May 24, 2007

Well, old man winter is having a good laugh and I'm starting to think it's personal. He’s hanging on like you wouldn’t believe! We stopped for dinner last night before going back to the tepee because the weather all day was cold, gray and dreary. We're not very fond of cooking in the shed while freezing our butts off. After dinner we drove home and before we knew it, it was snowing gangbusters. We headed straight for the shelter of the tepee with our laptop and a movie in hand to occupy our time until we went to bed. That’s our form of entertainment on occasion when the weather is crappy (no internet, or satellite TV at the tepee you know). 2 hours later the battery on the laptop ran out just as the movie was climaxing! Bummer! Oh well. We’ll just have to finish watching it tonight. So we peeked our head out the tepee door to check out how much snow had fallen. Holy snow! 6 inches had fallen and it was still coming down strong. So at 10:00 at night we put on our boots and grabbed a shovel and broom to dig out the tepee and sweep the snow off of it. It was a heavy snow which makes the poles creak under the weight and we were a little worried about it caving in. I was sweeping snow off the tepee and having a good laugh at the circumstance. Here it is almost Memorial Day weekend when outdoor pools are supposed to open for the summer and we’re 6” deep in snow! We didn’t need to experience the winter months in the tepee because we ARE experiencing it now. Kirk and I laughed and agreed that sometimes even we think we’re crazy!! I have to say that I haven’t regretted a day though because I know someday I’ll look back on this time while sitting on my comfy couch in my warm living room watching the snow fall outside with a smile on my face...remembering the “pioneer” days of our lives.

On another note, the other day I received a forwarded email from my friend here in BV. It was an email from a guy who is currently wintering at the South Pole. It was really interesting to read his email and have flashbacks of writing about similar experiences and feelings to my friends and family. It was also funny that I had already seen some of the pictures attached to his email because I am still in contact with a few people that are currently wintering with him as well. Small world! That email brought up a conversation between Kirk and I. We talked about how we don’t have a lot of nostalgia about the Pole. We read these things and look at the pictures and say to ourselves, “Yep, I remember that”. And then we think, “Thank God that I’m not there anymore”. One of our friends is the PA at Pole again this winter which will be her fourth. She is the only woman to have wintered four times! Apparently I am one of 19 women who wintered twice. I read that on her blog. Goes to show you that I'm part of a small pool of other crazies. It's good to know I'm not alone. Hee hee! If you’d like to read more adventures from the Pole go to www.homelessheidi.blogspot.com.