More hikes and Palmer Station pictures.

A beautiful Antarctic sunrise. Looks like a leopard seal.

Hiking the backside of the Marr Glacier. There has been a large glacial loss since I was last here six months ago. 

The Antarctic continent is about 10 miles away. The mountains look eerie through the mist. 

The rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) Hadar pulled out for the winter.

A beautiful day on station.

Station backyard and Marr Glacier in the background.

The winterover's hall of fame with pictures of 50 years of winter crews.

Our 2018 picture is now hanging there. The carpenter made this fantastic frame depicting the station. I am in the back row fifth from the left.

A cool berg drifting by.

The chef asked me what my favorite dessert is. Just like my mom used to make - not too creamy or sweet.

A Saturday hike to Bonaparte the land to the left of Hero Inlet and the station.

Palmer Station on the far left.

Another cool berg.

The end of Hero Inlet.

A visit to an Argentine naval ship

When I left Palmer last October the backyard, shown here in front of the Marr Glacier, was covered in snow. It is a bit more difficult to traverse now. An Argentine naval vessel anchored in Arthur Harbor.

One of my favorite selfie spots - Mt. William in the background.

Another winter of working on this radio repeater at the top of Marr Glacier.

Five of us boated over to the ARA Bahia Agradable Argentine naval vessel for lunch. This ship was built in Russia.

Enjoying the barbecue lunch with the crew.

Quite the barbeque!

All nomenclature in Cyrillic.

The Bahia Agradable is home-ported south of Buenos Aires. They conduct science on the Antarctic Peninsula.

There were nice elevated views from the ship.

Flying the American flag.

The Marr Glacier face with Mt. William to the right.

What a great barbeque! We were given leftovers to bring back to Palmer.

Departing the ship.

What a nice crew!

A field trip to Humble Island

I have been uploading my Palmer Station videos to YouTube. On the settings (the small gear on the bottom right side of the viewing screen) select HD for the best quality.

https://youtu.be/TsnSUmlDs8E The Lawrence M. Gould cruising to Palmer.

https://youtu.be/gxXSCIWzI8E The Lawrence M. Gould cruising to Palmer.

https://youtu.be/fFt1-FiBSpc Cruising through the Neumayer Channel, Antarctica.

https://youtu.be/2EbeleGD6dM Cruising through the Neumayer Channel, Antarctica.

https://youtu.be/U4o6Fbd0-qQ Arriving at Palmer Station.

https://youtu.be/EHQZFen8jyE Arriving at Palmer Station.

https://youtu.be/u7A03jHL3dg Crab eater seals.

https://youtu.be/PJyZbSygorA Adelie penguins.

https://youtu.be/uPdppCT6G6o Adelie penguins.

https://youtu.be/3dmOY-VMR_g Adelie penguins.

https://youtu.be/xJlHNpP34ss Giant petrel chicks.

https://youtu.be/31Zw-vpG6Kc Marr Glacier.

https://youtu.be/90v3x7T0aRA The Gould departing for Punta Arenas, Chile April 5.

There is a leopard seal on the prowl so these crab eater seals are taking refuge on the boat dock.

Heading to Humble Island, a protected island full of birds.

Adelie penguins.

Fur seals with Palmer Station and the Gould in the background.

A fur seal pup.

A giant petrel chick covered in down.

Our task for the afternoon was to pick up a petrel chick from it's nest, place it in a sack and weigh it. I wrote down the weights for 28 chicks.

 A parent feeding it's young.

Lots of giant petrels - the largest bird in the Southern Ocean. They circumnavigate Antarctica. 

These chicks are about 3 months old and average 13 pounds. They stay on the nest until they can fly. 

Fur seal yoga.

While returning to station we did a bit of sight-seeing along the Marr Glacier face.

The station from Arthur Harbor.

The Gould departing with the summer crew to Punta Arenas, Chile. The Gould will return in two weeks.