Snow and cold was something appreciated by this gentleman after years at the Atigun Pass, the topmost area of the Trans Alaska Pipeline. Upon hearing about the alumni association of his local university’s plans to venture into an Antarctic expedition just last summer, this gentleman, a retired civil engineer, shivered with so much excitement. Such a plan, for me, is marvelous. Antarctica, holding the title of being the coldest and least hospitable place on the planet has mesmerized both real and armchair sort of explorers. Continue reading →

I wait for a break in the raging waves before doing my thing after stepping down the gangway of the cruise ship with care. I settled into a small rubber boat with one quick stride. Just after a few minutes, our small group of explorers bounced through amazing objects, like a napping seal and chunks of brilliant blue ice. My boat stops finally at a rocky shore so I put my legs above the zodiac to get to the northern area of the Antarctic Peninsula. Continue reading →

The farthest-south living animal is a pink mite. It measures around 1/100 of an inch in length. Fungi and algae are what the arachnid uses for its own sustenance. An entomologist from Hawaii recently discovered this mite only 309 miles from the South Pole. This same scientist also found lichens only 266 miles from the Pole. That’s as close to the Pole as life has ever been found. Continue reading →