Back to the "Deep South" in Duluth GA

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I get a kick out of hearing the term "Deep South" in 2026. It is a crazy incredibly outdated label. I think maybe I should start saying the "Deep Northeast". I am a Yankee. My family came over on the Mayflower and moved to Upstate NY via Connecticut. Terms used in the revolutionary and Civil war days are generally inappropriate. My family is all but totally out of NY State now. I find the term "deep south" to be of the same thinking that the movie "Heidi" is what contemporary Europe is like. It is a long drive between Berkshire, NY and Duluth, GA. Most of the 35K miles on the truck were spent in between. I drove the truck about 3k miles in 2-1/2 weeks. It was great to spend time on the farm. It was good to make some progress on needed repairs and improvements. I also felt good about making some new friends up there. I will be back up there in August.
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I am getting the sense of the convergence of folks going to the ice. I can sense the community coming together. It is almost October. This month marks the begining of the primary exploration season for the last 200 years. There are friendships being renewed and there is optimism to create new friendships. Through email activity you can see that it is rapidly approaching showtime for the austral summer on the ice. The show seems to start in earnest around Halloween. I am thinking about what books I will take with me. I think I will leave the books about Antarctica at home. I suspect the Mactown library is full of them. I have received my agenda for training in Denver although the dates are not set yet. I will not stop thinking about the Heroic age of exploration and the different eras of exporation in Antarctica. I suspect (next year as a matter of fact) that we are entering the next era, the era of participatory exploration. Where tourism is harnessed as part of exploration. This year It is exciting to be part of the Technological Era of exploration in Antarctica.

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