Going back in time now... Our first day in the Dry Valleys. We were supposed to head to Taylor Valley on November 18, but the weather did not cooperate. It was snowing that day, and because they do not fly on Sundays, we could not get out until November 20. That Monday turned out to be fairly nice with only a little bit of turbulent air in the sound. Once we were in the mouth of Taylor Valley, it was smooth.


After flying around a bit, we landed in a spot where we thought we might like to put the camp. However, after the helicopter unloaded and left to get our next load, we walked around and then up and over a huge moraine. On the other side, we saw incredible views and rocky terrain and even more moraines.


After a bit of discussion, we decided we would be more likely to take the GPR to the moraines on this side of the really big one, so we moved all the gear would could carry over and had the helicopter move the rest after it came with our sling load.

We decided to pitch all our tents on the snow patch - to have less of an impact on the environment. It wasn't too long before a Skua paid us a visit. It didn't bother us at all. It seemed to be watching us, taking note of what we were doing, what kind of stuff we had. It roosted on our generator for a while and then disappeared.


Read more about this day and see pictures here on my website.