Travel

Our Visit To Antarctica

We just returned from the beautiful black and white frozen world of Antarctica. We sailed from Valparaiso, Chile aboard the Holland America ship the Zaandam. Our route took us along the coast to Chile to Ushuaia, Argentina, the southern most city on earth, our last port before departing for a week in the Antarctic. The Alacalufe people who settled the area lived nude. They stayed warm by covering themselves with whale oil.

Sailing through the Straights of Magellan our route took us through Glacier Alley and past Cape Horn. It technically isn’t a cape in that a cape is a projection of a land mass and the horn is simply the end of Horn Island. Here more seamen have died that any place on earth. In 1905 there were 105 ships lost here. At this point we passed back and forth across the dividing point where the Atlantic and the Pacific meet. Each time we crossed the captain sounded the ships horn.

The next eventful six days we glided among icebergs, some more that 150 feet in height and larger than the Zaandam. Among the abundant wildlife we saw seven varieties of whales, three vanities of seals, nine kinds of albatrosses, and seven kinds of penguins.

Our first sighting of a penguin rookery was amazing with over 5,000 pairs. Soon we saw rookeries 10,000, 100,000 and the largest 125,000 pairs. Neighbors, but set apart were Magellanic, Adelie, King, Emperors, Chinstrap, Rockhoppers, and Gentoo.

A phenomenal act of nature seldom observed occurred within a hundred yards of our ship as a pod of twelve Killer whales attacked, killed , and devoured in a feeding frenzy a baby Humpback whale estimated to weigh two tons.

We were fortunate to have on board as lecturers two world renown Antarctic authorities, both of whom had spent decades visiting and working in this frozen world. As additional sources of information twelve members of the American Palmer Station came out on Zodiac to share. America has three stations in Antarctica: Palmer, McMurdo, and South Pole.

Guy Guthridge spend 35 years with the National Science Foundation and was the engineer who oversaw the 1,000 mile ice road from McMurdo to South Pole which required four years. Also lecturing was Chris Wilson, also a long time member of the NSF with years of Polar experience who was instrumental in some of the more important biological experiments at the Pole.

In conversations with them I learned they believe in global warming. Now I do also. However, I don’t’ share their belief that it is man cause. I believe it is part of a natural cycle. The Polar Peninsula has warmed 6 degrees in the last sixty years. I asked if there was a part of the Antarctic where ice was increasing. They said it is on the east coast of the continent. The reason is the melt on the west side puts more moisture in the atmosphere that produces precipitation on the east side causing the build up. That seems more like a shift.

As a chaplain for Holland America I spoke eight times and conducted my first burial at sea on this cruise. Last year on a similar assignment we went to the northern most city of Europe in the Arctic Circle. The Bible speaks of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth and I now have done it.

As a child I was enthralled by the study of such far away places as the Straights of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Cape Horn, Drake Passage and the Antarctic. Having now been there, they comprise a vivid memory. Therein are these further thoughts.

The waters at the tip of South America where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet is considered the roughest in the world. The fifteen foot waves we experienced were enough for me, but no means major for the region. This coupled with the icebergs, bergies, and growlers made for excitement. To be classified as an iceberg one has to stand a minimum of 16.5 feet above the sea. A bergie is less in height, but more than three feet above water. A growler is less than three feet.

Compounding these challenges ours was the last passenger ship of the season in these waters which were already beginning to freeze over. All this made for an exhilarating voyage.

Penguins, which abound, though in some regions they are threatened by climate change, are fascinating. Not all line up and march great distances across the ice to nesting sights like the Emperor penguins in “March of the Penguins.” Some burrow in the ground and nest in seclusion. Some build their nest out of rocks.

Insights into the South Pole defied some of my preconceptions. I had never heard of the Polar Plateau. Its summit is over 9,200 feet above sea level. The South Pole does not move, but each new year the post marking its location has to be reset in that the shifting ice moves the marker about 30 feet. To actually get to the Pole requires a flight of slightly more than two hours from Ushuaia, Argentina that costs $3,000 and only one third of the flights get to make it. There is no cancellation refund.

The National Science Foundation South Pole Station houses 150 in summer and 25 in winter. Most of the year’s supply comes in on one ship each year. The staff eats well. Weather permitting staff members have an annual race around the South Pole.

The buildings are an engineering marvel. Snow drifts build up around buildings, eventually covering them. Current facilities are built on telescopic stilts which can elevate the entire facility ten feet twice, thus extending the life of the facility to over thirty years. They have to be able to stand winds up to 160 mph. The average January temperature is minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit though it gets much colder. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica was -128.6 F at Russia’s Vostok Station, July 21, 1983.

