29 November Homeward Bound

My last post.

I'm currently sitting in the United Lounge, in the Newark airport.  We arrived at 1:30 p.m. and our flight doesn't leave until 10:00 p.m.  That's a long wait.  I've tried watching the football game, sitting in the chair reading, lying on the floor with my parka wrapped around me.  All that and there are still four hours to go.

It will be good to get home.  To start making the arrangements for the next trip, Alaska in January.  Sure wish there was a warm trip on the schedule.

I hope you've all enjoyed this post as much as I've enjoyed writing it.  I'll let you know if I'm inspired by another adventure.

PolarPatti signing off.

28 November

So, packed and ready to go.  Almost time to start the process of getting all the various people checked out and to the airport.  Hoping that Barrett's flight comes from Ny-Alesund so that he can catch the flight with us.  Also hoping that Lamar makes it home with his revised schedule.  An hour between flights, in Paris, is not optimal.  I don't know why Delta always offers that schedule.  Looks like Barrett won't make it today.  Since the airport is closed on Saturday, may not get here until Sunday.  Of course what they'll probably do is just put him on the regularly scheduled Monday flight - maybe.  Arrgh!

It has certainly been an adventure.  You wouldn't think you could get used to total dark, but you do.  You stop looking outside to judge the time of day.  Probably good that I get back to GSP at midnight, so I have time to adjust.

There's already talk of coming back next June after attending a meeting in Tromso.  It is certainly a beautiful place - from what I've seen in pictures.  Not sure how it would be with hordes of tourists, though.

We have become big fans of Flightradar24.com.   Nice to see that there is actually a plane headed your way!  We'd like to see them launch CAPER from Andenes today but not if it impacts our flight plan.

Yay!  We actually made it off the island.  A harrowing stop in Tromso and then on to Oslo.  They're still holding Barrett captive on Ny-Alesund but hope he'll get back to Longyearbyen today.  It's not an easy place to get back from, that's for sure.

So, I head to Newark and then Greenville, this morning.  Miguel has already left, since he had a much earlier flight.  It will be SO good to be home.  I suspect the cats will be very happy to see us.  

27 November

Thanksgiving!

I'm thankful that we launched the rocket, successfully, and aren't still counting like CAPER is.
I'm thankful that I didn't ever meet a polar bear (and use that rifle).
I'm thankful that Miguel got to visit me here for a few days.
I'm thankful that I am going home tomorrow.  Well, to Oslo at least.  Home will be the NEXT day.

Woke to ice again this morning.  The guesthouse driveway was so slippery that when I drove down it, I just slid with no way to stop.  I aimed at the ditch on the corner just before the road and caught just enough to stop before sliding into the road.  Just getting to the car door is almost impossible.  Not surprisingly, the charter flight from Ny-Alesund has been cancelled for today.  Sure hope they get back tomorrow morning before the afternoon flight to Oslo leaves.  If they miss that flight, the next flight out is on Sunday afternoon.  Lamar is scheduled to leave today so I'm watching to see if HIS flight out is cancelled.  Not officially cancelled but they're making him wait at the airport in case there's a later flight scheduled. Cancelled.

We're all wishing we had some Yaktrax.  They probably have them in town but it's so icy we can't get there to buy them! 

A lot of work today, trying to get camera equipment back for shipment home.

These two were next to the guest house

Only a small number are hunted each year and you can certainly see that they feel safe around people.

Tomorrow, hopefully, we'll start the trip home.  I'll believe it when I see it.

26 November

At dinner last night, of course the Svalbar, we were trying to convince Miguel how hard we've had it up here.  The stove timer, no heat in the bedroom, controlling apartment temperature by opening and closing the bedroom door, walking on ice, 100% darkness, wind-rain-snow-ice all in one day.....  He wasn't buying it.  Must admit that it's been a pretty comfortable place to be.  Everyone here has been very friendly.  There's no crime, so you can walk around without worrying.  At home, at night, you'd always be a little more cautious.  Well, when it's dark all the time, that would just not work. 

Have yet to see any police presence.  I did notice a booth marked Politi, at the airport, but have never seen the window unshuttered. On the Facility Opening Hours list that I have, the police are listed as working Monday to Friday, 08:30-15:30.  There is an emergency number listed for out of office hours.

