Painted Sky

One of the great wonders of being down here at this time of the year is to enjoy the views.  At dusk, we can view nacreous clouds.  I didn’t take these photos because I am still learning how to do this on my camera, but I am grateful for the person that did and choose to share them. 

Yes, it's real!

These clouds are reflections of the ice crystals in the sky.  It’s so amazingly beautiful, even these photos can’t really capture how georgous the sky is. 

It’s truly an amazing place!

McMurdo…Season II

Thanks to Annette for the warm fleece or my head/neck would be an icile!

For those of you who do not know yet, I have returned to McMurdo Station.  Yes, I am in for another fun-filled year of 24 hour sunlight and somewhat cold weather. 

Over the summer I worked in the Denver office and took a promotion as the Chef.  I worked diligently (atleast most of the time) to hire a great crew and prepare myself for my upcoming kitchen adventures.

I left Denver on Sunday, August 16th for an exicting and long day of travels to make it to the beautiful Christchurch, New Zealand.  I over indulged in food (as anyone there should) and took in a few sights.  It’s just as beautiful as it was a few months ago, but a little colder since it’s the end of their winter.  As I have said before, it would be an incredible place to live.

The flight left for McTown on Sunday, August 22 from Christchurch.  I had great seats thanks only to Linda (previous coworker and NZ traveling pal).  She found us spots in airline seats that recline.  It made the 5 hour flight much more comfortable. The only issues we found with the great airline seats were the tremendous wind storm that was continuously blowing on us for 3 1/2 hours. It forced me to lay all of my coats (fleece and big red) over my entire body, face included, to keep from catching a cold and get some rest. Yes, I the photo is really what I looked like. Compliments to Linda for being the photographer of this crazy thing!

We safety arrived in Antarctica around noon and headed into town.  It was a balmy -24F  with winds up to 12 mph.  I recall the weather better last year, but it was actually colder.  This year the wind was not so refreshing.  It really took your breath away. 

We had a scenic (all white) ride into town and after our arrival briefing and picking up our luggage, I settled in for the afternoon of unpacking and some rest. 

Here’s to a great season filled with happy and healthy coworkers and some great new adventures!