A quick catch up for those of you who have been wondering.  My timeline since the last post on this gem, which was a good while ago,  is as follows:

- Finished the Antarctic season with a couple more trips into the field complete with a plethora of weather delays, a beard competition where I earned a top spot for girthiest beard (an accomplishment I am extremely proud of), and a round of mustache roulette where I bid farewell to my title earning face blanket.

 Tried to build an igloo to pass time, but made it too big so never finished it. 

*Interesting trades may be considered. 

Spent some time in the Fosdick Mtns. participating in some crucial science supporting missions. A 3-4 day trip quickly turned into 3 weeks due to weather. 

Penguins and penguin poop everywhere at Cape Crozier.  

- Spent just a quick bit of time traveling around the Coromandel Peninsula on the N. island of New Zealand

A Coromandel view

- Returned to the states and had a tumultuous month of March deciding what kind of summer/life plans to make. Eventually, moved to Moab, Utah and worked at the Youth Garden Project http://www.youthgardenproject.org/ for a stint experiencing desert gardening and small community farmers' markets, and using my free time to grow an appreciation for more technical mtn biking, junk show boating trips on the Colorado river, and desert petroglyphs.

Just another desert sunset

- Currently I'm in the Pacific Northwest working on a partnership project hiking around the Alpine Lakes and Glacier Peak Wilderness areas searching for and mapping primitive campsites. I'm getting my fill of oatmeal and gorp, while gaining an appreciation for alpine lake swims, giant trees, wild berries, and letting my beard thrive in it's preferred environment of the wilderness back-country.

 A pic from N. Cascades NP

   Big Heart Lake.  One of my favs. so far this summer. 

- I finish in the Northwest in a couple of weeks and will then attend the sister's wedding and immediately afterwards head back down south to Antarctica for another season.

There you have it. Wonder no more.