Hibernation

Ahhh, the signs of springtime around this place...we don't have budding trees or the sweet sound of songbirds in the morning but we do have snow falling off of buried heavy equipment as the sun starts to hit them.

Make no mistake, the sun is not making it toasty warm yet and we're not wearing shorts outside . It was -72 degrees F when I took these pictures yesterday, but it is bright and beautiful outside and you can just about see forever.

The heavy equipment and vehicles have to be winterized before they're stored outside. All fluids are drained and for the shuttle van, the tires are removed too.

The long hibernation is nearly over for us and the equipment. We're still digging out snow, cleaning up the station and getting outlying buildings ready for occupation. The Basler and a Twin Otter will transit through here in 5 days on their way from South America to McMurdo Station. Then the Basler is scheduled to return in a week with the first new people that we'll see since February.