You can't be born here - there's a hospital, but they're not equipped for difficult pregnancies.  You HAVE to fly to the mainland.

You can't die here - they discovered that people who died and were buried didn't decay.  They now require that you be buried off island.

Population is 2040 and there are 3000 polar bears.  If the polar bears wanted to take over, they pretty much could.

There's one place to get gas, in front of the one car dealership.  One pump for diesel and one for gas.  I've been here for two weeks and am down to a quarter of a tank.  All those darned airport runs!

The drive out to the airport, for the one flight, is always exciting.  Everyone passing each other to get there first.  I finally figured out why.  Here, you can park and leave your car right in front of the terminal.  Since getting down the hill to the parking lot involves dragging your suitcase down a snow covered ramp, it makes sense.  Clearing that ramp does not seem to be a priority.

We had a charter lined up to bring everyone back from Ny-Alesund.  Well, now the forecast for Ny-Alesund on Thursday is heavy snow so it's uncertain that the charter will fly.  Sigh.

We were told, today, that summertime here is a madhouse.  Thousands of tourists from cruise ships, many flights coming in and out 24 hours a day.  The locals try to find something to do elsewhere.  Sounds pretty awful!

Here's a nice link to the C-REX writeup on the NASA website:  C-REX launch

Here's another blog written by the best photographer in the group:   Leaf litter

The world's northernmost alternative newspaper icepeople

Almost walked into this guy, on the way to UNIS for lunch!  Sure wasn't afraid of us.

It can be kind of spooky, when you're walking in the dark and hear the "crunch, crunch, crunch" of something walking.  Always a relief to realize it's only a reindeer.

Turned in my Game of Svalbard game card and picked up my prize - a neck scarf with the logo of the game on it.  Entered the drawing for a trip for two to Svalbard (hopefully, in the summer).  I can now claim the title of "Queen of Svalbard"! 

25 November

Plan for today is to go back up the mountain to pack up our equipment then pick Miguel up from the airport.  A lot has happened in the two weeks we've been apart!

It only took us about an hour to pack up.  Crates labeled and ready to ship back to Andenes, to catch the slow boat home.  Successfully changed all the return tickets (before Rick left on vacation, thank goodness).  Having an excellent travel agent is priceless.  He's used to our crazy schedules, at this point.  We NEVER come back on the day our reservation is booked for :)

Charter flight is booked, to get our people and equipment back from Ny-Alesund on Thursday.  There's talk about coming back and launching from there, in a couple years, so it will be interesting to hear the details about the place.

Miguel arrived safely and spent the whole afternoon in a Skype telecon Mission Readiness Review for the Alaska launch, in January.  I guess it's good to be busy but sheesh.

We're wondering what we should do for Thanksgiving.  Can't recall seeing anything even vaguely turkey like, here.  Considering the fact that the stove only works for 30 minutes before shutting off, you'd sure have to be right there if you were cooking a turkey!

Christmas lights going up in town and decorations appearing in stores.  It's obviously a big deal here.

Just a couple days to tie up all the loose ends.  Looking forward to that 7:45 layover in Newark!

24 November

We had a successful launch, today!  Braved the icy roads and made it up the mountain.  Exciting to see clear skies and aurora then ten trails in the sky.  Everything worked perfectly, at all the camera sites.

Celebration dinner tonight at Huset, the fancy restaurant in town.

It's been a long day and it's only 3:00.

Here's an example of what we were photographing.  That's Jupiter, furthest left.

My afternoon has been spent trying to get airline tickets changed (two down, three to go), packing up the equipment that goes back on the NASA plane (since we will need it for the January Alaska launch), trying to get Barrett back from Ny-Alesund (flights are only on Monday and Friday and there's no room for his crates on Friday), and trying to stay awake.  If I take a small nap before dinner, I'll never wake up.

Had an amazing five course dinner at Huset. 

Came home and crashed.

23 November

Woke up this morning to a world covered in ice.  They put a little fine gravel on the roads but everywhere else was extremely treacherous.  It rained off and on all day and is very windy.  With the temperature dropping overnight, it will make for an interesting drive in the morning.  Wouldn't you just know that Monday is not only the first day of the launch window but also the best weather in the foreseeable future.  We'll get up that mountain, one way or another!

