31 October 2007 Last day on the Palmer.

Location: Punta Arenas, Chile      Two months ago as I was moving my things into my room on the Palmer I remember thinking I was the luckiest person in the world. Today, two months later and my last day on the Palmer, I am the most grateful. Twenty years ago when I started my teaching career I never dreamed it would take me to Antarctica. I never imagined that I’d be peeking over the shoulders of world class scientists doing ground-breaking work in polar science. I never envisioned seeing so many talented and hard-working people come together in spite of great adversity to achieve so many things. Teaching has truly taken me places!

This journal entry doesn’t contain any photographs of cute penguins or seals, no tales of adventure, descriptions of things we’ve broken, coffee conundrums, or complaints about sore muscles. What it does contain is my attempt to thank the many people who made this journey possible for me. So, without further ado, here goes…

Thanks first of all to chief scientist Steve and the UTSA group (Beverly, Blake, Mike, and Penny, and John from the National Ice Center) for giving me this opportunity and taking me under your wing. Steve is a world-renowned polar scientist with a real heart for education – thanks for everything Steve, I hope I inspire young people to study polar science and follow in your footsteps.

Thanks to the Boerne ISD administrators who released me for two months to participate in this research project. It’s clear that you see education as more than test scores and professional development as more than a six-hour workshop. Thanks to the teachers who filled in for me while I was gone – Sandra, Chris, Carolyn, and Cathryn (and probably others I don’t know about) – I owe you big time! Thanks to my students who didn’t ask for a sub for the first two months of school – I promise I’ll make it up to you! To Janet, Katie, Kristin, and Ben at PolarTREC, thanks for adopting me and providing a forum for communication and education during the cruise. Thanks to the students and teachers from New York to Hawaii that read my journal entries, posted questions for the team, or participated in our live event.

Thanks to Captain Mike and his crew aboard the Palmer. This well-trained crew was amazing – through their heroic fire-fighting efforts a very hot fire was contained to just one room on the ship. Thanks to Stian (MPC), Kathleen, Bobby, and Glenn (ITs), Victor and Greg, (ETs), Karie, Lindsey, and Jesse (MSTs) and Jeremy, Erik, and Ben (MTs) that made up the Raytheon Polar Services science support team. It took a few days to get all their acronyms straight, but it was obvious from the start that this talented group would do all they could to support the science efforts. From archiving data to piloting zodiacs, these folks did it all!

Much appreciation goes to the science party aboard the Palmer. Thanks to Jean-Louis and the group from Belgium (Isabelle, Florence, Jeroen, Bruno, Fred, Gauthier, Nix, and Martin) for your inspiring hard work, long hours on the ice and in the lab, and amazing energy. I should also thank Keith, one of the two Canadians aboard, but I’m not sure I’ve forgiven him yet for not telling me that what we thought was beef was liver! To Katie and Sharon, thanks for sharing your knowledge, laughs, and cat stories! Thanks to Chris for being excited about algae, talking football with me and the occasional "second pour.” Thanks to Brent for his tireless watches in the ice tower, insane sense of humor, and amazing knowledge of all things marine.

Thanks to my folks in Missouri for sending football scores and other news from home, and thanks to Traci and my sisters for taking care of my cats, dogs, and house in my absence. This was no small job as I have 6 cats and 3 dogs! To my friends and neighbors at home who helped me get ready for this adventure – thanks, I’ll be back in River Mountain soon!

To the husbands and wives, sons and daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, and neighbors of all aboard the Palmer today – I send you thanks for them. They are an amazing group of people and I thank you for giving them up for a few months! You have filled in the gaps while they’ve been gone and made it possible for them to travel to a place where few venture.

When writing my letter of application for this project I quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson and tried to write "poetically” about my interest in going on the trip.

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Upon consulting a series of maps one finds no obvious path that leads from Boerne to Antarctica, yet, amazingly, an opportunity to follow the pathless course and "leave a trail” has presented itself. An experience never dreamt of, an adventure beyond adventures, the opportunity of a lifetime – that is what awaits.

Nothing like trying to be poetic after quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson…what was I thinking? The adventure is almost over, yet in some ways it is just beginning as I bring my experiences to my classroom. I want to bring the excitement, energy, and enthusiasm I have seen for science back to my students. I hope that I can teach them what I have learned and help them develop a passion for seeking knowledge, whether it’s in science or sociology. I will want them to find their own path and leave their own trail as Emerson said. Just imagine the places they can go…

If you are still reading this, thanks for putting up with my "thanks!” I know this must have sounded like one of those never-ending acceptance speeches on an award show. Thanks for bearing with me - I’m sure there will be more journal posts in my future, so stay tuned for more to come!