March 7, 1997
The Final Flight
Today the final flight of the season departed McMurdo. I was fortunate
to have an opportunity to drive to Pegasus Ice Runway to view the departure
of 85 of my Antarctic friends. The flight is referred to as "reverse winfly"
as it is opposite that of the normal "winfly" flight which occurs in August.
This flight represents the final "physical connection" with the rest of the
planet until sometime in late August, thank god for the internet. I was really excited to see the
flight leave the ground, because as much as I hated to see many close friends
leave, it symbolized the beginning of what should be a great adventure!
The large orange vehicle is the "Terra Bus."
This thing can go anywhere!
Here I am with my new haircut and my departing
friends, Steve and Jonnette.
These are the people working on their tans in New Zealand, Australia
and many other exotic places not located anywhere near Antarctica.
Rowland and Paul fight for the
last seat.
Boarding the Air Force C-141.
The C-141.
That's it! See you later.