I have been back in Utah now for a couple of days and have time to organize some of my photos, video, and thoughts. There is no way I could sum up all of the amazing things I have seen and learned, and tell you about the wonderful new PolarTREC friends I have met. Here goes an attempt:
This is the view of Denali (the highest mountain in North America) out my plane window. This was between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
This is a shot of the northern lights from my hotel. I know it is not one of the most dramatic, but just the fact that I took this with an iPhone says a lot.
We went to an ice sculpturing park. There were probably 100 sculptures to check out!
This was where we spent a lot of time learning about our upcoming trips. This is the University of Alaska. Our room was the top of the building behind the pine tree. All those windows made me think I was in a control tower looking over all of Fairbanks. The sunrises were amazing!
Nothing like a good soak in Chena Hot Springs to warm you up during a sub-freezing night.
We did so many other things during the week. We listened to many of the top polar scientists in the world. We learned about how new homes that are being built in Alaska's back-country can be cost effective, since fuel is so expensive and the winters are so long and cold. We learned about how squirrels survive the winters by hibernating, slowing their heartbeat down to one beat per minute. We learned from climatologists who taught us about both the Arctic and the Antarctic weather and climate patterns. We visited museums of the Arctic, and even had a chance to stand under the Alaskan pipeline. I am glad that I still have almost 10 months before my trip to Antarctica so I can continue to learn and prepare for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
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