bag drag' as they call it where you have to drag your bags while wearing your cold weather gear on up to the flight office so they can weight you and your bags.  After that I visited Mike Epperson, the fellow who hired me to work at the South Pole.  I read books, checked email and ate meals with my new found friends from Christchurch.  Saturday evening was the Halloween Party.  I didn't go but I heard that it is THE big event of the year in McMurdo.  As soon as one year's party is over, some revelers start planning their costumes for the next year's party.

Sunday was bright and beautiful.  My friend Tom and I hiked around McMurdo and saw most of the sites, taking lots of pictures.  McMurdo has a rich Navy history which I won't get into now but is in some ways typical of other some towns across America and in some ways not typical.  The typical part - it has one church and three bars which is about the average ratio of American towns.  The non-typical part - it doesn't have any schools, nor children, nor McDonald's, etc. which is just like Deadhorse back in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska where I worked before heading down this way.

My friend Tom by the old Navy officer's club which is now a coffee shop.

A Halloween reveler using the only ATM on the continent.

Another Halloween reveler.

Chapel of the Snows - the southernmost church building in the world.

Scott's Hut (Robert Scott 1901-04)

McMurdo as seen from Observation Point.

Scott Base - a Kiwi research base about a mile away from McMurdo.

Many nations in the Antarctic but none of them own an inch of it.

Mount Erebus - the southernmost active volcano on earth.