Simon Says

Hello from the Antarctic Circle :)
Everything here is normal, nothing too spectacular going on. Sunday we launched Simon Sonde, he did well and we have more data. I went to Building 70 where I took a couple pictures.
Woo hotstuff! Hehe, I'm not wearing my coat :P, yes it was warm enough. It was 13F that day!

There was a Sunday Science Lecture again, this time on Wendell Seals and their hunting patterns in the dark. It was very interesting with neat video and sound. Seals make the coolest sounds I have ever heard and they are super good hunters, fish don't stand a chance. Hopefully I'll be able to go out and see one when the seal group has one caught. Or see one anywhere would be fun.

Leslie and I also went for a walk on Sunday since we were having a heat wave of 13F, yes thats right, above zero. We walked to Scott's hut which is pretty close to McMurdo.
This is the hut where Robert Scott and his men stayed on their Discovery Expedition. It was supposed to be a temporary camp but they ended up getting stuck and having to stay for about 2 months. Can you imagine being stuck in that little building for 2 months with 15 other guys trying to stay warm. You can see McMurdo from the hut.
The front door.
And a dead seal that has been there for over 100 years. Yeah crazy.
Don't ask me how or why but it is still there from when Scott and his men were there.

The trail we took around the little bay.
Next we walked up the another hill that overlooks the bay and Scott's hut.
There is a lovely cross up there for some guy named Vince who died when he fell off the cliff.
An inland view from the point, desolate looking isn't it. I'm amazed that people trekked over this way back in the day. Better men than me.
And here is the whale that greets you when you arrive at McMurdo.
Antarctica is absolutely beautiful. This was the sunset and some polar stratospheric clouds.
Sunday was a good day. I'm glad we were able to get outside for awhile. We are going to try to get a key to get into the hut next time we go. I've got a couple exciting things coming up in the next two weeks so stay tuned for more adventures to come.

PS for those of you who haven't figured it out yet or didn't know, you can click on the pictures for a full screen view. Enjoy!