With icy walkways and high winds, I felt like an ice boat.  The wind would just slide me right off the side of the walkway.  Envied the natives with the ice cleats on their boots.  I actually have some....at home.  Right where I need them. 

So, lots of last minute instructions and strategizing.  We're about as ready as we can be.  Hope we launch and get some excellent pictures! 

22 November

Actually saw a few stars for a short time, this morning.  It may have just been the fierce wind blowing snow in my eyes, though.

Doesn't look like the launch window will open until Monday so we'll probably be taking Sunday off.  So far, looks like clear skies are a possibility for Monday.  Sure would be nice to launch on the first day (after being here for two weeks).  Looking at the KHO all-sky camera, there are lots of stars now.  It sure would be nice to see some aurora but I don't think there is any expected.  Stars will do.

We use Skype, during the launch window.  Phone calls, too, but mostly we keep everyone updated by Skype.  One wise guy from the rocket range asked "What caliber rifle are you packing?  People want to know." They seem to enjoy the fact that Miguel is usually at the rocket range, all comfortable and warm, while I'm out in the wilds somewhere :)  I can't complain.  I definitely have more fun.  Well, Fort Yukon at -56 degrees WAS a bit of a challenge.

Saw some of these in the middle of the road, on the way down the mountain.  Pretty sure it's the Svalbardrein (Svalbard reindeer)  Long fur and pretty small. Obviously not my picture, since it's light.

We had stopped to enjoy looking at them and maybe take some pictures when Fred passed me, scaring them out of the road.  Maybe he didn't think they were as cute as we did.  I try to always let Fred take the lead because he drives a lot faster than I do and will pass me if I'm going to slow.  Kind of a big deal when you're on a snow covered road with only poles with red markers to indicate that you're on the road.

We were told that if we want to see some arctic fox, we should go to the back of the pizza restaurant.  I guess the employees regularly throw discarded pizza crusts to them.  I'm sure they're all a bit chunky (the foxes, not the employees).

Walked around town a bit this afternoon.  It has suddenly warmed up considerably.  You can hear the dripping off the roofs.

The "mall".  There are three small restaurants, a pharmacy, a bar, and a few clothing stores.  Mostly you see "outdoor" clothes.  A library upstairs.

Main Street

In the equivalent of a 7-Eleven, Mix,  I spotted this:

A bargain for only $10.  I'm not quite that desperate yet.

Looking over toward one of the mountains:

There's even a cinema. If we're still here 30 November, Hunger Games - Mockingjay is playing. Almost worth staying for!

After two weeks, I decided it was laundry day.  There are two good sized washers (free) and a drying room and drying cupboard with warm air feeding through it.  Unfortunately, with wool being the predominant clothing, the drying cupboard is usually full.  I made do.

The room is so warm, it'll probably be dry later today.  And it was.

Just looked at the Clemson University webcam page.  I shouldn't have.  There's so much light!!!

There's a lot of information about the town here including a map of the town:
University Centre in Svalbard

We've been to Svalbar so many times that we almost expect them to yell "Norm" when we come in :)  Don and Jason and Lamar and I had a great time.  Great dinner, as always.  There was a soccer match on the big screen TV (projector) and lots of yelling from the fans.  Day off tomorrow.  Don and Lamar were planning to have breakfast at the hotel next door.  Maybe we'll sleep past the usual 5 a.m.
 

21 November

So now we get into the launch window routine.  We head up to KHO at 6:00.  Cameras are set up and tested and then we wait.  Hoping for clear skies at one of the ground sites, calm enough winds for the plane to take off, and calm enough winds at the launch site.

Waiting for the Hagglund Taxi to take us back down the mountain.

It occurred to me, as I was outside with the camera boxes, that it's probably handy for polar bears that I wear a red light on my forehead.

It was pretty cold and windy when we arrived, lots of deep drifts on the road coming up.  Now, the winds have died a bit and it's warming up.  I believe now there is rain in the forecast.  We've seen everything EXCEPT clear skies.  

