Where Am I!?!

The title has a couple of meanings. First, physical location. BTW, I don't know how to add a link to some maps of Antarctica and where I'll be, so this seemed like the next best idea. If you don't already know (as some people surprisingly don't), Antarctica is south. Waaay south. Like, 10,000-miles-from-Washington, DC south. I've tried to show where other continents and New Zealand are for some reference in the map to the right, and the red box highlights the area where I will be - Ross Island.

The next map shows where McMurdo Station is located at the southern end of Ross Island on Hut Point Peninsula. An interesting feature on Ross Island is Scott's Hut. Scott's Hut is kind of a base camp from which a British expedition set off to the South Pole. It was built in 1911 and abandoned in 1913, but because of the cold temperatures it is still in pretty good condition. There is still some 100 year old seal blubber hanging from the ceiling!

And finally, a detailed map of the study area. Our camp will be located right next to Big Razorback Island and the seal colonies are scattered from the Hutton Cliffs area to Cape Evans.

Second, my brain is fried. I've been doing everything from packing to getting my plane tickets to forwarding my mail, and I'm tired of it all. It takes a lot of planning to go to Antarctica. I can take 2 70-lb bags on international flights, but only 1 50-lb bag to Antarctica. Some of my stuff can be left in New Zealand, but of course, my winter clothes - the heavy stuff - has to go with me. I'm going to need a scale to pack! Anyway, I guess I'm in good shape if trying to pack for Antarctica is the worst of my problems.

The worst part of this trip is definitely going to be the flight(s). I'm leaving Nashville at 2:25 PM CDT on the 29th and arriving in Christchurch at 10:20 AM NZT on October 1 nearly 30 hours later. And I will never get back September 30, 2007. It will forever be lost in the wormhole that is the International Date Line. Note to self: Add sleeping pills to my packing list.