23 November, 1999

Polar Insomnia

Living in a land of constant daylight plays havoc with sleep. I've never been so aware of how cued I am to the sun rising and setting. Of course, I know this, but I've never really "gotten" it until now. Since I've been here, I don't think I've gone to sleep before 1:00 a.m. No matter how tired I am when I wake up in the morning, I'll get back to my room late at night with the sun beaming, and have a moment of, "Oh, no, I can't go to bed, it's the middle of the day". Then I'll lower the dark blanket over my window to convince myself sleep is possible despite the light outside.

Early this morning it happened again. The clouds had lifted, the sky was crisp and clear, and I was wide awake. Instead of arguing with my internal clock, I gave in, grabbed my camera and went out to shoot some photos. There's some quality about daylight at night, something slightly different about the stillness hanging in the air that lets you know it's not midday...

Mt. Discovery looms on the horizon.

These wheels are propping up an ordinary-looking orange van. Do you think = they would make for a bumpy ride?

The cross on the top of Observation Hill marks the memory of the men who = died on the failed Scott Expedition.