16 November
Stacy writing

Our last day at New Harbor camp! John, Kathy and Andrew had to stay an extra day because the weather was too bad for the helos to fly yesterday afternoon in fact, all the helos got stuck on this side of the sound and no one got home yesterday. But in the morning, John and Kathy headed off with the rest of us scheduled for a couple hours later. We turned off all the preway heaters, oven and refrigerators, shut down the fuel lines, and tied everything down. The next time the camp will be occupied is in January, so we tried to leave it nice for the next occupants - with our lace curtains on the windows and heart-shaped rugs on the floor. This camp has traditionally been very male, and I thought that some feminine touches would be, well, if not appreciated, at least noticed! We also attended to the traditional sign out on the wall, with each of our names accompanied by an appropriate quote. Camp close-out went smoothly, except they couldn't fit our buckets in the helo and I forgot my pager…which is not an altogether bad thing as I still have not figured out how to make it work.

The crew outside the Jamesway at New Harbor, saying goodbye. Notice the lace curtains behind us!

The view on the trip home.

The flight home was beautiful, going over some low passes so close that it felt like we were skimming the ground, though the altimeter read 500 ft. We stopped at Marble Point to refuel but didn't get any of their famous cookies. (We got some brownies later on though, through another source, and they were as good as their reputation!)

Back in town, we hardly missed a beat but got right back to work. Lots of people welcomed us home so though it seemed like we had hardly been gone at all. John and I dove at a new hole off Cape Armitage. Diving out of a hut again seemed like pure luxury, after all the exposed diving we've been doing! We relocated many experiments that were started by Paul Dayton and John in the 70's, similar to the areas we relocated at New Harbor. It will be very exciting to do these multi-decadal comparisons.

One of our lovely dive huts, where we can dive protected from the wind.

One of the methods for getting into the water. Chainsawing ice is an unusual skill, but Dan has become an expert.

Kathy and Andrew dove at Outfall South A to sample sponges for Andrew's experiments and to get the last chemistry samples from Outfall South B. The hole at B has frozen so solid we can no longer even chainsaw it open, but we can squeeze in at A and swim to B. We have had a great deal of trouble finishing up our sampling at B. There seems to be a hex on the site that I am sure has nothing to do with my profanity on my first dive there and the presence of the chaplain (but I couldn't see who it was because my mask was all fogged). So, in continuation of this tradition, all the lids to the sampling jars floated away and we STILL haven't got our chemistry samples!

It was then Saturday night in McMurdo, the one party night of the week. Nearly everyone works 6 days a week, 10 hours a day here, so the one night to play is very precious. We were invited to a dorm party with the intriguing instructions: Top floor. You don't have to be dead to go to the light. These became very clear when we got there and there was an array of bottled lights outside the door and lots of glowing inside. Bob and Kerry, the host and hostess, have decorated their dorm room with wall hangings and constellations of lanterns that give it a warm inviting feel, unlike the regimented feel of our rooms, which are exactly the same only not decorated. We got to know a lot of people working in many different jobs around the station, and it was a great party…except for those who had to get up in the morning to go diving. I exercised my PI rights and got to sleep in, with only a modicum of guilt!

Some of the creative and beautiful decorations outside the party room.