Meanwhile, Lamar arrives this afternoon and there's a reindeer party in the planning.  Shigeto-san visited Kiruna, Sweden, on his way here and brought some smoked reindeer.  We look forward to sampling it!  Hope it wasn't Rudolph, because there will be a lot of unhappy children this Christmas.  The last time I had Kiruna reindeer meat was in 1986, right after Chernobyl, when they were warning you not to eat reindeer.  We figured one steak wouldn't kill us :)

Moving day!  With Miguel arriving next week, I needed the room with a slightly bigger bed.  It also has a view of the UNIS building.  Nice!  It only took me about 10 minutes to completely move.  Any change is always exciting :)

Lamar seems impressed with the number of stores here, versus Andenes.  Of course, the prices are also lower, since there is less tax.

Off to sample some reindeer!

Wow!  It was a feast!

There were shrimp, sausage, cheeses, smoked reindeer and dried reindeer, beer and wine.  Followed by clementines and ice cream.  How Yoko managed all this in that tiny kitchen is beyond me.  Everything was so delicious.  Our help, cleaning up, was to bring our glass, plate, and fork back with us.  Now THAT'S a deal!

20 November

A couple articles about the experiment:

Scientists study the interaction of the solar wind and Earth's atmosphere from Norway

Rockets Study Solar Wind Interaction With Atmosphere

Cold this morning, -1 F.  The bedroom has no heat and you can always feel a slight breeze from the window.  It makes for nice sleeping - until it gets colder outside.  Hard to get out from under the duvet, that's for sure!  But the benefit of keeping the bedroom door closed at night is that it is toasty warm when you come out into the living room.

This must be where vampires come on vacation so that they can stay outside all the time.

Worked on the Camera Operator's Manual all morning, while it's fresh in my mind.  It's always a work in progress and once a launch is over with I never seem to find time to work on it. Time I have, right now.  Ventured out to the store and was just about blown over.  It takes a lot for me to need a hat or to put my hood up.  Today was one of those days.  Cold, high wind, blowing snow. Well, no wonder it felt cold, with that "strong breeze" it feels like -8 F. 

Tomorrow morning at 6:00, we'll head up to KHO to do our first practice.  It's good to get a feel for how long it takes you to get ready.  We'll probably try to do this every day from now on.  It will be good to get into a routine.

Lamar joins me up here, tomorrow afternoon.  He's been down at the rocket range and is finally done with loading the canisters.  Hopefully, Miguel will be able to come next week. I look forward to some company at the camera site.

Tonight sounds like a good Svalbar night. 

19 November

Big snow drifts, driving up the mountain today.  Heavy, blowing snow.    I think we've had one day, since we've been here, that was clear.  It's very windy but not terribly cold, unless you're working with metal parts on the camera boxes, with your bare hands.  Heavy snow all day.  Not looking forward to the drive back down the mountain. 

The forecast, at various times during the day.

light air - 2 m/s
light breeze - 3 m/s
gentle breeze - 4 m/s
moderate breeze - 9 m/s
fresh breeze - 10 m/s
strong breeze - 14 m/s

Even though it is currently 10 degrees F, that "light breeze" makes it feel like -1 degree F.  Getting darker and darker.  You lose all sense of time. 

Good news from the launch site.  They have finished loading the payload canisters, so we're that much closer to starting this launch window.   Now if only the snow would stop.....  Hoping to see Miguel and Lamar up here on Monday :) 

A good night to stay in.  

18 November

Learned all the basics of a Ruger .30-06 bolt-action rifle, this morning.  Cold, windy, and snowing on us, for almost four hours, as we learned to half load and sight, then to aim and shoot at the targets in three positions.  Not surprisingly, it was agreed that the prone position wouldn't be the first choice.  Of the three, I like the kneeling position best.  My right shoulder IS going to be sore for a few days.
The shooting range was up on top of a mountain, overlooking the airport.  WAY up.  We actually drove right by the Seed Vault on the way. 

They don't recommend using the safety, since during a campsite attack a couple years ago one of the men thought the safety was all the way off and kept trying to fire.  One killed and four mauled.  So, half loading is a much smarter way to do it.  I was surprised that the sighting came back to me so easily.  The last time I fired a rifle was in the 1960's, but still hit the target without any problem.  We also tried the flare gun, since that's the first thing you should try.

