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4 December, 1999Upper Wright Valley, Antarctica Saturday "The desert is everything and nothing. It is God without mankind." Balzac Two days in a row that I get into the field! This has made all of the frustrations on the gas chromatograph a thing of the past! Today we again rode in an A-Star with pilot Scott Pentecost. He flew us first to McKelvey Valley and Bull Pass, nestled between colorful peaks. We collected rocks and soil samples and again, we marveled at the diversity of rocks that you can find in one area! Those rock samples that we collected today were entirely different than the specimens that were collected on Friday. We spent an hour at Bull Pass and ventured up the Wright Valley toward Lake Vanda and the Airdevronsix Ice Falls. The Ice Falls were named for the U.S. Navy Air Development Squadron Six, the group that charted much of the air routes used today by the helo pilots. The falls were spectacular! Scott set the helo down on a patch of ice amidst enormous boulders! How he controlled the helo is beyond me! We walked through the valley, collected rocks, took pictures. This part of the valley reminded me so much of the desert southwest in the United States. The rocks looked similar and the erosional features created columns and peaks that brought Arizona and New Mexico to mind. When we had completed our tasks, Scott flew us through The Labyrinth! The Labyrinth is a series of valleys and peaks. I would have taken photos, but I was hanging onto my seatbelt and screaming like I was on a roller coaster! Scott piloted the A-Star like Luke Skywalker piloted his starfighter in the final battle scene from "Star Wars"! We had asked Scott to fly us through The Labyrinth and give us a thrill and he sure did! Scott, you are truly Sky King to us! What a wonderful flight! ANSWER TO YESTERDAY'S QUESTION: An ice shelf is a layer of ice on an ocean. An ice cap is a layer of ice on land. The Ross Ice Shelf is the size of Texas! This is the ice shelf where you will find Ross Island and McMurdo Station. Much of Antarctica is covered by an ice cap. TODAY'S QUESTION: How many major ice sheets are there on the Earth? An ice sheet is similar to an ice cap. It is ice-covered land. Sharon JUST FOR KIDS!!!!! I was able to go into the field again today to collect rocks! We flew in an A-Star helicopter and Scott was our pilot. First, Scott took us to McKelvey Valley and a place called Bull Pass. The rocks here were completely different than the rocks that we collected yesterday! Scott then flew us to the Airdevronsix Ice Falls. Scott set the helo down on a patch of ice next to enormous boulders! I can't imagine how he controlled the helo! We walked through the valley, collected rocks, took pictures. This part of the valley reminded me so much of the desert southwest in the United States. When we had completed our tasks, Scott flew us through The Labyrinth! The Labyrinth is a series of valleys and peaks. I would have taken photos, but I was hanging onto my seatbelt and screaming like I was on a roller coaster! Scott piloted the A-Star like Luke Skywalker piloted his starfighter in the final battle scene from "Star Wars"! We had asked Scott to fly us through The Labyrinth and give us a thrill and he sure did! Scott, you are truly Sky King to us! What a wonderful flight! ANSWER TO YESTERDAY'S QUESTION: An ice shelf is a layer of ice on an ocean. An ice cap is a layer of ice on land. The Ross Ice Shelf is the size of Texas! This is the ice shelf where you will find Ross Island and McMurdo Station. Much of Antarctica is covered by an ice cap. TODAY'S QUESTION: How many major ice sheets are there on the Earth? An ice sheet is similar to an ice cap. It is ice-covered land. Sharon
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