11 December, 2000

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Greetings,

This last Saturday night I was offered the use of the Hut. I was a little hesitant, but everyone said that I would love it. The Hut is a small one-room shack on the edge of the glacier. There is no heating, plumbing or electricity. The one thing that the Hut does offer is peace and quiet. I took them up on the offer because I knew that the readers of this journal would want me to.

So on Saturday night around 11pm I headed out to what residents at Palmer call the backyard for an evening at the Hut. I took a book, alarm clock and a bottle of water. The Hut is about a quarter of a mile from the station. Climbing over rocks and through snow I came across what looked like a large doghouse. I opened the door to find a sleeping bag and a pillow. It was rather dark inside since a previous occupant had put up a blanket for curtains. It was windy so I climbed in and shut the door. It was about 6 foot long and about 4 foot high and 3 foot wide. I took off my coat and shoes and explored my surroundings. A realtor would describe the property as rustic or possibly a fixer upper. I called it quaint. I heard several large crashes later as I was reading my book. I looked out the window towards the glacier. It was calving. Large sections of ice were falling off of the glacier and hitting the ice. The sound was similar to a huge booming noise that would shake the little one room shack.

I fell asleep and awoke around 9 am. This was my first and probably only opportunity to sleep in. It was very quiet other than the glacier, comfortable and exciting sleeping out near the edge of the glacier. It was a blast.

On Sunday morning I ran a set of chlorophylls and made plans to do a little sight seeing in the afternoon. A group of us went to Torgersen to visit the Adelie penguins, then to Loudwater cove and finally to Old Palmer and the Ice Cave. One of the most exciting parts of the trip was the sighting of a Leopard seal taking a nap on an iceberg. Every other one I have seen has been in the water. As we drove by he looked up at us with mild interest. I spotted several penguins nearby trying to decide if it was safe or not to jump in. It was a great day.

Today we had visitors on station. Come back tomorrow and see who came by.

C-Ya,

-- Bill

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<fontfamily>Times<bigger><bigger>Greetings,

This last Saturday night I was offered the use of the Hut. I was a little hesitant, but everyone said that I would love it. The Hut is a small one-room shack on the edge of the glacier. There is no heating, plumbing or electricity. The one thing that the Hut does offer is peace and quiet. I took them up on the offer because I knew that the readers of this journal would want me to.

So on Saturday night around 11pm I headed out to what residents at Palmer call the backyard for an evening at the Hut. I took a book, alarm clock and a bottle of water. The Hut is about a quarter of a mile from the station. Climbing over rocks and through snow I came across what looked like a large doghouse. I opened the door to find a sleeping bag and a pillow. It was rather dark inside since a previous occupant had put up a blanket for curtains. It was windy so I climbed in and shut the door. It was about 6 foot long and about 4 foot high and 3 foot wide. I took off my coat and shoes and explored my surroundings. A realtor would describe the property as rustic or possibly a fixer upper. I called it quaint. I heard several large crashes later as I was reading my book. I looked out the window towards the glacier. It was calving. Large sections of ice were falling off of the glacier and hitting the ice. The sound was similar to a huge booming noise that would shake the little one room shack.

I fell asleep and awoke around 9 am. This was my first and probably only opportunity to sleep in. It was very quiet other than the glacier, comfortable and exciting sleeping out near the edge of the glacier. It was a blast.

On Sunday morning I ran a set of chlorophylls and made plans to do a little sight seeing in the afternoon. A group of us went to Torgersen to visit the Adelie penguins, then to Loudwater cove and finally to Old Palmer and the Ice Cave. One of the most exciting parts of the trip was the sighting of a Leopard seal taking a nap on an iceberg. Every other one I have seen has been in the water. As we drove by he looked up at us with mild interest. I spotted several penguins nearby trying to decide if it was safe or not to jump in. It was a great day.

Today we had visitors on station. Come back tomorrow and see who came by.

C-Ya,

-- Bill

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The Hut.

leopard seal on ice.

Leopard seals eat krill and penguins.