Thursday, August 26, 2010
As the blog title says, my name is Sharon, and I want to go to Antarctica!
I’m not one of those people who’s wanted to go there since they were a kid. My obsession started about 5 or 6 years ago. That is when I started following the journal of a guy working there who goes by the name McPenguin online. He was working over the winter at McMurdo Base. Through his writing about the place and photos he posted online (both his, and ones from the shared drive down there) I discovered that there was more than I thought to Antarctica.
I’d always pictured it as being just cold and dark (winter) or cold and white (summer). But no, I was wrong. The dark? It’s not just black. With no light contamination you can see more stars than you thought possible, and the Aurora Australis? Puts every Northern Light show I’ve ever seen to shame. In the summer, the ice down there can be so beautiful. Shades of blue & turquoise that I thought was reserved for the tropical waters of the Caribbean. And it’s not lifeless. There are whales & seals & birds. And yes, penguins.
My thirst for knowledge about Antarctica and the people who live there grew. I started reading blogs of people stationed at Amundson-Scott (aka the South Pole). I read books, and news articles. And I knew, I wanted to go there!
By chance I happened upon Quark Expedition’s last contest, “Blog Your Way To Antarctica.” Alas, the winner was determined solely by vote count and had little to do with actual blogging ability. Still, I tried. Out of almost 600 entrants I managed to climb to 22nd place.
The contest running now, Adventure With Julie To Antarctica, is pretty much the same thing except that they will take the top five vote recipients and choose from them. I’m still sitting at about 25th place, slowly gaining votes, but not getting any closer to the top five. If you’re reading this because you took the time to click on my blog link, but haven’t voted yet, PLEASE vote for me, and tell your friends.
I don’t have a cool picture of me with a dolphin or orca or other marine mammal, because I’ve never been close enough to one. I don’t have a picture of my kid and a story about “I’m not entering for myself” because I don’t have kids yet and I am entering for myself. I don’t have a cool picture of me with with an exotic cat because the only time I’ve ever gotten to pet one I was only 2 years old so that picture doesn’t even look like me (and I don’t even remember it!). I don’t have a picture of myself on top of a mountain because I’ve never climbed a mountain. Heck, we don’t even have mountains here in Minnesota!
Yes, all those people probably have more travel cred, or experience, and they will love the trip. But me? Winning this trip would quite literally be the trip of my lifetime. There is no possibility of me getting to Antarctica any other way. If I make it there I will look at it through the lens of my camera, and share it with my blog readers every step of the way.
Do you want to see Antarctica? Vote for me and if I’m selected to go I will produce a PDF for download that chronicles my journey, as inspired by the great Kyle Cassidy:
Arizona iPhonetography, In the Desert Without Fancy Equipment (Or A Signal)
Never Been Lost, A Wyoming Travel Diary
California Velocity, Five Days on the Right Coast
Gratuitous picture of me with an exotic cat:
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