And just like that I am back. What am I doing here? It’s still August! But within minutes, I can feel myself adapting to life in a different place – a place that’s more familiar than home these last few years.. To get here at this time, I had to leave home, I had to …
After almost two weeks in NZ, feeling rested and refreshed with some wonderful adventures with the Noonsun crew (in wheeled vehicles), I got in touch with some Antarctic people to see if they still needed help with the winter Search and Rescue (SAR) team. They had offered me a contract extension while I was on …
The season in McMurdo is complete, but I don’t know how to put it eloquently into words. There was too much stress, strong emotions, too many questions, and times where I just had to put the blinders on and keep going. There were high highs that made me love the place, and low lows that …
16 October 2022 I have arrived in McMurdo Station, Antarctica! We flew in yesterday on an Australian Airbus A319. While I missed the novelty and fun of flying in a C-17 US military cargo plane, having a window seat on the Airbus was awesome. The weather cleared up just before we got to the continent …
Up at 0500, pickup at 0630, 0700 change into ECW (extreme cold weather) gear, then weigh in luggage, get another briefing then carry-on security and person weigh in, bus to the plane, stand around a bit, get another briefing, load the plane, (a NZ Air Force 757), wait finally take-off and head south! I was …
After just shy of 50 hours in transit from home, I arrived at my Christchurch hotel. Despite my best intentions of having a series of calm days prior to my departure, 15 minutes before leaving home, I found myself doing some last minute wiring adjustments to the system I finished building at midnight the night …
I came home from French Polynesia to work a Greenland antenna rigging contract with two good friends I hadn’t seen in years. It was to be a dream team, working in a new place, crossing the Arctic Circle for the first time and a chance to get some tower work (aka spacewalks) in. The pictures …
DE-ORBIT My contract is complete. I am now somewhere high above South America, heading north. We said goodbye to the crew remaining behind – most of them having contracts that go until mid March. After 80 days with them, I will miss them dearly. One of the best parts of this cruise was the people. …
DAY 49 on the ship. (DAY 6 underway) Where to begin, I’m not sure, but here goes: On DAY 43, we finally left the dock to head south. So amazing it was to see the ship finally separate for the dock knowing it was because we were heading south. It was a very happy moment. …
It’s been 33 days, 4 hours and 54 minutes since I’ve been onboard the Nathaniel B. Palmer in Punta Arenas, Chile. I built a little mission-elapsed-time because that’s one way space missions kept track of time. And it’s a way to keep track of which expedition day it is for my journal. It’s also helpful …