Congatulations Ruth and Clive!

It's been a busy week. By Saturday afternoon the population of town was just over 650, with about 400 more to come over the next week. It's been a little overwhelming at times, but fun at others. It's been nice to see friends I've made from last year, but I had to say good bye again to some other friends from last year who wintered over and are now finally leaving after thier 14 month stays. Thursday and Friday evenings had some nice Nacreous clouds. I was very happy to see them. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nacreous_clouds for more info on these unique clouds.)
There was Live music Saturday night at the coffee/wine bar. It was fun as the band had many songs they wrote about live here in McMurdo.

Click to enlarge

Two good New Zealand friends I made last year (Ruth and Clive) both wintered over. Ruth wintered here at McMurdo, and Clive at Scott Base (NZ Station) 2 miles away. I was exited to hear they got engaged down here over the winter. Last Sunday the good folks at the Scott Base held an "Ice Wedding" for them. The wedding was complete with a real snow chapel, dresses, tuxes, reception, dinner, dance, cake, music, and fun.

The Invasion Begins

Tuesday 2:04pm the First flight of Mainbody landed on the Sea Ice Runway delivering almost 100 new people to our small village of 350. Wednesday 125 more will follow. This will continue untill the population of town booms to about 1000. The good news is that Dad is on this first flight, making it a little more symbolic.

Last Quiet Week of Winfly

The last week of Winfly was quiet. I (josh) have been sick most of the week, bad enough to call in sick two days. Satuday night the carpentry shop helt the annual end of winfly party. It featured "games of skill" live bands, dancing, and just plain good fun. (too bad I was still sick). The mood of station is a little anxious, as we know the small cozy village will soon turn into a bustling city next week.

Wednesday a small Nacreous Cloud showed up over the Royal Society Mt. Range. Nacreous Clouds are a rare cloud type that are only found at the poles during the end of winter. We haven't seen many this year. But it is still cool to see one.

to see Photos of how nacreous clouds normally look visit http://www.atoptics.co.uk/nacr1.htm