Bowermaster’s Antarctica — The Weddell Sea

by Jon Bowermaster on

We’ve moved to the other side of the Peninsula, the eastern edge of the five-hundred-mile long finger jutting out of the continent, into the Weddell Sea. We tried to get in here last year, by sailboat and kayak, but were shut out. The winter of 2007 had been a particularly cold one, even by Antarctic standards, and the entry to the Antarctic Sound had been blocked long into summer by a pair of giant icebergs, each tens of miles long. That blockage, combined with a lack of wind, meant that where we had hoped to paddle – circumnavigating Vega and James Ross islands – was choked by frozen sea, passes between the islands still filled by one and two year old ice.

This year is very, very different. The winter of 2008 was warmer and windier and even though we’re a day away from the official start of summer, much of the Weddell is already clear of the same kind of thick pack we saw last year.

That said, it is never a picnic over here. Though sunny and bright, I take a long walk today and nearly lost the tip of my nose to frostbite. The biggest worry here, this time of year? Sunburn. The combination of the atmospheric ozone hole and all the bright snow, ice and sea that surrounds means sun block is as necessary as Gore-tex.The landscape on this side of the Peninsula is very different. The islands are short-hilled and rust-colored, stark. Other than a solitary Argentine base, there’s no one around for one hundred miles, and you sense that remoteness. Only a couple of the dozens of tourist boats that prowl the Peninsula each austral summer comes here. More than 100,000 sizable bergs calve off the Antarctic continent each year, about one-third of them come from the glaciers lining the Weddell Sea. Remember in 2002, when a chunk of ice the size of Rhode Island dramatically broke off from the Larsen B ice shelf? The Larsen B is just south of where I am today and some of that ice and its brothers and sisters are still grounded here. As I write I’m standing alongside a flat-topped berg a few stories tall and at least two miles long.

The ice here is different too. The sky is bright blue, the wind howling at thirty to forty miles an hour and I spend the better part of an hour looking through a spotting scope towards Seymour Island, following “the pack” being pushed by wind and current. It is miles wide, floating on the surface, exactly what you would not want to get caught in. Imagine being surrounded by a fast-moving pack tens of miles wide, unable to escape. You could be stuck for days, or worse.

The Weddell’s icebergs are mean and tough too, none of that soft, slushy stuff you might see at this time of year on the western side of the Peninsula. Hit one of these, and you’ll suffer. They are extremely hard, toughened by years of extreme cold and wind, often studded just below the surface by giant, sharp continental rock. Even the name of the water here is ominous – the Terror and Erebus Gulf – named for a pair of historical wooden sailing ships that first risked exploring the region.

At the north end of the channel, I take a longer walk on Paulet Island, known for its 100,000 pairs of nesting Adelies. There are so many birds it is nearly impossible to clamber up the boulder-strewn beach. Beneath many of the adult birds peek the first chicks I’ve seen this year. As the day goes on, the sky grows evermore blue, the winds stronger.

Click HERE for more dispatches from Antarctica!

With Obama as president, will Americans get a warmer reception overseas?

by Aaron Hotfelder on

That’s the question posed to Rolf Potts over at World Hum, and I think his response hits the spot. More than anything, he takes issue with the question’s premise– that Americans aren’t treated very well when they travel abroad. He writes:

“As disastrous as the Bush presidency has been for America’s international reputation, individual American travelers have been doing just fine on the road. I’ve traveled more or less nonstop for the past eight years, and I can attest that people the world over are pretty good at discerning individual Americans from American politics.”

For what it’s worth, according to a new survey by STA Travel of 10,000 students who have traveled abroad in the past year, over 41% of respondents believed that the Obama presidency will improve American travelers’ experiences abroad.

Perhaps. Most of my fellow international travelers were certainly happy about Obama’s election on my most recent trip, and they congratulated me that my country had finally shown some “good sense.” But I can’t say their kind words about my country’s most recent presidential election really made my trip any more enjoyable. I was, after all, still asked to answer for this.

Read Rolf’s whole answer here.

Photo of the Day (1-21-09)

by Jamie Rhein on

Titled “Afternoon Snack,” this photo by Patrick Powers is a modern day still-life. What a study of light, colors and shapes that capture the mood of a Sunday afternoon in California. The photo was taken at the Ritz-Carlton. Wouldn’t Rembrandt have loved the subtle light on the people in the background and the glint and shimmers of the glass?

If you have an image that would make an art master proud, send it our way at Gadling Flickr photo pool. It could be picked for a Photo of the Day.

