Views around town

It’s very easy to get caught up in the drama and truama of everyday life down here.  One way that I like to stay grounded is to capture the daily views and try to remember the beauty and awe of this place.

Here are  few shots that have helped keep me sane…

Sunset view from the Galley on October 4th.

Another sunset view from the Galley on November 2nd...one of the more clear days this season. An extremely windy day as seen from the balcony of the GWR (Garage, Warehouse, and Recreation) Building. Not a pretty sight, unless you are inside.

A clear day in November with a nice view of the Wiencke Island mountain range.

Another nice November sunset.

From the backyard, watching the sun set behind the station.

A view of a small portion of the Marr Ice Piedmont as seen from the Hero Inlet side of the backyard.

Watching the sun set from inside the Rec Hut. Toregeson Island is in clear view as you watch the sun set from the hut.

Another view of the Wiencke Island mountain range as seen from the boardwalk between the Bio Lab Building and the GWR Building.

A cool looking bergie bit floating right outside my window in Arthur Harbor.

Another view of Arthur Harbor and the Marr Ice Piedmont. The water was very calm this day in November and the sun was shining.

While waiting on the pier to head out to a cruise ship, I saw some wildlife playing by the rocks.

This Gentoo penuin knew I was there, but didn't want to turn all the way around to pose for the photo. I think he was preoccupied tanning.

Lastly, a sunset over Wiencke Island.

So there are a great deal of the sun setting and the beautiful scenery around the station.  It’s these shots that help me get through the bad days.

Krill in a Bowl…not the San Fransico Treat

One of the science groups here is studying krill, a shrimp like marine crustacean that is near the bottom of the food chain.

After one day of sampling in the water, the group brought back a bunch of krill to study.  As they were waiting, they put them on display.

I thought it would be cool for you all to see ‘Krill in a Bowl.’

To give you some perspective, the diameter of this bowl is about 10".

Pretty cool, right?

Recreational Boating…Attempt #1

One of the special perks of being at Palmer Station is the opportunity for recreational boating, weather permitting.  Usually the weather is much more cooperative and rec boating happens as early as October.  It was now into November and I still had not been rec boating. 

I was very persistent and eager to be in a zodiac and check out the wildlife on the nearby islands.  One night after work, a few other eager folks (all who’ve been rec boating before) and I decided to give it a try. 

The waters were still pretty chalked full of ice, but I had faith that we could make it through.  We got on all of our gear and headed down to the parking lot, the area where the zodiacs are tied up.

The Parking Lot.

We got the zodiac ready for launching and were very optimistic. But look at all the ice surrounding the area?

And the adventure begins...we pulled out of our parking spot, hopeful and raring to go.

We looked at the horizon hoping we'd get closer and closer to breaking through the packed ice.

It was at this point that some of us (not me of course) started to question our enthusiasm for the journey.  We continued on.

 

A closer view of the ice we were trying to break through. Not so pretty to have to get through, but still pretty cool to look at.

 

 

We continued and could see the edge of the ice more clearly, yet it was still so far away.

 

 

We even tried pulling out ice chunks into the boat, one piece at a time. This proved to not be a good idea.

 

At this point, we’d been trying to break through the ice for approximately 30 minutes and were not even beyond the pier.  Against my wishes, I conceeded and we decided that it wasn’t going to happen tonight.  We turned around and began our long journey back to the parking lot.

Just in case this would never happen again, I made sure to capture this moment where I was sitting in a zodiac in Antarctic waters for the FIRST TIME EVER! I may not have made it far, but I got to this point.

The view from the zodiac of the Bio building, the building I work and live in, and spend about 85% of my day in.

Once we turned around, we saw that in the 30 minutes we'd been out, the ice had already filled in to make our return trip just about as long. Yeah!

Back home...safe and sound. We tied up and headed in.

What I soon realized was that the best part of today’s adventure was just about to begin…enjoying some hot chocolate and Bailey’s. 

I might not have made it to Torgeson Island where there are loads of penguins, but now I can say that I am one step closer. 

Stay tuned to find out if and when I make it out…

Halloween…

It’s rather difficult to put into words how Palmerites celebrate holidays here, so I will do so with photos.  In this case, a picture IS really worth 1000 words.

Halloween eve started with cocktails:

Goblin Mimosas and Vampire Blood...a great way to start a meal.

Don’t forget eyeballs (peanut butter balls dipped in white chocolate) to spice up your evening.

We moved onto the Bar/Lounge:

This one wasn't so lucky. He's left on the next ship heading North.

Some highlights of the cast of characters:

The disgustingly cute couple dressed in homemade outfits sewn together out of old float coats.

Kerry, our Admin, as a vibrant and vivacious 70's Go-Go girl with Mark, our Instrument Tech as the Sexy Sax Man (a character from a WHAM YouTube video). They were quite the pair.

Susie, our current doc, playing the role of the 'crazy doc' from a previous season at Palmer.

Judy, as Robin (from Batman and Robin) with Kris, one of our Waste Tech's, dressed up as Hazardous Waste. You can't tell from the back, but he was pretty gross.

Rex and Kim in their costume of a plug and outlet. When they were 'put together' they both lite up. It was great!

Another guy that didn't make it. At this rate, I won't be cooking for too many folks.

 

This one was great...Luke, one of the grantees, was Ramen Noodles. He even had his own 'spice packet.'

Not a face shot of Zena, another grantee, but it's a good shot of her costume, the Lawrence M. Gould (the vessel that brings us to and from Chile). She made it completely from scratch. Look at that details.

Zee, one of our regulars that's been in the program for many years, dressed up as a construction worker. It's not a far stretch from her normal work clothing.

Michaela, one of our trade apprentices, made this mask out of paper mache. Scarry and cool at the same time.

One of our Comms folks, Ric, played The Sultan for the evening. It's the turquoise sash that makes the outfit.

It was a great night of costumes, dancing, and adult beverages.  Now the holiday season has officially begun.

Take time to smell the roses…

Fortunately and unfortunately, I work and live in the same building.  This means that I have to force myself to leave the building to check out what’s happening in the world around me. 

When I have some free time or when I need to get some air, I walk out to the walkways between the two major building and take a peak. 

On one beautiful October morning, I saw the following:

 

 

The view is of Arthur Harbor and the Marr Ice Piedmont.  There was such a beautiful reflection in the water.  I tried to capture it with my camera, but as I have alluded to before, sometimes photos can’t replicate the real view.  It was really magnificent. 

This is part of the amazing scenery I get the pleasure to view when I stop and smell the roses around here.