Dry Valleys.........12/27-29
South Pole.........12/21-23
Ice Runway................12/6
Thanksgiving..............11/28
WeddellWorld.............11/12
Happy Camper School........10/30-31
Cape Royds............10/28
Cape Evans............10/25
My trip to McMurdo............10/22

The Dry Valleys
Dec. 27-29
 

My first glimpse of the ice edge. It was probably the highlight of my trip. The helicopter that took me to Lake Hoare in the Dry Valleys passed over the ice edge, where I saw tons of wildlife: mostly whales and penguins. It was like watching an IMAX movie! If you look closely in this photo, you'll see a bunch of penguins at the edge of the ice.
 

This is a bit closer to my final destination. It's the icefall of the Canada Glacier, which supplies water to Lake Hoare. The Dry Valleys are located in the Transantarctic Mountains.
 

This is the edge of the glacier, where the camp is located. Look closely, there are little buildings down there.

This petrified seal has probably been here for thousands of years. Things don't decompose very well in the Dry Valleys, Antarctica's desert.
 

I woke up early one morning to hike to the far end of the lake and Suess Glacier. I didn't quite make it all the way. But, I did see some neat blue ice along the edge of the lake.

Here is where I slept while I was out at Lake Hoare. It was actually quite warm despite the chilly appearance. The temperatures hovered around freezing, but the sun made it feel quite a bit warmer.