Taking us from the Kanger Air Force Base to the KISS facility about 1.5 miles down the road.
Me and Jin in the back of the pick up!
Our dorm room for the night...which was surprisingly very clean! :)
The KISS facility (aka the dorms)
We went to the commercial airport for dinner and this was on the outside...pretty scary!
Bunks in the C130 with the Air Force guys sleeping...can you find all three?
On our way to Kanger from Schnectady, NY.
Tara (Univ. of Toronto) and Max (UCLA) enjoying the ride in the back of the truck.
The Stratton Air Force Base in Schnectady, NY.
Me and my friend C130!
National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored field campaign.
Tight fit (43 total) on the Schnectady to Kanger flight. I had the 2nd best seat in the house though (read below)! And had plenty of leg room to stretch out.
Beautiful ocean
Today has been an exciting and adventurous day! The group met in the lobby around 4:45am and to my amazement the sun was already rising. I really wasn't expecting this and it was kind of funny when I stepped in the taxi and "Wonderful Tonight" was playing on the radio because it was light outside (maybe you had to be there).
We arrived at Stratton Air Force Base around 5:15am and did not leave until 9am. The air force people were very nice. We had a VERY full flight. 43 civilians. Fortunately for me though, I had the second best seat on the C130 according to Sergent Bill who was sitting next to me. The best seat was the bunk that the "loadmaster" (guy in charge of the flight) slept on during the flight. The flight was 3 hours to Goose Bay, Newfoundland where we gassed up, enjoyed complimentary ice cream (I had a nutty buddy bar (ice cream cone with vanilla ice cream and chocolate and nuts on top) which nobody else had heard of this particular name when I told a group which one I had). My seat was in the back of the plane. Nobody was sitting across from me so I could prop my legs up on some of the luggage and crates. Sergent Bill and the loadmaster were sitting to my left (closest to the back of the plane) and left their seasts as soon as were at a cruising altitude so I was able to almost fully lie down. Plus, Sergent Bill had a whole box of Oreos, which I helped him eat. He also offered me the bunk, but at this point I think everyone else was already somehwat jealous of my great seat, enjoyment of snacks, and proximity to the back windows. So although it was difficult, I regretfully declined the offer and settled into my seat.
As soon as I sat down on the plane, I inserted my earplugs, which they provided and Rob also gave me a pair just in case. I opened another book that Liz had recommended, "Secret Life of Bees". After reading the first paragraph, I realized that I had read it before. I was totally bummed because I had only carried on one book. My new friend Tara from the University of Toronto (a PhD in atmospheric chemistry) offered one of her books, a sci fi novel called "Drastic Dragon of Draco, Texas". Although I have never been that into sci fi stuff, it is quite interesting and the author Elizabeth Scarborough has quite an imagination.
So after refueling and eating ice cream and hot chocolate (yes I know kind of pointless), we headed from Goose Bay to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland...a 3 and a half hour flight. Did I mention how freezing cold it was on the plane? BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR is the word. I learned a lesson and next time will definitely wear more layers!!!!!!!!
About 2o minutes before we made our final descent into the Kanger the clouds parted and we laid eyes upon a spectacular view! At first we saw ice chunks in the Labrador Sea and then we were flying over land. Everything was frozen on land and the glaciers running through the mountain valleys looked almost like waterfalls. The water was crystal blue (if there is such a thing) and very tranquil. At one point, we flew over a plateau and the snow was so fresh, untouched, and soft looking...I had to focus to decipher what was snow and what was a cloud. It was breathtaking! Hopefully my pictures will turn out.
We landed and the excitement grew throughout the plane. I have met so many people from all over the U.S. and the world and have learned a lot about the current field campaigns in Greenland. One group from the University of California-Davis is traveling to the northern part of Greenland for an archaeology field study. That part of Greenland was settled about 400,000 years ago. Some others are from GA Tech, UCLA, Univ. of California Irvine, TREC, Univ. of Toronto, Germany, NOAA, University of New Hampshire, Colorado University.
After arriving, everyone loaded into the back of some pick up trucks and we drove about 1.5 miles to the KISS (Kangerlussuaq International Science Support) facility which are very similar to dorms. We went to eat at the commercial airport (which has one gate). I had a 1/2 chicken and fries, but next time will try the musk ox burger, which my friend Max had.
My legs felt kind of like goo from being on the plane the whole day so I decided to go on a run around 9:30pm (keep in mind it doesn't get dark here!!!! and don't worry I did remember my eye mask). After about 20 minutes, I decided to kick the soccer ball in front of the KISS facility. There were some younger kids playing too, but I could not communicate with them because of my lacking Danish speaking skills!
My roommate Jin and I went on a little walk, but it was getting chilly so we retired to the dorms. I took a long hot shower (my last for probably a week) and here I am.
One surprising thing of the day...the mosquitoes are horrible. I stopped for a second on my run and got ambushed by about ten of them! And they aren't no little things either...big suckers comparable to those in Louisiana!!! I don't think they pack much venom (or whatever the word is) because some of them must have bitten me but I have yet to have an itch!
