My Day In Antarctica
Copyrighted - Ann Hawthorne

My Day In Antarctica

Written by Heather Tucker

Edited by Matthew Green

Tuesday February 11,1997

Today was an extremely busy day. I woke up early and took a quick, refreshing shower after a night of no sleep. It is impossible to sleep at Palmer Station. I miss my bed at home. The cook then prepared us a delightful breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon.

After breakfast, I put on all of my protective gear. Antarctica can be a dangerous place. People there can suffer from frost bite, snow- blindness, etc. I made sure all of my clothes were warm and dry. I put on some sunblock and I was ready to go.

First, I decided to check on my favorite colony of Adelie Penguins. I put a few tracking devices on some Penguins ( they were so cute ! ). As I was putting the tracking devices on the penguins, I helped with the Live From Antarctica II broadcast. We showed the viewers how the penguins stay with their colonies and how they are "take charge" animals.

Next, the crew went on the Polar Duke. We took pictures of the colony of penguins from the boat. They turned out beautiful! I cannot wait to send them to my family. They will love them. The boat was so peaceful and it is so exciting to go out on it. Every time we got on it we had to take many precautions. Before we could even leave the dock at Palmer Station we had to make sure that we had our life preservers, an exta set of dry clothes, and enough extra food.

Well, it has been a really long day and I need some sleep. I cannot wait to get back outside and study my beautiful penguins again. I love my job! Well, Good Night!