This year I am working as a "town" or "science" painter. It is a vast improvement from last year in that I have a department, a work place, a break room, painting projects and variety of paint color! I am also working inside most of the time which is a nice switch as well as spending some time out at the filed camps on the very continent of Antarctica itself!!
These photos are from the journey downt to the ice from Denver which was a little less nerve racking as last year, still a long haul, and nearly as exciting as last year. It was hilarious that all along the way I would see Ice people on my flights. The plane from Minnesota hosted some new Ice folks that I could pickout at baggage claim in Denver from their penguin tagged bags. The plane from Denver and from LA to New Zealand was full of a cast of characters I recognized from last year or met in Denver. And of course the C17 flight down was among friends, landing succesfully on the ice runway and driving up to none other than Building 155, or the "blue" building as it is now called. I still get loads of comments on the Blue color from folks, ranging from but I think it looks rather sharp myself.
This first week in town I went out to "Happy Camper" which is a two day survival training in which we camped out on the ice and dug snow trenches to sleep in. Infamous from WEner Hertzog's film, you know... the scene where people wear buckets on their heads and walk around in "white out conditions".
Mt. Discovery looming behind the New Zealand Scott Base
This year I came early enough to catch the sunsets and sunrises over the Ross Sea ice. Many a beautiful night sky over the Transantarctic Mountains.
One of these bulidings is not like the others!