Undiscovered New York: Staten Island’s Snug Harbor

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Welcome to Undiscovered New York. This week we’re returning to one of New York City’s least-visited tourist spots: Staten Island. Despite its reputation as the “Forgotten Borough,” Staten Island is home to some of New York’s most delicious food, unique sites and friendly residents. Not least of these sites is Snug Harbor.

Originally founded as a residence for aging sailors, the sprawling 83 acre grounds of Snug Harbor are host to a majestic collection of 19th Century Greek Revival buildings, interesting art museums and serene botanical gardens. What’s perhaps most amazing about this fascinating site is just how easy (and cheap) it is to get here from Lower Manhattan. A scenic (free) ride on the Staten Island Ferry plus a quick 10 minute bus trip and you’re there.

Want to get lost in a hedge maze and an authentic Chinese garden? How about some panoramic views of New York Harbor and the city’s skyscrapers? Click below to go inside Staten Island’s Snug Harbor.
Snug Harbor Grounds
The centerpiece of Snug Harbor is the site’s beautiful 19th Century architecture. A complex of five buildings comprise the area’s main focal point, with the huge Randall Memorial Chapel as the anchor. Each building presents a front of soaring columns and a spacious portico in a style similar to that of the ancient Greek temples. On all sides the buildings are surrounded by other unique landmarks: an original wrought-iron fence, an 1890’s zinc water fountain and some beautifully manicured grounds.

The careful placement of each building along with the landscaping have led many visitors to describe the site as reminiscent of a college quad. The whole scene, taken together, represents a surprising oasis of calm in the typical hustle and bustle of New York City.

Staten Island Botanical Garden
Also on the site of the Snug Harbor complex are the Staten Island Botanical Gardens, one of the more interesting landmarks in the area. Kids will be easily entertained by the Connie Gretz Secret Garden, one of only a handful of European style hedge mazes in the United States, and one that is modeled on the well known children’s book, The Secret Garden. The maze winds its way to a miniature castle, complete with its own drawbridge and moat.

The gardens are also home to The New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden, a unique Chinese-style space modeled on the famous green spaces of the Chinese city of Suzhou. The beautifully landscaped courtyard with pond, terraced rocks and authentic Chinese pavilions was constructed by 40 artisans brought in from Suzhou to ensure accuracy and authenticity.

Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art
With all the beautifully preserved architecture and authentic gardens, one could be forgiven for thinking Snug Harbor is purely a historical sight. But in fact, Snug Harbor is also home to one of New York’s many galleries of contemporary art. The Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, a Smithsonian-affiliated museum that is home to around 15,000 square feet of gallery space. Depending on when you pop in, you’ll be treated to exhbitions by a diverse range of artists, ranging from both the international to the local.

Weird things in the woods

by Jamie Rhein on

The website for hunters www.ifish.net has a page devoted to weird things hunters have found in the woods. Browsing the comments where people describe what they’ve found on their outings reminded me of the cow bone in our freezer.

I think it’s a cow bone. My son saw it on the side of the road in Montana between Anaconda and Philipsburg. He popped out of the car to get it while we were waiting at a road construction site road block for our turn to pass. It’s in a plastic bag in our freezer until we do something with it. Bleach it?

Once I found a cow skull in New Mexico when I was hiking with a friend who said he knew where to find cow skulls. I was looking for a skull for my brother, although, I can’t recall exactly why.

Bones aren’t all that can be found in the woods or elsewhere in the middle of nowhere. One person wrote on the weird things page that he found a bathtub filled with dirt nailed to a tree. He suspected it was for growing “wacky tobacky.”

Another person found $100 tucked in a pair of women’s underwear. That’s something. Someone else found remains of a moonshine still.

One of my great uncles once told me to be careful when I was visiting him in Knott County in southeastern Kentucky where he lived. I was heading out on a walk in the woods so he warned me about not coming upon a place where people are growing pot. According to him, pot was growing everywhere in those Kentucky hills. My uncle was a bit of an alarmist so I’m not sure about the accuracy of his statement, but it stuck with me.

Sometimes one can find the remains of hunters in the woods. Not the hunters, actually, but what they’ve left behind. Near where my father lives in New York state, there are two hunters’ cabins that are in the process of decay. Each summer when we visit, my son insists that we head through the woods to access the progress of ruin.

The roof of one of the one-room structures is almost all gone, and the floor has broken through in places, but the stove is still there with a pan still on it. I always wonder who used it and why did they stop coming.

This topic of weird things in the woods is one that could bring about a spine tingling novel or a short story. When we come across a thing in the woods like a bone or two –or a shoe, or a cheap plastic comb, we wonder about the story that happened before we arrived. “What happened here?” we ask. In the above photograph, this abandoned Navy bus is rotting in the woods near Bangor, Maine. The text underneath the photo also begs the question, “What in the world is it doing in the woods?”