Sinaliarpok (Goes to the edge of ice)
Saturday, 7 March 2004
Cheerleaders and SunbowsA month and a half, and four "Storm 2's" later, I'm really beginning to appreciate what "cold" is. The past weekend's excursion was canceled due to weather alerts, and aside from lunch, I don't think I was able to get out of the dorm for more than a few minutes.
This weekend on the other hand was quite the opposite. Last night (Friday), we had the Jacksonville Cougars cheerleader team out here, performing on stage at the club. Midway through the show I got dragged up to the stage with 4 other folks, taken to the back and "transformed" into the Indian of the Village People! We had to dance out front with the girls and the mascot karaokeing to YMCA... mama mia!
Anyway, the this morning (Saturday), we went out on Trek 2, this time to "the Secret Place" and the old abandoned BMEWS (Ballistic Missile Early Warning System) site. First, the secret place is only so-called because it's one of the most known go-to places around Thule. It looks over the bay and over to the glaciers and mountains on the other side.
At BMEWS, which is said to be haunted, we only made it in to 2 rooms before we had to turn around. Not because of blocked doors, but because it was so cold inside that our hands were actually beyond numb. But what we saw of the insides was cool enough anyway, and we're already planning a return trip in the summer. However, outside was unbelievably warmer than inside. Not but 2-3 minutes outside and the hands were warmed up again… very odd. Leaving earlier though yielded a first view of a "sunbow". It's similar to a rainbow, but the colorful bow circled the sun, barely touching the ground.
I'll let the pictures speak for themselves... thanks for reading, and write when ya can!
Dan