November 28th Craig Lewis As this is my last day writing, and we long ago ran out of functional cameras, I've been looking back at the high points of the trip to pick out the best parts. I'll summarize what I remember best from the trip. All these pictures are drawn from previous write-ups and link back to descriptions of some of the really interesting and fun people, places and things we had a chance to get to know down here. People The people working on the ice are, beyond doubt, some of the hardiest, craziest and most enjoyable I've ever met. Raytheon and NSF get several times its money's worth out of every one, as they work unpaid overtime and on days off just to make sure that everything gets done when and where it is needed: from heavy-shop guys grade sea-ice roads at night while dining assistants shovel ice and lug tanks on their days off. I couldn't begin to name everyone who went out of their way to make sure the reckless beakers didn't hurt themselves and to provide, replace and repair the equipment we used and broke. THANKS TO EVERYONE!!!!!! The drillers profiling cracks to drill our Cinder Cones site, the first site we dove off-base and with good light. The drillers at work; without these guys our jobs would be much slower or much noisier. Bryn and Susan, two of our many exceptional volunteer dive tenders, helping Craig flag the route to Cinder Cones hut. Work The work was almost literally back-breaking, muscle tearing and wearying but challenging and fun as well. From the hours shoveling snow and ice to the relaxation of a slow CTD cast with regular visits from a seal, or from the delicate work of picking millimeter long crustaceans to the sheer exhaustion of chainsawing and lifting 2' ice blocks, we almost always went to bed knowing we'd done a lot of work . Shoveling snow on a blustery early season day. Snowmound city, the result of our most intensive of many orientations we endured in the first two weeks CTD casts from the back of the truck, an unusual platform for an unusual oceanographic setting. Scenery Unspoiled, pristine white peaks, golden glowing sunsets, drifting snow, and miles of blue ice. I can't really summarize what I loved about this place in a few words; every day would bring a new view, either of millimetric cracks and crystals or kilometer high mountain ranges The dry valleys, Commonwealth Glacier and Lake Fryxell on an evening walk from New Harbor. Stacy admiring the Commonwealth glacier Pressure ridges in front of Scott Base on our first visit to American night. Icebergs on the ride out to Cape Bernacchi with Erebus in the background. Animals My 6 year old nephew asked how many animals were here, and the answer sort of depends on your point of view. Looking around camp in October, the only things in site were a few seals soaking up a few rays of sun near our ice holes. By the end of November, we were getting Adelie penguins wandering by town, Skua gulls descending on every free piece of food, and we'd seen the full spectrum of riotous color on the ocean floor during our dives. The underwater menagerie here rivals any tropical diving I've done for color and beauty, with creatures you'll see nowhere else in the world. Weddell Seal loftily ignoring the beakers as he takes a breather. Emperor penguins discussing the antics of those funny creatures with the bright red coats. Adelie penguin stopping his walkabout to chat. Say "Cheese" or maybe "sponge", at the Cape Evans Wall Crinoids at Tile Hole in New Harbor Skua finds an opportune meal at Cape Armitage S4 site. I'll sign off now, for a few weeks in New Zealand, where anything without ice will be "tropical", and I will be allowed to awaken at an hour later than 7AM and not touching a shovel for weeks. I will miss Antarctica, and someday hope to return, if NSF and luck allows; and I will always treasure the memories of this place and its residents, human or otherwise.