Staff members have a gym, library, spacious dining hall, extensive kitchen, and very nice living quarters.

All waste matter is removed from Antarctica, even the rinse water from washing the dishes. Over five million tons a year come out to California to be recycled. Almost all food comes by boat. Ships entering polar waters have to use a special light weight diesel in the event there is a leak. No heavy fuels can be on board.

Thirty nations are active signatories of the Antarctic Treaty. Serving as chaplain on a Holland America cruise to Antarctica, I have had the good fortune of conversations with some of the foremost scientists conducting experiments there. Their dedication to their isolation is admirable. Many conclude that when the Lord made “heaven and earth and the sea” He did a masterful job. Our visit to Antarctica leads to the same conclusion.

Our recent visit to Antarctica provided insight into a frozen world. The beauty and distinctive character of the terrain kept our minds off the challenge of navigating the area. There were days our ship had to reverse and reroute due to ice having closed the intended channel. At other times we changed course because winds in the intended channel were to strong. It was a learning experience like few others. Some little know facts about Antarctica are:

The Ice Fish has no hemoglobin. It has antifreeze instead, thus it can live in these cold waters.
The animal with the largest brain of any on earth, the sperm whale, lives here. Its brain weighs approximately 20 pounds. It is also the deepest diving of all whales with the capacity of diving 3,300 feet.
There are sub-surface mountains, lakes and rivers in Antarctica.
Two-thirds of the ammonia in earth’s atmosphere is produced by penguins.
The shoreline of many of the islands and parts of the continent gives the appearance the water line has dropped many feet. The opposite is true. The melting on the large glaciers that once covered many areas has melted and the removal of the weight has caused the land mass to rise.
The marker noting the exact South Pole moves about thirty feet per year as a result of the shifting ice and has to be returned to the true Pole center each new year.
October 31, 1956 the first airplane landed at the South Pole.
Lockheed specially equipped C-130s and C-17s provide the primary survival links to the outside world. They are equipped with a unique landing gear and sleds instead of wheels. After parking on the ice for a while if the ice is seen to be sagging, they are relocated.
Workers stationed at the Pole have an annual race around the Pole. They celebrate all holidays and weather permitting play ice games outdoors at times.
Women constitute thirty percent of workers at the South Pole.
Antarctica once had plant and animal life. Fossils are found at scattered sights.
Cape Horn isn’t really a horn. A “horn” is defined as a projection of land and the mountain called Cape Horn is merely the end of Horn Island. Early sailors misnamed it cape.
The classic poem “Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” was inspired by the waters around the Horn.
The polar plateau is 9,200 feet in height.
Antarctica constitutes 90 percent of earth’s natural ice. Less than one percent of the continent is ice free. At one point the ice is one and one-half miles thick.
At times it is so cold that if boiling water is thrown in the air it vaporizes.
A compass at the South Pole shows only north, there is no east and west.. Planes have to navigate by coordinates.
In 1978 the first human baby known to be born in Antarctica arrived.
Inability to get out of Antarctica during one hard winter resulted in the resident doctor removing his own appendix with the aid of mirrors.
Some ice is blue and some pink. Age, size, and weight filter out certain light wave links causing this phenomenon.
Antarctica displays the grandeur of the Creator’s capacity to ice sculpture.
The renowned seaman Earnest Shackelford, who sailed these seas, said Antarctica reveals the soul of man. It also displays the grandeur of the Creators capacity to ice sculpture.

Where am I?

I am at 71° 10′ 21″ N deep in the Arctic Circle among the Sami people. Here in the Land of the Mid-night Sun I have just sailed by the North Cape, (Nordkapp), the northern most point in Europe. The North Cape is a captivating large stone mountain that rises 1,000 feet above the North Sea.

At this season of the year the earth is tilted on its axis providing the Summer Solstice. Sunset: 12:00 PM and sunrise: 12:00 AM allowing twenty-four hour days with no nights. The people who live here maintain their same schedules all year long without considering if there are 24 hours of daylight or dark.

Nearby is Hammingsvag, Norway, the northern most city in Europe. Here only the Svalbard Islands are between you and the North Pole. As a chaplain for Holland America Cruise Lines I sailed here on the Ryadam. The journey involved 4,000 miles of sailing from Dover, England along the coast of Norway through open seas and beautiful narrow fjords. Along the way of this fourteen day journey were intermittent stops at lovely Norwegian cities and small ports tucked away at the end of narrow fjords.

