Working at the South Pole

So, today is Sunday. I'm not technically working...but I'll be training later this afternoon. But in the mean time since I have internet access I thought I would write you guys. So for the past couple of days Megan, Howie and I have been working on the ARFF sled down here. Think of the ARFF sled being a really big fire extinguisher. It holds Foam and Dry chem. The photo to the left of this is what it looked like during construction last year. Steve hooked me up with photos of that. I'll take some photos of us working on it soon.

It was designed to support the USAF and all other flight operations to the Pole. So since we have been down here, we have been working to get the sled operational again. It was left outside all winter, it is so big they can't store it anywhere else. So we've been filling air tanks, replacing foam, tracking down equipment the last couple of days. It is fun to work outside, and believe it or not I'm getting used to the cold. I've been dressing warmly so don't worry, I still have 10 fingers and toes...no frostbite yet. The best part about working outside is seeing sundogs, the 360 rainbows. Wicked cool.Besides working with the ARFF sled, we've been busy helping the Fire brigade and Trauma Team get adjusted down here. It has been really busy, but I like it. It helps pass time.

Megan and I also did the "food pull" the other day. Basically, the old dome is being used for food storage. So once a week a volunteer team goes out and helps the "food grabber" in getting the right supplies back to the station. We load up sleds and boxes. It is a lot of fun, but it also is well cold. The dome isn't heated obviously..and there are a couple holes in the dome so there is a lot of snow in the dome. It is wicked cool. I'm almost out of internet time here. I had to make a couple phone calls, so I got distracted in writing this blog. So Happy Halloween everyone!