100 and Done! (Countries that is...)

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We are back! This last trip brought the total countries visited to 100! It is a crazy milestone. It is difficult, time-consuming and can be (IS) expensive. After I got back from Antarctica in 2007, I started thinking about it. After 2010 I was thinking about it more (as I moved from NY to Georgia) and in 2014 it had become a real goal. Between Angie and I we have been to 109 Countries. We are tied at 100 countries each. We have 9 countries different in our lists. For example, I have been to San Marino. She has not. She has been to Israel. I have not, yet. There has been some fun competition in this area. That's why we had to establish rules. 1.) Must be listed (as a country) with the US State Department 2.) Being in an airport doesn't count. You have to get through immigration somehow and not in a DMZ or a no-mans-land 3.) A passport stamp is not required. I have been to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay without getting my passport stamped. There are friendly borders in many places...
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It turns out I don't have to go out to Taylor Dome for the put-in. I will be on a follow-on flight in an LC-130 (Herc). I don't know the day yet because I have not had my gear manifested yet. The tractors have been out there at Taylor Dome unvisited for the last two years. This is the begining of ITASE phase 2. The tractors similar to the ones pictured but much larger pull sleds with a mechanical shop, berthing, kitchen and the other absolute essentials. We have to get all the equipment ready for another traverse to for the rest of the season. They will be drilling ice and obtaining Ice core samples in key loacations that can provide valuable historical climate data for 100s of thousands of years. I have some radios to install. I am sure after two Antarctic winters there will be some other stuff to repair. My boss said that he noticed my ability to fix things so that is why I got the gig. There may be a lot of other stuff to fix besides radios. You do what you need to do in these camps.

I have to get up at about 3:45 AM so I can participate in a teleconference for 11:00 AM Eastern Time (Wednesday).

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