First mention of the Sami people was in AD 98 by the Roman senator, orator, and historian Tactius. The Sami are indigenous to Northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and part of Russia. Years ago as immigrants began to move into their region in order to change them the interlopers found the Sami lifestyle so appealing they adapted to it. For years they have been know as “the reindeer people” because of being reindeer herdsmen. By invitation they introduced reindeer ranching to Alaska. They have their own language and parliament that presides over them in the parts of the four nations they inhabit. On a broad scale the Sami have embraced Christianity.

Because of the northern location of Samiland, also known as Lappland, at certain seasons they enjoy the beautiful spectacle of the northern lights known as the aurora borealis. It is nature’s best light show.

The region is also known for having what is called fata morgana. As used by the people of the region the term describes a strange phenomena caused by the pure cool rarified air of the region. It results in objects appearing to be much closer than they are. It gives a two dimensional view with no depth, thus a flat appearance distorting distances. It is a mirage effect.

Norway was for years considered one of Europe’s poorest countries. In the early 1960s oil exploration was begun which resulted in the first strike in 1996. Production began in 1998, transforming the country into one of the most prosperous in Europe. We sailed through vast areas of the North Sea that was dotted with oil rigs. Vast oil and gas refineries are located along the countries long seacoast. They are using the latest technology to insure safety and avoid disasters such as the Alexander Kielland disaster in 1980, that killed 123 people.

Large artistic roadways cross the country. Numerous tunnels along the way can be seen that make villages formerly inaccessible by land open to the interior. Many of these are more than a mile long.

Norway can serve as an example to America as to what indigenous oil and gas can do for a nation’s economy without a threat to the environment and people.

Colorful Colorado

Entering the domain of nature in Colorado around the time of the Autumnale Equinox is like entering the territory of dreams. These timeless mountains give the feeling of walking through another dimension. Fall and winter are having their honeymoon. The old season is slowly acceding to the new. The landscape seems to settle into a quiet that will blanket it for months.

These mountains hold secrets silently. Deep history steeped in lore brings to mind the outlaw life of men of this land, such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, whose relatives still live here. As with most myths and legends your imagination can be transported into the timeless past. This is a conclave of the mystical and historical.

From brushy draws to timbered mountain tops the sound of bugling elks echo through the eastern sky. Of all the sounds that elevate one’s soul the most beautiful is silence.

Some views are made all the more resplendent because they are paid for by cold sweat even in the snow. Getting here is a pilgrimage. Mountains grace the horizon. The summit gives up an unforgettable view of untracked vastness. Here your eyes can feast on a mosaic of red, yellow, garnet, and gold. These windows into the region, wild and serene, give occasion to pause and allow your mood to be governed by the views around you. This is a place of the heart.

Even the grays, as artist Guzman noted, form a couch on which all color sits. If you don’t have the grays, you can’t get the luminosity of the colors. There is a life’s lesson there.

The cold temperature gives the lungs a cryovac-like sensation. You know nature is about to engage in a slow slumber. It is worth every effort to avoid missing a single moment of this fading beauty which can be taken with you in the encroaching colorless days. As autumn and winter struggle for mastery of each day, it is obvious winter will prevail.

My spirit experienced two contrasting emotions simultaneously. Elation and humility found occasion to be compatible. The result was lines from “America the Beautiful” flowing though my mind.

“For purple mountains majesties above the fruited plain! …
“God shed His grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea…
“God mend thine every flaw, confirm thy soul with self-control, thy liberty in law! …
“God shed His grace on thee till selfish gain no longer stain the banner of the free!”

I came to this country hunting wild game and found far more. In this remote region where antique machinery rusts and buildings decay I found treasures far greater than the gold extracted from these hills. The treasured thoughts deposited in my memory bank will pay dividends all of my life.

And then the hunt! Few things compare to the comradery of hunters gathered in the early morning just before individually embarking on what each is certain will be a successful adventure. Hydrated and happy they sally forth often to return only
with a cachet of memories —- good ones.

So inspired my soul, if not my body, will scale these heights many times.

Find your own quiet place, any place and let your spirit soar. Do it often. There is strength and stability in serenity.

Magnificent Montana

To be in an idyllic place for an ideal purpose is to be twice blessed. Such has recently been the experience of my wife and me. First the place.

For ten days we have retreated to Montana on the eastern slope of the western continental divide. The beautiful home made of antique reclaimed logs riparian on the chortling Big Hole River, one of Montana’s blue ribbon trout streams.

