Today my roommate Cruiser (aka Jeff Craig) and I walked around McMurdo town together with a camera. It was a lovely warm and sunny day, not much wind, and the temperature was 25° F. Let me turn you over to Cruiser, as my guest web editor, and his voice will guide you through the pix.......
Cruiser
Hi. Today we are going to take a short walk around McMurdo, largest of the three American Antarctic Stations. This is my sixth summer season working here. I work in the carpentry shop and I also work as a field camp assistant. Here are the dorms where Henry and I live. We reside in #208, the middle dorm of the three dark brown ones towards the back.
We Live Here
Here we are at the Chalet. This is the control center for most of what happens around here.
NSF Headquarters
The best below is Admiral Richard Byrd, who made five trips to Antarctica between 1929 and 1957. He was the first person to fly a plane over the South Pole. The flags represent the 12 original countries signatory to the Antarctic Treaty. Most of our distinguished visitors have their picture taken here on the deck.
McMurdo Hero
D.V. Photo Op
Here's Henry pointing at the camera, as the camera points at him.
Bull's-eye
Behind Henry is the McMurdo Heliport. Helos are used for science support within a range of about 100 miles of McMurdo. The Helo Ops folks provide us with great rides and excitement here in town. They take us to all the best places. Too bad Henry is on crutches, or he'd be flying this week too. As much as he would like to visit the Dry Valleys as planned, he'd have a mighty tough time running away from a burning helo crash, so they won't let him fly anymore. Tomorrow I'm off to Cape Crozier, on the other side of Ross Island, to do some work on the hut there before the season ends. I'll be to New Zealand in two weeks and then back home to Alaska soon after that.
McMurdo Heliport
Here were are at the Hotel California. Not quite what the Eagles envisioned, but a cozy residence dorm towards the back of town. Mostly firefighters and galley people in here.
WELCOME!
When distinguished visitors come to town, we put them up in 125 and 137. These luxury trailer-shaped structures actually have indoor plumbing and they are the plushest quarters on station.
125 & 137 = luxury housing
Here in McMurdo we sort out all trash, probably into more categories than you do at home. 70% of the trash we generate is recycled, as opposed to 5 to 10% in most American communities. All trash and recyclables are shipped off the continent every year, when the resupply vessel returns North.
You don't see a lot of snow and ice in town at this time of the year.
Town Back View
We are at the end of summer here and by this time all of the frozen water has melted. Human activity here also sweeps away a lot of the snow, but all winter long this place will be white.
One of my favorite sounds around town is the running melt water that forms creeks in the roadside ditches.
By the Creek
This building is the BFC or Berg Field Center, also known as the building for campers. All the field parties come here to equip themselves with the appropriate gear to live out on the ice.
BFC
Here part of the stable of Ski-Doos (snowmobiles) are now resting. They are for use out on the sea ice.
Ski-Doos
You can see the sea ice starting to open up in front of the Royal Society mountain range here. Those mountains are 40 miles away, across McMurdo Sound. They were named by Scott, after his sponsors.
Society View
This building, F STOP, houses the mountaineering gear as well as the search and rescue equipment. They will be moving to a new building soon and they would like to sell this one.
Open House!
Shhhhhhh! Step quietly. We are approaching the General Field Assistant Headquarters.
G.A. Clubhouse
This group is known as the toughest, meanest, hardest-working bunch of folks in town, also considered the lowest form of life on the Continent. (Some say GFA stands for Good for Anything)
WATCH OUT!
This is where I work.
Twin Peaks
It's building 191, also known as the foldaway. It's made of stacked panels that were brought here flat, on the ship. It has been many things, but now it is the carpentry shop. Rae Spain made this wonderful sign for us, after a polar bear tore down the old one, which pictured a leopard seal.
Polar Address
From up on the back deck we have the best view in town, where we throw the best parties in McMurdo.
Lunchtime!
Across the road from is building 177, commonly known as the paint barn. This has been designated a superfund cleanup site and has been targeted by the NSF for removal from this polar region.
Toxic Paint Zone
Down the road a piece and across the pipelines is our windowless greenhouse.
