No where to go but North.

Its been a few days since I posted here, not entirely by choice, but somewhat so. Last Thursday I took an LC-130 flight 3 hours south to reach Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The flight was pleasant and we see some interesting terrain from the air. Most of it was quite desolate though. Recent changes in orbiting satellites, more specifically, the de-orbiting of one has left the station with an approximate window if Internet connectivity down to about 10 hours every day. and almost 50% of that window is currently during most people's sleeping hours on station. On top of that, the station lives at 9,300 feet in elevation, however the atmosphere is thinner there than on the continental US at similar elevation, so the "real feel" there is close to 11,000 feet. After living in Denver for a year and traveling through the mountains, I usually don't have problems at such elevations, but it would seem that the time I spent at sea level on my way here has made my body unaccustomed to such elevation change in such a sort period of time. I opted not to take any diamox (Acetazolamide) to help with altitude when it was offered to me at McMurdo station, I don't really like the way it makes me feel (dexamethasone is my preferred drug, but hey, that stuff makes you feel good, diamox does not). Anyhow, what I'm getting at, is the fact that the altitude got to me, headache, nausea, lack of apatite, and not much motivation to do much of anything, include post here. But here's proof none the less that I was there:
Overall, the experience was good, and I would have to say that I wouldn't mind going back there. Though, if I had to pick what my favorite station is, it would have to be Palmer, which I visited last spring (northern hemisphere spring). The facility is pretty much brand new, just being dedicated last year, and some rooms still have that "new building smell." So just how cold is it down there you ask? Well, the temp usually hovered around -25 degrees F with a windchill right around -50 F. It was surprisingly not as bad as I imagined it, though I have to say winter down here must be pretty harsh. The air is EXTREMELY dry, at around 5% humidity. I don't think I've ever been so thirsty. Just talking to people for any period of time made my throat sore. The snow is fun. Its pretty hard, and it makes a hollow squeaky noise when you walk on it. If you pick it up with your hands and crush it, it runs out like sand when you open your hand up again. There's always some amount of ice/snow crystals flying around in the air from the winds. The terrain itself is awe inspiring. I've never seen so much of just "nothingness." Flat snow in every direction, the only variation in it is caused by the community immediately surrounding the area.
Community wise, there were 255 people at the South Pole doing research, or supporting it when I was there. Most of them lived in what is known as "summer camp" outside the main station. They are a bunch of little half dome buildings... pictures coming soon, they're still on my camera. The other half live in the station itself. I was lucky enough to get a room in the main station. The rooms there though are anything but roomy and spacious. I think I've seen walk in in closets with more room. There's a sauna, a gym, workout room, library, arts and crafts, and other things to do while there too. About all I did though was read, as I didn't have much ambition for anything else.
Today I returned back to McMurdo. Our time at the pole was cut short due to the delays in flights coming down here, and the need for the bed space at pole. It was a mixed blessing. It was nice to get into the plane and almost immediately have my headache go away once they pressurized the cabin. There's a lot more science stuff I wanted to see at pole that I never had the time or opportunity to go check out though. Oh well. Guess that's it for about now. I'll work on some more pics and stuff for you all to see soon.