I had actually just turned my head to the side to avoid getting bits and pieces in my face.  I was told this was my Dirty Harry look :)  Make my day Polar Bears.

Also learned that the polar bear is the world's largest land predator.  His main goal is to eat you.  He may just look curious but you should keep in mind that he's mostly curious about whether you're edible or not.  They've been known to eat snowmachine seats.

Aiming directly at the head is also not recommended, since the skull is very thick. 

I'm ready for some wabbit hunting :)   Polar bear, not so much.

We were too late to catch the Hagglund ride up to KHO so I've spent the afternoon catching up on some things and, mainly, warming back up.  Tomorrow morning, we'll head back up to KHO.

Met at Svalbar again tonight.  It's obviously the place to go.  For the music, if nothing else.  We went from Sonny&Cher to some song about Alaska to King of the Road. 

Seriously?

17 November

Interesting ride up to KHO this morning.  Fred was in the mood for some offroading with the Hagglund.  Only got stuck twice.  He does love to make roads with that thing!  A lot of snow accumulation since we were there on Friday.  The chest high trench that we dug?  Completely filled in.  Not just loose snow, mind you.  Packed.  That's a lot of snow!  Glad to see that the camera boxes and tripods weathered the storm.

Me channeling Madonna, with my reflectors.  I guess I should have thought about the placement a little more carefully :)

Not sure why there's a disco ball in the KHO garage.....

Our "command center".

Ran an hour long test of the cameras, this morning.  The heaters worked perfectly, as did the cameras.  Happy to not have power or GPS issues! 

Made an airport run this afternoon, to pick up another Japanese observer.  They don't bother with paid parking there.  There's a big open space with cars coming from every direction.  Not for the faint of heart.  Nice sign there.

Walking to the butikken afterward, saw this cactus in a window.  Poor thing.

Can't you just hear a tiny voice crying "help me......."  Maybe it's actually beating its little fists against the window.

This is a nice picture of the top of the world with me in the center of that red circle.

Group dinner at Svalbar, tonight.  Most everyone, anyway.  Fun to meet up with people from different places whose paths we've crossed at one time or another.  Brett from the same group Miguel came out of at Cornell, a few years after.  Shigeto, who we've gotten to know at launches in many countries.  Nice to belong to such a small group. 

Time to get psyched for my big game hunting class in the morning!!  I wonder if they'll show us how to get into a tree stand.

Which reminds me.....there are no trees here!  Not one tree. 

Sunday, 16 November

George Carlin had the best forecast ever:  "Weather forecast for tonight: dark.  Continued dark overnight, with widely scattered light by morning." 

Except for the scattered light part, sounds about right.

If you click on the Kjell Henricksen Observatory link, Data, dSLR all sky, you can see the all sky image from on top of the Observatory.  There's some pretty nice aurora, at times.  I haven't seen any yet, here in town, because it always seems to be a bit overcast - or I'm sleeping.

If you click on the Longyearbyen webcam link, you can see what the town looks like.  The building right under 230 degrees is the guesthouse.

Lazy day today.  Had a nice Skype conversation with Miguel.  He's down "south" at the rocket range. 
Waited for the butikken to open at 3:00.  Not surprised to run in to both Andrew and Jason. 

Walking up to the butikken, I saw a light shining up on the side of the mountain above town.  I'm fairly certain it is the Seed Vault.  I found out yesterday that all the seeds that are deposited BELONG to someone and can only be withdrawn by that person/company.  What sounded like a wonderful idea of saving seeds for the future, in case of whatever, will now undoubtedly be fought over.

Also while walking up to the butikken, on a sheet of ice, I was reminded of driving in Seneca, SC before a possible freeze, driving behind a truck that was spraying salt water on the road JUST IN CASE.  Here, good luck.

You see a lot of kick sleds around town, carrying kids or groceries, sometimes pulled by a dog.  Fun way to cart things around!

Time for some semi-homemade red curry soup (I added water and cream)  It's surprisingly good!  That and some fresh warm bread.  Yum.  Interesting that the stove has a timer.  You push the button and have power for 30 minutes.  Then it shuts off.  You need to be aware of timing, that's for sure.  At least you don't have to worry about leaving the stove on.




