15 February 2004 Click image for full size!
Today is closing- that means no more flights or visitors from the outside for the next eight months. It's traditional to come on out and say bye to the last plane, and that's what we're doing here. Actually, this was the second to last flight, another came in right after this one, but this was the last PAX (passenger) flight. This was the last group of seasonal workers on their way to McMurdo for the night, then on to Christchurch after that, so everyone came out to say bye to their friends. The last flight was cargo- nothing too special except for the 3,000 pounds of mail that was finally delivered!
So now what? Well, the next tentative flight will be November 1 (my birthday, by the way!). I don't know if I'll be on that flight, but I'll be getting on a plane around that time. Of course, if something really bad happens here, like someone ends up getting hurt really bad, they can fly in smaller planes to take care of them, but big planes like LC-130s are done for the year here.
After this, we had the traditional screening of "The Thing" (both old and new) in the galley just to get us all prepped for the winter. A lot of people were also moving- this is when summer camp shuts down and everyone moves into the more permanent housing- under the dome or into the new station, so there's a lot of that going on. Monday is also a day off- a nice holiday to celebrate the end of summer here. Although the weather will probably remain mostly the same for now, just getting colder every day.
But this still doesn't change my mind about being excited about being here the next eight months!