3 January 2019 BOOMERANGED!

What does "Boomeranged" mean? At the end of this video, Ryan, from the New Zealand Air Force, will explain. First, check out my 3-minute video showing the highlights of the day.

My name badge on Big Red. I have waited so long to see this sight.

Preparation At The United States Antarctic Program's CDC

The United States has a facility here in New Zealand where those traveling to the U.S. science station at McMurdo will receive training, proper extreme cold weather gear, and make final preparations before climbing into the Air Force planes to get to the ice.

Our team members getting our computers scanned for viruses. Not only did we need our vaccines so we don't get other people sick, our computers also need to be healthy so they don't make other computers sick. We all had to have our temperature taken. One more check to be sure we're not carrying some wicked sickness to the folks on the ice. We were then taken to the passenger terminal where we received Antarctic training and our ECW (Extreme Cold Weather gear). Receiving training about how to keep ourselves, and the pristine continent of Antarctica, safe. It really hit home that by me accepting this privilege of going to this place, I also accepted the responsibility to protect it.

I will do another entry on all the many things I learned, and requirements we will live by to keep Antarctica pristine.

Me and Big Red getting to know each other. We are going to become good friends for the next seven weeks. Dr. Adams demonstrating the proper attire for the extremes Antarctica will throw at us. Notice those awesome boots. They are called "bunny boots". You pump them up with air to insulate. The valves have to be open during flight so the pressure changes of altitude don't make them explode (joking). Happy feet.

This picture tells two stories. First, notice my stylin' penguin socks. All my family had these for Christmas Eve. It made for a great family picture of happy feet. Second, I wear size 14 shoe and was informed early in this process that the CDC would not have ECW boots that would fit me. I have already sent down a pair of my own boots. I was kind of bummed that I would have to use my own boots rather than use their tried and tested cold weather boots. Today, to my surprise, as I unzipped my bag of ECW prepared by the United States Antarctic Program personnel, i noticed some brand new, size 14 Baffin boots. I slipped my feet into those beauties and wouldn't you know it...perfect fit! It's going to be 7 weeks of happy feet! Hats off to the awesome USAP folks.

Time To Go Flying After A Short Delay

With our ECW gear checked out and on, and training complete, it was finally time to fly. We went through security just like at any other airport, got our boarding passes, and then waited. We were told there would be about an hour delay for our flight. I have never been more stoked for a flight delay. Here I was at the US Antarctic Program's training and support facility, stuck in a room with some of the world's top scientists. I felt totally comfortable approaching anyone in the room to ask them their reason for going to the ice. I met one scientist who would be in a very remote location on Antarctic glaciers, for about six weeks, studying the chemistry of the ice. Another was headed to the South Pole to study cosmic dust. She was able to tell whether this dust was from our solar system or another. One scientist had been there over 20 times. He was launching weather balloons that were 1000 feet tall. Launching them is the easy part. Retrieving them in the remote, harsh locations they land is another story. Dr Adams showed us around this training room, which was like a museum. He told us stories about past aircraft that was used in the past, one of which had crashed, and is still implanted out in the ice in the area of our runway.

Dr. Byron Adams teaching us about some of the aircraft that has been used to get to the ice in the past. Me and Dr. Craig Cary.

This is Dr. Craig Cary. Dr. Cary is a world famous scientist who studies bacteria. Not that interested in bacteria you say? Watch this TED talk he did and your opinion of bacteria will change.

Dr. Cary chatted with me about bacteria he has observed on the sea floor while in Alvin, a submarine owned by the Navy. He was several thousand feet below the surface of the ocean. He told me of his work he has done on Mt. Erebus, the most southern active volcano (I will be able to see it from McMurdo). To be honest, I was kind of sad that it was time to go get on the plane. In our short chat, we talked about deep dives, climbs to volcanoes, and the amazing world of bacteria.

Dr. Tom Powers (Topper) and myself, strapped into our cargo netting seats of the LC130 plane on our way to the ice. Boomeranged. We are back in New Zealand. We are picking up our boomerang bags. These are bags we prepared before our flight that the Air Force personnel would retrieve for us from the plane. It has essentials for another comfortable night in New Zealand. The rest of our gear stays packed away on the plane until tomorrow.

Stay tuned to see if we will leave beautiful New Zealand tomorrow and make it to Antarctica. But first, check out this cool New Zealand Air Force officer as he explains "boomeranging".