This reminds me of messing around in Lithia Creek, in Ashland, and seeing the the red, rusty deposits where the Lithia water entered the waterway. There was this hideous sulfur smell, too. We used to stare, horrified, as the tourists took deep swigs of the stuff from the fountains on the plaza. Eww.

Wouldn't that be kinda like drinking from Old Faithful? Yeah, eww.

Two friends of mine had a Lithia water drinking contest to see how long they could drink for. They both got to 5 minutes, but one threw up.

awesome! I recognized it immediately. It's over in the Dry Valleys, which is about 30 miles from where I am living. Alas I have only seen it in pictures.

Thought of you when I posted this. How inhospitable is the terrain up there? I would certainly love to see something like that in person if I was anywhere near that area.

I don't think it's too bad over there. We have a bunch of field camps and since it is so close to McMurdo it's easy to get people in and out should a problem arise. There is even wifi out there. Probably one of the worlds most remotest hotspots!

http://antarcticsun.usap.gov/science/contenthandler.cfm?id=1765

http://antarcticsun.usap.gov/pastIssues/2004-2005/2004_12_26.pdf

http://antarcticsun.usap.gov/science/contenthandler.cfm?id=1409

Er, down there.

Oh damn, lucky you, you get mad BRAGGING rights. I would ask you to send me some mail, but since I already have mail from Antarctica (from McMurdo), its not so vital...

I'm wondering about the multi-colored stripey thing in the lower left corner. What do you suppose that is?

Initially I thought maybe a bit of a massive, subterranean Habitrail, but then I figured it might be a ventilation shaft or some structure related to a nearby geological facility? Looks like it's a popular place for research, according to the Wiki article.

It doesn't show up on google maps, assuming I'm looking in the right spot.

Then again, it appears that it's positioned on the frozen surface of Lake Bonney, so I dunno.

haha, I assumed it was something like a slinky or other kid's toy. I guess I initially missed the fine print noting that it was in Antarctica... probably not a whole lot of random toddlers running about.

It's a tent of some type. That area is a pretty popular research site.