 

15 November

Wow, it's super windy this morning.  Sure hope to find the tripods still standing when we go back up to the Observatory on Monday and sure am happy we're taking the weekend off.  It wouldn't be much fun being out in this.  Clicking my heels together is not getting the desired result.

So, it's above freezing now, and raining.  Later today, it will be below freezing.  I think I will be investing in an ice scraper for the car.  And what's up with that half sun symbol!  I think maybe that's indicating that the sun will only be shining below the horizon.  

At least I have food, so don't need to leave the building.  Found these crackers that I absolutely love with a slice of cheese on top

We ventured out to the Arts and Crafts Center this afternoon.  There, we discovered "Game of Svalbard".  You get a game folder and have to visit all the different locations to get their codes.  I think you win a scarf or something, if you get ten of the codes.  So, we visited the church

where I saw my hopefully only Polar Bear

and got the game code for that location.

Then it was on to the museum, where we had to find out who first found Svalbard (Barentz) and then the bank, butikken, and Svalbar.  We had a Norwegian Wood beer, with a smoky flavor, at Svalbar.  That's one strong beer! 

From there we walked down to the Barentz Pub in the Radisson, for the 125 kroner dinner special - lasagne.  We wolfed that down like we hadn't eaten in a week. The wind is so strong that I keep being blown in to a run.  So glad it was at our backs!  It's supposed to get colder tonight so I suspect the roads will get pretty slippery. 

Good to have a day off and see the sights.  There are still three sites that we have to go to, in order to fill out our card.  I think this has been the big excitement of the day :)

14 November

Snowy day today.  Made driving up to Mine 7 very interesting.  Made a lot of progress at the camera site, moving two of the tripods further away from the building.  Cold!

We're taking Saturday off, to give the UNIS people a break.  They're required to stay at the Observatory while we're there, for safety reasons.  Also, they won't let us drive the Hagglund.  That's fine with me!  If we have the predicted clear skies on Sunday, we'll go up in the morning to get some star shots.

Took a walk around town, visiting a couple shops.  I bought some reflective stickers for my parka.  There's no shortage of items like that, for good reason.  The town tour only takes about five minutes, unfortunately.  There are a couple good looking outdoor gear type stores.  I may have to check them out, with my trip to Alaska in January in mind.  You can never have enough winter gear (especially when you live in South Carolina). 

Saw a big, white, long haired dog outside the supermarket.  My first thought was POLAR BEAR!!  Then I realized it was tied up, and a Samoyed.  Phew.  You hear so much about the hazard of polar bears that you get a little "anxious".  We haven't seen one yet and I'm fine if I never do.

I'm signed up for rifle training, on Tuesday.  Today, at KHO, Fred pointed out where the rifle, bullets, and flare gun were located.  He then said "Of course it's important to be able to get inside to get to them".  Well, duh.  My first thought was of the little keypad outside the door that you have to take your gloves off for and shine the flashlight on to see the numbers.  Six numbers and a pound sign.  In order.  My second thought was that I'd have better luck running for the Hagglund.  That only has a door handle.  So, I'm prepared :)

Funny to compare our camera boxes, with the heater and thermostat, to Daiki's setup.  He has cameras on a tripod with a camera duck and hand warmers.  Hmmm, good luck with that.  His English is not so good.  Our usual means of communication is for me to ask him a question, him to look confused, me to say "I'll send you an email".  He then reads the email and understands.  A bit cumbersome, but it works.

"Run, there's a Polar Bear!   Hang on, I'll send you an email once I'm inside."  :)

13 November

Today went much better than yesterday.  We got the tripods oriented, leveled, and iced into the ground.  The icing makes it harder for the polar bears to walk off with the equipment :) 

The result of all our effort.  Yes, it was this dark.  Makes compass reading a bit of a challenge.  Also, note to self:  metal flashlights are not the best idea, because you can't hold them in your mouth.  We ran our cables and had time to test one box.  Nice when it all works!  I should finish up tomorrow. 

Barrett has learned from my mistakes so will probably not be making so many himself, when he sets up his site at Ny-Alesund.  He and three others fly there tomorrow to begin their own setup.

Very poor visibility today because of cloud cover and light snow.  I hear that there was aurora last night at around 11:00 but missed it.  Interesting to be in a place where you could actually see aurora during the day.

