Return to Antarctica

  So, after the delay in Chirstchurch, we got on the C17 to McMurdo. Our stay in McMurdo was short; only about 12 hours. Colin and I managed to get in a quick hike up Ob hill, you can see some pictures at the bottom of this post. The sun was low, giving the whole scene a nice yellow glow.
  I had a roommate for about 9 hours. He was a grad student going to the dry valleys studying microbes in the lakes there, which are super saline. The dry valleys sounds really cool, lots of interesting things to see out there...the South Pole is a little more mundane.

   The next morning we were up bright and early for our flight to pole. After about 3 and a half hours airborne we were on the ground at Pole. The weather wasn't that great, I was a little surprised we landed at all.
   Being back at the station felt very familiar. Not much really changes down here. For the past week we've been working hard on the telescopes. We have managed to do some fixes to two of them and will be testing whether we have improved them in the next week.
   The first indoor soccer game happened this week too. We had a great turnout, at least 11 people were there to play. Breathing the dry air at 10,000 ft is just about as I remember, hopefully next time I'll be a little stronger.

Mom, here is one of me in the C17. With Chin Lin and Randol, and a sleeping Colin.

Zak and Sven look pretty excited.

High Ceilings!

Looks cold....

Getting off the C17 in McMurdo

Ivan takes us from the runway to town.

Erebus looms

Colin strikes a pose on Ob hill

Carhartts make my legs look so straight!

No hidden corners this year. Unfortunately the unicorn is white and blends in with the snow, the missile silo is underground and the burger king went out of business.

I like this one.