Happy Camper

Do you remember those funny-looking snow machines I took pictures of in Christchurch at the Antarctica Centre? Those were the Hagglunds! Grey, there's also a picture of one on your Christmas T-shirt! We have a few Hagglunds here in McMurdo, too!

And guess what?!  I got to ride in it!!  Can you guess where we were going?

To the pressure ridges by Scott Base?

Nope!  We kept driving past the pressure ridges!

This is the Kiwi Crossing.  Do you think there are kangaroos in Antarctica?  Do you think there are kangaroos in New Zealand?  Where do think kangaroos live?  (Silly Kiwi's!!)

Did we drive to the farthest-most south rugby field in the world?  No - we kept on driving.

When we stopped, though, we made some really neat looking tracks in the snow, don't you think?

What are those machines next to our Hagglund?  What do you think they are used for?  How do you think they might steer?

We went with several other people.  They road out in a Delta.  Do you remember these from one of my first blogs?  I bet you do!  Now you can see why they have stairs and such great, big tires!

We were a long ways from town and it was really foggy!  Do you remember the name of this mountain? 

Do you remember what kind of mountain it is?

THIS is where we were going!  But, WAIT..!!  There's nothing out here!!!

When we finally got unloaded, we had to walk a long way in the snow.  In the background is a big pile of gear - that is where we had to keep walking.  These black sheds are the bathrooms - they were a long ways away from where we were going!  What were we doing all the way out there??

We were going to school!!  It's called Snow Craft at the Happy Camper "campground"!!  This is what it looked like!  What kind of school would be out here?

We were going to school to learn how to take care of ourselves in the snow and ice!  Do you see the cord in the picture?  Our instructor was teaching us how to tie our tents down in the snow to keep them from blowing away in the wind.  Do you think snow can hold down a big tent on a windy day?

Now what is he doing??  Why is he cutting the snow with a saw?

Wow!!  That's a big block of snow, isn't it?  And see how nice and square it is?  Can you think of some things a big block of snow like this would be good for?

Our instructor was teaching us about the snow and all the things we can do with it!  We were going to use the block of snow to build a wall!

Here is our other instructor.  He dug a deep trench in the snow!  What do you think that might be used for?  Do you see his blocks?  He's starting a wall, too - just like our other instructor.  Walls must be very important out here!  Can you guess why it is important to have a wall?

He carved out the inside of his trench.  It was just long enough, and just wide enough, for him to lay down.    Hhhhmmmm...  why would he want to lay down inside there?

Here is our first instructor again.  He's teaching us how to build a kitchen where we can use our stoves.  Do you see those blocks of snow?  That is part of the wall we built!  Now can you guess why it is important to have a wall?  And do you remember tying the tents down in the snow?  The snow is so strong, it can hold these tents down in over 70 mph winds!!

We even learned fancy tricks like how to make shelves in the snow for our utencils!

We dug lots and lots of blocks of snow!!  We did lots of building!

Remember the second instructor who dug a trench he could lay down in?  This is trench I dug!!  It would be the trench I would lay down in!  This is were I spent the night!  Can you imagine sleeping in the snow??  Do you think that would be cold?  Or warm...?

But my trench needed a roof!

I needed a BIGGER roof!!  What does a roof do for us?  I took this picture in the middle of the night, can you believe that?!  Why would it be so bright outside in the middle of the night?

This big rock is called Castle Rock.  Do you see the pretty cloud over Castle Rock?  This is called a Banner Cloud.  What do you think is making that cloud long and wavy like that?

The WIND!!  That's right!!  And THAT's why we needed to build a wall for our campsite and a roof for our trenches - we needed to protect ourselves from the wind!

We also learned how to find our way around outside when it's hard to see.  This game is called Bucket Head!  The buckets made it very hard to see and hear - just like it would be for someone outside in a blizzard!

The buckets look really funny, huh?!  Do you think it would be hard to find your way around with a bucket on your head?  Do you think it would be hard to find SOMEONE ELSE with a bucket on your head?  That was the game we had to play!!  We had to find someone who was pretending to be lost outside in a blizzard!!  Maybe you can play the same game with Mommy in the backyard!

It was very pretty where we were at!  I like to be outside very much!!

This is a very special cloud called a Morning Glory!  These clouds don't happen very often - I was very lucky to see one!  It went as far as I could see in THIS direction...

And as far as I could see in THAT direction!

Do you remember this special mountain again?  This is Mount Erebus, the volcano!!  It had a very neat cloud over the top of it - this is called a Cap Cloud.  I think this is a very pretty picture.

The next morning, the clouds cleared away and we could see a different cloud - this cloud was coming OUT of the mountain.  That's what volcanos do sometimes!  This cloud was made out of steam.

I had a very good time at my snow school and I learned very much about how to stay safe and warm out on the snow and ice!  Do you think you would like to go to a snow school, too?