14 December 2008 My Last Sunday in McMurdo

It's my last Sunday in McMurdo Station and I have the day off. Of course I woke up at 6:00am and couldn't go back to sleep. My roommate also woke up early and we both got dressed and spent the morning doing errands. My errands included washing all of my clothes, including the ECW(abbreviation) Extreme Cold Weather clothing gear, and starting the packing process.My new roommate's name is Michelle and she is really nice. She is from the Midwest and works for GIS. Her job is to make maps for scientists and others that need them. The rest of her team will arrive the first week of January.

 
Stacy told me and Scott that we could have the day off. However, by 12:00pm we were both in the lab working. I did take a break to go to Scott Base to get some more postcards. They have a much better selection than the store at McMurdo Station. The van ride over was interesting because it was sunny in McMurdo but by the time we got to Scott Base, which is about 2 miles away, it was cloudy and cold.

The buildings on Scott Base are all a "kiwi" green. The door to the store is not like any door back home.

I bought some lovely postcards, a map of Ross Island, and a t-shirt. Then I had to wait for the shuttle to take me back to McMurdo Station. You cannot go walking around the base unless you have been invited. This gave me a chance to look at their sign. It has the latitude on it.

After my return from Scott Base, I did some more work and then went to dinner.

On Sunday night they have a science lecture and it was the people from The Exploratorium that did the presentation and it was very enjoyable. One of the speakers was John Weller, a nature photographer, who has been on a mission the last several years to help develop awareness in the general public of the fact that the Southern Ocean is the last pristine marine environment in the world. His ultimate message is that it isn't the scientists that can save the rest of the marine environments but rather you and me. It is amazing what just one person can do.

I got back to my room at about 9:45pm and my plan was to start packing. However, Michelle was already asleep so I decided to read my book (the sixth since I got to Antarctica) and call it a night. Tomorrow should be very busy so I better get my rest.