Palmer Station

Palmer Station, views from NASA and the Palmer Station site and me!

 

So how much fun was that! For me so much. I hope it was for the other folks on the ship. It was a kind of a limited, rushed view of the most public parts of the station. But we got to see down some corridors and in through some windows to the very complicated labs, I wouldn't want me, tourist in any of those if I were a scientist either. We did get to hang out in their general living/dining area and there were scientists and support staff milling around and chatting with us. I spoke to Tracey Baldwin, who is one of the administrators who keeps everything rolling down here, for about half an hour. Hard job, long hours, but she loves being down here and is thrilled at her work. I haven't seen many people recently with as positive an attitude about her job and co-workers as she had. Now maybe it was just a show, but really since you have to go out of your way to be here in a BIG way, why would anyone do it who didn't want it. And that was the uniform sense you got off everyone, scientists and support a like they want and love to be here and doing this work, be it complicated science, waste management or cooking.

It was an incredible atmosphere to be in, if only for a little while and if only as an outsider. Plus they made us brownies and we were able to stamp things with the Palmer Station logo. I stamped my KSR Antarctica book, for which you may all now laugh. But I LOVE this book and I am glad I got to re-read it for the umpteenth time while down here. Far more importantly, the Minerva got all our passports stamped for Antarctica at the station. Can't wait to see it.

 

The hour passed way too quickly and then back to the ship but I am still buzzing over this. So much of what I have read I have seen bits and pieces of now, the reading has become so much richer for it. I really admire those who come down here and do this work. I think it is important. Important both in what we get out of it in terms of scientific understanding, but also important to see and know that this too can be a road to fulfillment and personal happiness for a person, that there are so many roads to that. Which can be hard to remember in the cacophony and craziness of urban life.