ICE PICTURES!!!
OK, OK….here are Ice Pictures, as promised!
Here I am, visiting the cockpit of the C-17 as we began to fly over the Trans-Antarctic Mountains. This is when I REALLY began to get excited.
This was the view from the window of the cockpit. The lumps in the snow are mountains, ranging between 8,000 and 10,000 feet. This was my first view of the continent!
On the ground, finally! But it was COLD! And as you might be able to tell, it was WINDY! We landed on the sea ice, so all that white ground you see was actually rippled and sort of bluish. I didn’t get a picture of the ice because I was running like crazy to get to the vehicle. This photo was taken from the warmth of the airporter.
Here are my peeps in the airporter. Notice the fellow with the bow tie - that’s Fleet, the dentist. I have yet to see him NOT wearing a dress shirt and bow tie.
After this, I was tired and vaguely stunned, so I didn’t take any more pictures that day. But next time, I’ll have some pictures of town for you!
Thanks to all my fans at Jimbo aka James’s office! I’m glad you’re interested and I hope I can provide you more interesting adventures!
Wooo! Ice! Great shot of you in the C17, btw!
Fleet sounds like exactly the sort of eccentric the ice is supposed to attract (hmm, wait) - of course, you want to stay on his good side in any case!
I would’ve loved to see (read: steal) pics of the rippled sea ice for class, but then again, I’ve yet to integrate a bunch of my own photos into lectures. (I’ve got Greenland from the air, but the Transantarctic is slightly more impressive!) Guess it’ll have to wait.
Just hope that the landing strip is still there come the end of your deployment - have you seen what’s happened with Arctic meltoff this year? The NW passage is navigable, for Pete’s sake! (Without icebreakers even!)
So where are you guys daylight-wise? It’s close enough to equinox I’d imagine you’re still getting normal day-night cycles, but I’ve heard they’re short and white nights can’t be far away. Keep us posted!
— Dave
Hi Dave!
I’ll see what I can do about getting a picture of the sea ice. The sea ice runway will stay until about December and then they’ll move flight operations to either Pegasus Field on the permanentish (10,000 y.o.+) ice or else to the land-based Willy Field. We like the sea ice one because it’s only a couple minutes to town, while the others are farther away. Believe it or not, by December the ships will be docking nearly outside the window of my dorm.
Right now, we’ve only got a couple days til the last sunset. I’ve been so tired I have yet to see the sun down - even when I’ve stayed out pretty late it’s been early twilight, but it hasn’t stopped me from sleeping!!
Wow, that’s crazy! All that snow and cold and wind makes me miss my Minnesota home, but I’ll bet Minny feels downright tropical compared to Antarctica. Enjoy each day! Keep the stories and photos coming!
Awesome stuff Sis!!! Do us a favor and give us a link to your Flickr account so we can check out your pictures there as well!
Good talking to you the other day. Love ya!
Wow laura how excitng to see and read about all your adventures, what a brave and astounding lass you are..much love jessica
Dear Laura,
Very cute photo of you (in the plane)! You look great.
And…Patrick and I would like to thank you BIG time for the beautiful and thoughtful pewter Plant a Tree ornament! It is a perfect addition to our home and we both like the idea behind the purchasing of it! What a nice surprise from my cutie Laura.
It has been a treat to read your blog (the first blog I’ve ever read) and see your photos. The one in Christchurch brought back memories for me.
Take good care and Merry Holidays!
Love,
Ms. Cobb and Patrick
Hi there, are you off and running again? Good luck, let me hear from you if possible.
Love from Jessica and Eddie