Sun., July 13: Home is where the Heart is...

The bike crew! (L to R: Jocque, me, Jeff, Tara, Craig, Max (not shown)

Me at the Ice Edge!

Cool house on a lake...

Me doing the "Sound of Music" with the Ice Edge in the background! You know...I am quite the dancer!

Tara and Jeff walking their bikes up the "sand trap hill"


Sorry, corny title, but I just had to do it!

"Home is where the heart is"...and where this blog ends...:(

I arrived in Houston last night (Saturday the 12th) around 11pm. Rob surprised me with a new lab puppy, and I just love him to death!

The last of the scientists left Summit on Thursday morning and arrived in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland that afternoon. I had an unbelieveable shower (as did most others) and we all met to go do some souvenir shopping before dinner at the cantina. I got a few postcards for my scrapbook, a shot glass, and some Danish liquor (everything was pretty expensive because the American dollar has been on the decline). On our way to Summit, our crew ate at the cafeteria in the commercial airport (has like three flights a day) because the cantina closes at 6:30pm and the cafeteria open much later. Some of the others had been there and said the food is horrible. We were all VERY hungry and luckily the food was alright that night (some type of fish, vegetable medley, rice, salad, rolls). We all got a beer at the airport bar afterward because it was happy hour, which means 30 kroner instead of 35 kroner for a beer (that's about 8 bucks for a bottled beer = booo). We were going to go on a hike, but it was drizzling and decided to call it a night.

I started a new book, "The Red Tent" (another Liz recommendation), and fell asleep by about 9:30pm (the earliest I've gone to bed in a long long time).

Six of us (me, Jocque (Univ. of Colorado), Craig (Montana), Tara (Univ. of Toronto), Jeff (Univ. of New Hampshire), and Max (UCLA)) decided that Friday would be devoted to biking the 35 mile roundtrip to the Ice Edge (where the glacier begins). This "bike ride" is not a walk in the park either. I'm talking loose gravel, deep sand, traveling through hills and in between mountains on a path with potholes on bikes with no shocks and some not allowing low gears. The KISS (Kanger International Science Support) facility where we were staying has mountain bikes that the scientists and staff can use...but let's just say the bikes had seen better days! We had all types of bikers...someone who regularly rides trails in Utah and Colorado to someone who had not been on a bike since prepubescent years. In retrospect, I think this made it more fun because each person needed the next to help him make it through the EIGHT hour trip. From the experienced Jocque surprising everyone along the way with "quick fixes" such as Wild Berry Skittles to Ghirardelli chocolate, to Jeff having a horrible fall after flipping his bike on a steep hill with potholes, to Max pushing himself to the limits...we saw it all. Now, as I am thinking about the experience, it is so amazing that the six of us made such great memories and had the times of our lives...and none of us had met just three weeks ago! I am so glad everyone decided to make the trip to the Ice Edge because it is something I will never forget.

We celebrated the end of the trip with a beer from the local grocery store. We went to the cantina afterward and the food was amazing! And it wasn't "amazing" just because we had drained all of our energy during the 8 hour ride...the "non-riders" said so too! The menu included musk ox roast with gravy, boiled potatoes, peas, rolls, and strawberries. It was delicious! The whole time I thought it was beef, but Bonnie (GA Tech) brought the whole musk ox thing to my attention at the end of the meal! You should try it!

That night we had a foosball tournament at the local pub that I organized. Craig (Montana) and Adam (NOAA) won the 2008 Kanger Foosball Tournament. Tara and I lost in the semifinals in a well-played match. I presented the winners with 10 kroner, which basically can't even by you a beer, but hey, I forgot about the award and had to pull it out of my pocket!

After hanging out a little while longer and then playing some darts, everyone headed off to bed. We had to leave KISS at 5am sharp because our plane left the Air Force Base at 6am on the nose. The flight from Kanger to Stratton Air Force Base in Schnectady, NY was 6 hours long, but seemed a lot shorter than last time because everyone was wiped out and pretty much slept the first 2 hours or longer.

It was difficult telling everyone goodbye because we had spent the last two and a half weeks together...sharing every meal and working side-by-side. I am very glad and thankful that I had the opportunity to be a part of the Summit field campaign. Besides Nemo getting a tear and the winch breaking three days before we left, our instruments ran pretty smoothly. It was great getting field experience, and the other scientists and staff made the "camp conditions" bearable.

Things I am missing:
1. new friends I met at Summit
2. playing cards
3. oven fresh cookies

Things I am not missing:
1. not throwing toilet paper in toilet
2. cold, windy weather (I am definitely a warm weather gal)
3. not being able to shower
4. sharing facilities with 30 other people

How I grew:
1. invaluable field experience
2. learned new card games
3. didn't need shower shoes when I got back to KISS...all that living with others and not showering made me not care (Mom and Liz I bet won't believe me!)

The rest of the summer and most of the fall, I will be spent analyzing the data. Hopefully in times of frustration while preparing for my dissertation proposal, I will be able to relax and think of some of the great times I had at Summit. We'll see! ;)

Smell-oh-Meter: 1...Zestfully Clean!

Thanks to everyone for sharing my experiences. I really loved reading the blog comments and hopefully everyone else will share their experiences using a blog too! Let me know if you need help setting it up!

Take Care!