Searching “the Beach”, a moraine bordering the little ice tongue at Davis-Ward (below Mt. Ward; the Davis Nunataks are in the distance. See the roughest of the Davis nunataks, second from the right? Camp is that-away, about 5 km away).
Today, despite colder and windier weather than yesterday, we completed the systematic searching of the big ice tongue! We are very excited about this because it is the culmination of over three seasons of fieldwork, and it is an honor to be a part of it. We also had time to commute over to another section of Davis-Ward nicknamed “The Beach”, for the thick blanket of rocks on the ice. We recovered about half a dozen meteorites at The Beach before the wind picked up and we ended the workday about an hour early.
Jon and Robert preparing a meal. That’s not a sepia-tone filter; the yellow outer walls of the Scott tents lend a cheery (but very monotonic) theme to the restaurant setting.
Spirits are very high and we’re all doing very well – it’s been six days since the entire team was put into the field and the camp has found a rhythm. One of the things that ANSMET team members look forward to after a day in the field is making and eating dinner. We generally make dinner by tent, but dinner parties between tents happen too. Ending the workday a little early today allowed tents a little extra time to make meals. In our tent, Jon and Robert had black bean & veggie soft tacos with hot sauce brought from home and grilled cheese with hot sauce from McMurdo respectively. Tomorrow night will be Robert’s Big Burger night –the hamburger patties are thawing now. There are no hamburger buns, but English muffins will suffice. Lauren and Erin made pesto chicken with veggies and rice on the side. Cooking rice at altitude took a little getting used to, but they’ve got it figured out now. They enjoy meal prep time a lot – when I knocked on their tent they nearly didn’t hear me because the music and chatter was so loud. Tonight, Minako and Daniela experimented with a dish of meatballs, potatoes, and vegetables. They were not wholly satisfied with the result, and it made them think of another meal they enjoyed earlier in the week. Daniela put together shrimp quesadillas with bacon, corn, cilantro and oregano for her tentmate. Delightful!
— Jon (making us hungry) from Davis Ward