Here deep history is steeped with lore. Nearby is the only place Lewis and Clark on their national epoch exploration are known to have stood. The Beaverhead Rock which when seen by native American Sacagawea on August 8, 1805, as she guided the Lewis and Clark expedition identified the area where her native tribe spent their summers. The battlefield where General John Gibbon mercilessly attacked Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce in 1877 is also close by. Tipi rings and buffalo jumps are reminders of a bygone era.

Majestic and historical conclaves abound. Ghost towns dot the high plains harboring hidden history, and the spirit of classic pioneer communities such as Bannack, Virginia City, and Nevada City. All served as capitol during their gold rush era.

Mt. McCartney, the tallest free standing mountain in North America, keeps guard on the ranch. From the slopes of the mountain indigenous animals view the Hilton Head size ranch. Along the river in the marshes moose browse while on the high desert the deer and antelope play. On the mountain ridges two large herds of elk graze. Bald and Golden eagles sore overhead while pelicans, yes pelicans, glide along the river’s surface. The primordial cackle of Sandhill cranes pierce the air. Bears, wolves, coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions are often seen and heard. The flora adds to the monochromic landscape: Lupine, Indian Paintbrush, Columbine, and Arnica abound.

Fifteen feet drift boats with full rowing/fishing frames float the highly fishable waters of the storied Big Hole River.

Now the purpose. This is a place one’s spiritual self meets God’s glorious earth. The more the conscious mind becomes captured by the beauty around you the freer the subconscious is liberated for creative contemplation. The setting gives occasion to explore oneself on an introspective journey inward. Here elevated thoughts can breath freely.

For several years I have taken student athletes and coaches from Shorter University to Montana for a week of Christian leadership training. When I was Chairman of the National Board of the Fellowship Athletes my friend Harvey Gainey who was Vice Chairman from Grand Rapids, Michigan established the ranch. He developed a large part of it as a Christian retreat. At his expense he provides a free week for students from thirteen universities.

Among Shorter athletes attending were members of our men’s basketball team that finished the season number one in the nation, our three time National Champion cheerleader squad, our National Champion Girl’s Softball team, members of our men’s indoor and outdoor National Championship track team, and our girl’s basketball team that finished with the second highest GPA in the NAIA in the nation.

The purpose is to equip these athletes to inspire and encourage faith among teammates and all students. They are intended to be spiritual catalysts on campus.

Ensconced in the mystique of the old west the majesty of God elevates one’s spirit.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Robert Leroy Parker, AKA Butch Cassidy, and Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, AKA the Sundance Kid, were immortalized in the film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” featuring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Reality immoralizes them.

Lonabaugh got his name from the ranch where he stole his first gun, horse, and saddle in Sundance, Wyoming. He adopted the name while serving his prison sentence for the robbery. Parker got his name as a result of having been a butcher. Recently I visited one area where the two hung out for a time and visited with relatives of Cassidy. The area is known as Brown’s Park or Hole located in the northwest corner of Colorado bordering Wyoming and Utah along the Green River.

What follows is mostly their account of their outlaw ancestors. According to them they were not killers, but for a time were members of the “Wild Bunch, many members of which were killers. They liked the area for many reasons. One was they could easily move from state to state and wait for things to cool off in the vacated area before returning. Repeatedly they were not killers, but ranch hands and robbers. They would not steal from people who employed them. As a result ranchers were willing to pay them top dollar to work for them. People in the area were intrigued by them and looked after them. If a lawman was coming to the area local citizens would warn them and they would hide out in the vastness of Brown’s Hole.

Out of gratitude Butch and Sundance would throw a big Thanksgiving feast for the community going to the extreme of importing exotic foods such as oysters and other seafood. Relatives give this account of their demise which is contrary to the film.

The movie depicts them as being killed in a shootout in Bolivia. Not so, say relatives. They assert they never went to Bolivia. It was a time when photos and printing presses were not common so their profile was not well known. However, there were a couple of men who passed themselves off as Butch and Sundance. Using the stolen image they got a lot of favors because of their popularity. They are the two who went to Bolivia and were shot in the gunfight.

Relatives tell of Sundance and Butch being seen in America several times after the Bolivia shootings. Again this is the story of relatives. The real Butch and Sundance reputedly lived out their days and are buried in the state of Oregon. I report — you decide. The notoriety of these two has made them old west icons. In reality they were bad dudes who were an embarrassment and grief to their families.

The mother of Cassidy is described by relatives as weeping over her outlaw son as she worked in the field. There is little or no pride in them among relatives today. It is a strange thing that we tend to lionize our villains and demonize our virtuous heroes.

Think about that including those who are alive today.