Greenhouse
Inside, lit by powerful sodium lights, grows the freshest lettuce on the continent. We also grow flowers, peppers and cherry tomatoes. It's all hydroponic and is a wonderful place to visit on a cold windy day. These are the first living plants that Henry and I have seen in over months. This room provides the only fresh food that the winterovers will see for eight months.
The only plants in town
Checking the crop
Speed limit signs were recently posted to deter those too fast drivers. However, nobody has received a moving violation ticket yet.
Speed Trap
In the Navy days, on the warm summer nights, the sailors would come up to play baseball, here in the ballpark. Now it's used for storage of cargo and building materials being staged for transit to South Pole. Henry points out that he did see a large group of folks up here last weekend, playing Capture the Flag.
Ballpark
Here is a tiny forklift, commonly known as a pickle. They are used to move supplies in and out of resupply ship containers.
Pickle
The Heavy Shop is where all the vehicles and equipment are serviced and repaired, also the site of our annual Christmas party and the midwinter 4th of July bash. The parties are held here to force the mechanics to clean the building biannually.
The Heavy Shop
Henry stands by the Terra Bus, which is used to transport passengers to Willy and Pegasus Airfields and the ice runway. It does not go very fast, but it's the last leg of your journey to McMurdo and the first leg of your journey home.
Giant Bus
A Delta is another people-mover here in Town. This one just left derelict junction and is carrying 18 folks to work out at Willy Field, as it motors past the town library and laundry. Both of the services are housed in the 155 building, with the galley, many offices, and some dorm rooms.
PAX DELTA
I am standing by the Mogas tank. Earlier this season, I built this platform and steps to make it safer for the fuelies to dip the tank. It's also a popular spot to sunbathe and slide down the banisters.
Tank with a view
This magnificent sculpture welded Orca was made by one of the winterover mechanics in 1988. It used to reside in front of the coffeehouse, but was moved to this location by an NSF summer manager who found it offensive. Many residents, including Henry and myself, would like to see it returned to its true home at the center of downtown McMurdo.
Cruiser and the Whale
Today, as we tour McMurdo, we spy a local art show, displaying fine works by local residents.
Sunday Ceramics Show
Cups & Faces
Monster Heads
The only red and white building town is medical. They provide for our health and well-being as we work in Antarctica.
McMurdo General Hospital
If a fire broke out here it could be disastrous. Fire is a thing to especially beware of, since it's so dry and windy here. The British Base, Rothra, just burned down this season! We have our own fire department here, always prepared to respond to any emergencies. Fortunately, while there are not many cats stranded up in tress, most of the emergencies that they respond to are not fires.
Ready to Go
This is where voices from all over the continent arrive in the form of radio waves. It is the hub of all American Antarctic Program communications.
Mac Ops
The newest building in town is the SSC or Science Support Center (also known as super slow construction). Later this year it will open for use by the Raytheon employees who facilitate and support science research in the field.
Under Construction
Finally we return to the Crary Lab, flagship of the fleet, where the grantees have their labs and offices. Henry has his own recording studio set up here in the Crary lab.
Crary
Here is a final image of us as we finish typing up this town tour web journal report for you in Henry's office.
WISH YOU WERE HERE
Best Regards from The Ice, Cruiser & HK
**ADDENDUM**
Janet Huddleston , one of my tentmates at Happy Camper School, back in November, wrote this little piece about the whale and I thought I would add it as an appendix to Cruiser's tour. -HK
The Whale
by Janet Huddleston
The whale perched in front of the coffee house for all to see. I have a photo of it from my first season. A winter-over had welded together old chain, pipe and scrap metal to create this work of art. I remember when a janitor walked right into it and split his lip open. He couldn't see it with his parka hood up.
Someone in power decided that he didn't like this whale. He said it represented poor use of company time. How could employees possibly have time to make something like this when they should be working six days a week? There's no time to be creative. He wanted to get rid of it before some Distinguished Visitors came. He suggested cutting it up for the heavy metal bin.
A small "Save the Whale" petition was circulated at a town meeting, defending our rights to be creative. The whale won.
It now sits in a less prominent position near the gas pumps, slowly rusting away. It has a nice view over Winter Quarter's Bay and the Royal Society Range. If you look closely, you'll see a wistful look in its ball bearing eye, as it wishes for open water and a chance of freedom.
