Biker living in the South hasn't
ridden all summer.
(South Pole, that is)
Somebody take away his Harley!
Houston biker, Steve Navarro, hasn't been on
his bike since the first day of summer - just because he's working
in the Antarctic.
What does he do for fun? What about a
dip in the frigid ocean at Midnight to welcome in the new millennium.
Some guys just KNOW how to have fun.
Wanta "jam" with the other guys and you
didn't bring your Bass Guitar - just make one. It only
has two strings, but it works.
Steve is famous for his annual 4th of July parties
(everyone is welcome to come) where its not unusual to have 300 people
show up (some of them even know him) to listen to Steve's band and,
usually, a couple of other bands.
This is his second time to work a season in
the Antarctic, his brother and his sister Suzanne have each spent
many seasons working there. Suzanne works at McMurdo sound -
the furthest point of land accessible by ship. Steve works at Palmer
station.
Steve may have stayed too long this time,
he wrote to tell us how pretty this penguin is.
The company which "hired" Steve is Antarctic
Support Associates. They contract to provide most of the logistical
support for the Scientific Expeditions taking place in the Antarctic.
(Their website provides information about employment opportunities
and about many of the various projects underway there.)
You can Email
Steve.
In the winter (June through September down
here) the Antarctic and specifically the "South Pole" is the coldest
place on earth. In their "summer" (officially starts Dec 21) they
have daytime highs around Zero Degrees.
While there is much beauty , residents must
always remain aware that it is a very harsh environment and therefore
safety is a matter of life and death. Some of the first orientation
received is survival training. No one expects to get stranded out
of doors, but if it happens they are trained in survival techniques.
Part of the training requires that they spend a night out.
The British explorer Robert Falcon Scott
journeyed to the Pole in the early 1900s -- Scott established
a base on what is now McMurdo. It's the farthest south solid
ground that is accessible by ship. Scott and his party left
a hut here stocked with goods in 1904. The cold, dry air of
the Antarctic tundra helps in preserving the hut and its supplies.
Today New Zealand maintains the site. The University of Chicago
hosts an excellent site about McMurdo
Sound.
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