The lowlight of my day was walking to the Hagglund at the end of the day.  Fred had parked in a different place, since my tripods are where he usually drives.  Just before I got to the door of the vehicle, I ended up in thigh high snow :( 

It's interesting that when you rent a car here, you don't get a contract.  Just a business card, in case their are problems.  They don't care who else drives it, either.  I guess when you only have two roads, you don't worry about someone driving off with the vehicle.  We think we saw one gas station, out near the airport.  I doubt I'll ever have to fill the tank, though.

We passed several reindeer on the drive to KHO today.  There are also large sled dog pens, just outside town.  The pens have very high fences to keep the polar bears out.  Having the pens outside town also helps keep the bears from coming into town.

12 November

Long day on the mountain top.  Dug out an area for the tripods only to find out that we could expect a lot of drifting snow on that side of the building.  Keep in mind that this was snow up to my chest.  So, tomorrow we set up on the road.  Exciting drive up to Mine 7 with lots of switchbacks.  Then we piled in to the Hagglund

for the last leg of the journey.  I was lucky to ride in the front car.  Several people were in the back car with nothing to hold on to :)  I can't even imagine.  Andrew did say he banged his head on the ceiling on the way back.
We didn't see the sun but you can see that there was some light behind the mountains.  That lasted a few hours. 
So, I have to get firearms training.  Since I'll be outside the building, it's required.  I guess I'll carry a rifle as I check my camera boxes :)  Sounds funny but when you're standing out there in the dark, you can't help but listen for oncoming polar bears.  It's a very serious issue.  I am happy that I will have two Japanese observers with me, since I've heard that polar bears like Japanese food.
It's a bit of a pain to have to take your shoes off every time you go inside, especially when you are going right back out.  I've learned to bring my own slippers, since guest shoes are not great.  You leave your outside shoes in the bin.

Walking in town this morning, to get a sandwich for lunch, you could actually see a bit.  That's a mountain at the end.

The main University building is really nice.  All wood with lots of angles.

I love this hat!

So, back at it again tomorrow.  Progress has been made in that we determined where to put the cameras and where to put the laptops and run cables.  Small details left, like getting around having to enter a code each time we want to come back into the building.  A very small keypad, very big gloves - you get the picture.  Just raise the garage door, they tell me.  Right.  I can barely budge it! 
The big boots kept my feet warm and I have yet to wear the down pants.  This is definitely NOT Alaska!! 

Plan for Wednesday, 12 November

Kjell Henricksen Observatory will be my camera site, near Longyearbyen.  We will drive there tomorrow.  Well, we drive partway and then travel the last couple kilometers in a vehicle called a Hagglund belt-wagon.  I hope to get the camera site set up and ready to go.  Barrett is traveling on to Ny-Alesund on Friday, to set up his site, and this will be good hands on training.  In other words, I will have someone else doing the heavy lifting :)  I'm smart that way.  Thank goodness for headlamps!
Time to break out the big boots.  It was pretty nippy today but I noticed that vehicles aren't plugged in so it's not as cold as Alaska.  My vehicle has front and rear seat warmers!  No more fighting over the passenger seat.
Did I mention the heated floors in the bathroom?  That is the best invention ever.  If you leave the door open, you can pretty much heat the whole place.

Supermarket trip

Successful supermarket trip.  It's less than a 10 minute walk from here.  Lots of other shops that I'm most definitely going to have to check out. 

I have Carlsberg, rugbrod, herring and curry chicken salad.  Life is good.  

Now, I'm off to the gym with Mark.  Today, I'll just see where it is and what the facility has to offer. 

UNIS guesthouse

My room for a few weeks

Heading to "town" soon to check out the stores.  Hoping for a good supermarket.

Finally arrived

It was only an hour and a half flight from Tromso to Longyearbyen, but what a difference.  Night and day, so to speak.  Here's a picture looking south from the plane

followed immediately by one looking to the north.

Tromso

We had a great breakfast buffet and then walked around town before heading back to the airport.
Andrew and Barrett enjoying breakfast.  They tried to sample everything, I think.

Pretty town

We called this the Norwegian dogsledding team

At the airport, yummo!

It was a pretty flight, until it got cloudy and then dark

Good thought