Alrighty, must go to bed now...our flight leaves at 7:15 local time (+2 hours from EDT). As I look out the window and gaze upon the beautiful blue sky hovering over the mountains...I cannot even fathom that it is 11:45 at night!
Sorry internet is slow here so I will have to post the pictures tomorrow.
Smell-oh-Meter: 1...Zestfully clean!
We arrived at Stratton Air Force Base around 5:15am and did not leave until 9am. The air force people were very nice. We had a VERY full flight. 43 civilians. Fortunately for me though, I had the second best seat on the C130 according to Sergent Bill who was sitting next to me. The best seat was the bunk that the "loadmaster" (guy in charge of the flight) slept on during the flight. The flight was 3 hours to Goose Bay, Newfoundland where we gassed up, enjoyed complimentary ice cream (I had a nutty buddy bar (ice cream cone with vanilla ice cream and chocolate and nuts on top) which nobody else had heard of this particular name when I told a group which one I had). My seat was in the back of the plane. Nobody was sitting across from me so I could prop my legs up on some of the luggage and crates. Sergent Bill and the loadmaster were sitting to my left (closest to the back of the plane) and left their seasts as soon as were at a cruising altitude so I was able to almost fully lie down. Plus, Sergent Bill had a whole box of Oreos, which I helped him eat. He also offered me the bunk, but at this point I think everyone else was already somehwat jealous of my great seat, enjoyment of snacks, and proximity to the back windows. So although it was difficult, I regretfully declined the offer and settled into my seat.
As soon as I sat down on the plane, I inserted my earplugs, which they provided and Rob also gave me a pair just in case. I opened another book that Liz had recommended, "Secret Life of Bees". After reading the first paragraph, I realized that I had read it before. I was totally bummed because I had only carried on one book. My new friend Tara from the University of Toronto (a PhD in atmospheric chemistry) offered one of her books, a sci fi novel called "Drastic Dragon of Draco, Texas". Although I have never been that into sci fi stuff, it is quite interesting and the author Elizabeth Scarborough has quite an imagination.
So after refueling and eating ice cream and hot chocolate (yes I know kind of pointless), we headed from Goose Bay to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland...a 3 and a half hour flight. Did I mention how freezing cold it was on the plane? BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR is the word. I learned a lesson and next time will definitely wear more layers!!!!!!!!
About 2o minutes before we made our final descent into the Kanger the clouds parted and we laid eyes upon a spectacular view! At first we saw ice chunks in the Labrador Sea and then we were flying over land. Everything was frozen on land and the glaciers running through the mountain valleys looked almost like waterfalls. The water was crystal blue (if there is such a thing) and very tranquil. At one point, we flew over a plateau and the snow was so fresh, untouched, and soft looking...I had to focus to decipher what was snow and what was a cloud. It was breathtaking! Hopefully my pictures will turn out.
We landed and the excitement grew throughout the plane. I have met so many people from all over the U.S. and the world and have learned a lot about the current field campaigns in Greenland. One group from the University of California-Davis is traveling to the northern part of Greenland for an archaeology field study. That part of Greenland was settled about 400,000 years ago. Some others are from GA Tech, UCLA, Univ. of California Irvine, TREC, Univ. of Toronto, Germany, NOAA, University of New Hampshire, Colorado University.
After arriving, everyone loaded into the back of some pick up trucks and we drove about 1.5 miles to the KISS (Kangerlussuaq International Science Support) facility which are very similar to dorms. We went to eat at the commercial airport (which has one gate). I had a 1/2 chicken and fries, but next time will try the musk ox burger, which my friend Max had.
My legs felt kind of like goo from being on the plane the whole day so I decided to go on a run around 9:30pm (keep in mind it doesn't get dark here!!!! and don't worry I did remember my eye mask). After about 20 minutes, I decided to kick the soccer ball in front of the KISS facility. There were some younger kids playing too, but I could not communicate with them because of my lacking Danish speaking skills!
My roommate Jin and I went on a little walk, but it was getting chilly so we retired to the dorms. I took a long hot shower (my last for probably a week) and here I am.
One surprising thing of the day...the mosquitoes are horrible. I stopped for a second on my run and got ambushed by about ten of them! And they aren't no little things either...big suckers comparable to those in Louisiana!!! I don't think they pack much venom (or whatever the word is) because some of them must have bitten me but I have yet to have an itch!
Alrighty, must go to bed now...our flight leaves at 7:15 local time (+2 hours from EDT). As I look out the window and gaze upon the beautiful blue sky hovering over the mountains...I cannot even fathom that it is 11:45 at night!
Sorry internet is slow here so I will have to post the pictures tomorrow.
Smell-oh-Meter: 1...Zestfully clean!
2 comments:
Christine,
I love your blog! It is so interesting and funny. I can't wait to see pictures.
I hope you're warm enough; I couldn't imagine being somewhere that cold! Do you have heaters in your tent?
Callie
thanks girl! nope, unfortunately no heaters in the tent. they are double paneled tents so they aren't too bad. but i'm freezing my ass off!
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