Hike to Castle Rock, overlooking the volcano

Greetings Valentiners,

       We’re on our last day here before jetting off the Ice to New Zealand tomorrow. I worked on my final dental patients yesterday for a total of 167 and packed up my gear to send home so we can travel light for the next few weeks in Australia and Tasmania. Just heard it is 117 degrees in Sydney so probably don’t need the long underwear that I wear all day here. We did manage to get up early enough this morning to hike 6 miles and climb Castle Rock in sunny, clear weather to help justify gorging ourselves on the brunch spread back in town. It was a little rough after last night’s party of food and booze accented with 10,000 year old glacial ice that was chipped into chunks with one of my dental tools.

      It was another great season of seeing old friends and good times in a unique setting, and to be able to share it with Lynn made it a whole different experience. Once we return the special gear we have acquired here, like the jacket known as Big Red and the Pee bottles we hike with it’s time to integrate with the rest of the world, which can be a bit of a challenge compared to inmates trying to fit in to society after serving their time. But we’ll manage and hope to see many of you before too long. Until then, happy trails and save a hug for us.

Cheers,

      Glacial sipping Bob

Lynn with her Big Red

Party with glacial ice in Coke and Jameson

Medical crew strutting their stuff

Finishing up ping pong with friends

Polishing crystals from Erebus, the local volcano

Antarctica spider chart

The new dental cart at the South Pole made it there one day ahead of me from Denver

Hola weekend warriors,

While most of the US was glued to the TV for either the Superbowl or to see if the Trump administration could lower the bar even further, I was packing and traveling to 90 degrees south. I caught a Friday afternoon flight south, stayed just long enough to unpack a new dental cart that miraculously made it one day ahead of me and fixed a few teeth. Of course I played some ping pong and pool and did a little day hike in 50 below sunshine to the telescope looking back a mere 12.6 billion years in time. By Monday afternoon I was back on the ski equipped LC-130 cargo plane in time to have dinner with Lynn back at McMurdo with one more week to go before flying out to New Zealand and a few weeks of fun.

We finally saw a lonely penguin this afternoon, since the sea ice is broken up pretty well because the icebreaker escorted both the cargo ship and fuel ship to the base, but we’re still hoping for some whales to stop by too. The dental cases are winding down, and once I’m done teaching the doc and PA who are staying for the winter how to fix teeth, I’ll pack it up and ship my big bag home.

It’s been another fun season on the Ice, and there’s already talk of next year. But before that, we’d like some warm sunshine, so send some news from home and we hope to see many of you soon.

Cheers,

Back from the Pole Bob

The South Pole Telescope that can see events 12.7 billion years ago

Touring the South Pole telescope

The grow room at the South Pole for fresh veggies

Hi summer fans,

            Once again I find myself in Antarctica for a 6 week contract of meeting old friends, doing root canals, cleaning ears with my dental suction and using my drill for other tasks like cutting a ring off a guy who was unable to get it past his knuckle after a hammer injury. I got to use a fat tire bike for a week and found it a fun way to get around town. Also discovered that pickleball has come to Antarctica, and am holding a session in the big gym tonight to gauge interest for more games down the road. Also found a number of ping pong players who are all gunning to dethrone me, and while I’ve lost a few games over time I’m usually able to come back with a vengeance.

         

    Hope your winters are going well, and drop a note when you get a chance to let me know what is going on in your lives. Your friendship over the years means a lot.

Cheers,

Smiling Bob

L C-130 cargo flight to McMurdo

Landed on the ice shelf in an L- C-130 Cargo plane

Fat tire bike fun around McMurdo

Polar Star icebreaker and Palmer research vessel make a visit