Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 02/08/2012 - 10:03

Dear Ms. Herrmann, Good luck on your trip! I know that right now you are somewhere around or in Chile, but I have a few questions about Palmer Station that I hope can be answered when you arrive. I know that the population of the station changes depending on the season, but how developed is it? I remember when Mr. Charles Amsler, the researcher you will be working with, gave his presentation at our school, he mentioned that each station is a little town. I know Palmer is very small, but is there any types of infrastructure in place, such as hospitals, police stations, town halls. etc? Another question I have is about customs and immigration; because Palmer Station is an American-based research facility, I know that you would not need a passport. However, what if someone from another country came to the area. Would they need a passport or Visa given that Palmer is technically US soil? (By soil I mean ice and rock) I know these are some strange questions, but they were for some reason the first questions that came into my head. Any answers would be greatly appreciated! I hope your voyage is going well, we all miss you here at LE! Thanks again! Sincerely, Walker Jordan

Nell Herrmann

Hey Walker!Great to hear from you. I don't think these questions are strange at all--they're logical things to ask!
I'm actually still in the U.S. I flew from State College to Detroit today and then from Detroit to Atlanta. From what I've read, Palmer Station holds about 40 (or so) people in the summer and about 25 (or so) people in the winter months. Remember that it's the end of the austral summer now, so I expect there will be around 40 people there with me. As far as I know, there aren't any hospitals or fire stations at Palmer, but there are at McMurdo. That's the biggest U.S. research station and it holds around 1,400 people. It's way down on the Ross Sea--you can see it on the map in my 1-31 (Amazing Antarctica) journal. You can imagine it's quite different from Palmer Station.
I found a live webcam to Palmer Station today. Check it out:
http://www.usap.gov/videoclipsandmaps/palwebcam.cfm
A friend suggested I set up a time to stand in front of the round building and wave to everyone at home. Maybe I will!
I don't need a passport to get into Palmer Station, but I do need one to get into Chile. I know sometimes tourists come to visit Palmer Station very briefly; I imagine they all come through Chile so they'd need passports for that too.
I miss you guys too! Hold down the fort in the LE room and keep reading my journals. I'll be posting every day!
--Ms. Herrmann