7 November, 1997

Hi Everyone,

I have finally made it to Antarctica.  It is the neatest place that I 
have ever been.   It is just the opposite of hibernating in the dark of 
the northen hemisphere since the sun is up all the time.  The sun just 
rolls around the horizon so it is light out.  Last night it was so light 
that I could go searching for food at midnight. You know what?  There is 
no food here for me to eat in the wild.

I had to get up at 2:30 in the morning in New Zealand to be at the 
airport to come to Antarctic.  I arrived here on a very large cargo plane 
known as the C141.  It was like sitting in a can of sardines.  They had 
placed all kinds of cargo behind us and then they used two rows of 
benches with backs made out of straps and people on both sides of the 
benches.  With about 62 people and the pilots and of course me, we set 
off for the highest and dryest continent on earth.  The plane does not 
allow people or bears sitting on the benches to see out on our 5 and a 
half hour journey.  I mostly slept since it was a little like my cave 
back home.   On stepping on the continent, I could see high mountains 
around the edges that are covered with large ice sheets.  I could see 
nothing but white no matter where I looked.  Even the water here is still 
frozen so there are no penguins or seals or even fish for me to eat.   
The mountains have large valleys that are filled with rivers of ice that 
can be seen flowing down to the sea.   It is really very pretty and looks 
a lot like water color pictures that one sees hanging on a wall.  I 
really like it here and everyone is so friendly.