2005-03-18

Lessons Learned:

1. Sleeping more than an hour the night before a 7AM flight is a good idea
2. You can only open the driver's side to get out of Old Blue, both the front and back passenger doors on the right have broken handles
3. Anything can be fixed with duct tape
4. No matter what, after a long day sitting down to eat and talking with fellow crewmembers makes any place feel like home

So it's really happening. After a long and crazy night of packing and last minute make up work (and less than an hour of sleep), Kyle and I hopped in my mom's car at 5:15AM and headed to the airport (thanks Mom!). We met up with Jan shortly after entering the airport. Jan's bags went through security without a hitch, but my obscenely large suitcase and Kyle's gigantic black bag were overweight. We paid our fees without even flinching, because as you know, it is all in the name of science.

Our flight was pretty typical, and we all passed out from exhaustion minutes after take-off. We woke up from our nap in time to get the second round of snacks and sodas, and were impressed with the interesting terrain visible outside the airplane windows. Transitioning from Earth (Georgia) to Mars (Utah) was amazing. The rolling green hills of home turned to multi-colored patches then lastly to snow capped mountains and large blue bodies of water.

Salt Lake City is positively gorgeous. The air is clear, the sky is blue, and the mountains in the distance are breath taking. We waited with our 11 bags for the hotel van to pick us up from the airport. After arriving to the hotel and dropping off our bags we went outside to find the truck.

We didn't know quite what to expect with Old Blue. We timidly unlocked the driver's side and peered into the cavernous inside of the truck. The first thing that struck us was the message duct taped to the dash from Crew 32 with instructions on how to start the truck in cold weather. We slipped the key into the ignition and started her up. The truck started after a little coaxing, and we continued testing the brake lights, etc. We popped the hood and took a good look inside to make sure we had sufficient oil and coolant levels. The oil seemed okay, but the coolant was terribly low. It was around this time that we realized we were starving and decided to head in the direction of Airgas to find lunch.

Hungry, and on a mission, the three of us piled into Old Blue and took her for a spin. We found Airgas relatively easily, picked up our helium bottles (which were far lighter than we ever expected), and went to a local burger place for lunch. Two burgers, a veggie burger, fries, fried onion rings, and two milkshakes later we were happily well-fed crewmembers. We next decided to stop at Walmart to do our needed shopping.

We spent a long time traversing the Salt Lake City Walmart (which, by the way is huge) finding supplies for the Hab, ranging from a soldering iron to fabreeze. After our hefty purchase, while in the parking lot at Walmart, Jan and Kyle decided to repair Old Blue's inefficient coolant system in the true Georgia Tech style- with duct tape. Because the coolant tank was essentially a box with no top, the boys proposed and implemented a coolant containment system requiring the usage of a plastic Walmart bag to seal it shut and duct tape to hold it in place. Once the new system was installed we were satisfied and moved on to our next stop on the agenda: Home Depot. We purchased the remaining research gear and returned to the hotel.

After a short rest break at the hotel we drove back to the city for a little sightseeing and a tasty dinner at Olive Garden. We discussed the upcoming two weeks and decided on a few more items to buy at the grocery store tomorrow.

All in all, today was fantastic. We are worn out, so bedtime is early tonight, but we drift off to sleep with the tingle of anticipation of the exciting adventures to come. The remainder of our crew will arrive tomorrow, then we will drive to the Hab. What will the next two weeks bring? We don't know, but we can't wait to find out.

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2005-03-19, 1AM MST

Lessons Learned:
1. Shop at Walmart!
2. Check the oil in the truck
3. Be careful what you do with a tarp

Our trip to Hanksville can be summed up in one simple sentence: "you should consider yourselves lucky you made it this far." But I should back up for a second. Let me start at the beginning of our day. The journey began at the wee hour of... ten AM. Yes, we slept in. It was fantastic. Jan, Kyle, and I got out of bed and took our last full showers for the next two weeks. After a leisurely morning we found some lunch and headed back to Walmart to purchase our food supplies.

We had no trouble finding what we wanted at Walmart. Three shopping carts later we were ready to go. The entire bill was surprisingly much lower than any of us expected. Every crew should shop at Walmart for food supplies. It is also conveniently located near a Home Depot. After our shopping spree we drove back to the hotel to meet up with two more crewmembers: Rebecca and John.

John and Rebecca arrived on time and we proceeded to ceremoniously replace the plastic tie holding the truck keys together with an official GT key chain. We then loaded up Old Blue with another round of giant suitcases. Once everything was secured we took our final pictures and headed off toward Provo.

We took a short break in Provo to grab some dinner. Ironically the location of our dinner was at Town Center Mall. This is ironic because there is a Town Center Mall approximately 25 minutes away from where we live. Anyway, our dinner location served killer milkshakes, so crew morale was extremely high post mealtime.

It was now that our adventure truly began.

Wisely, we decided to get some gas before hitting the road. As Kyle was pumped gas he and Jan decided it was a good time to double check the oil level. The dipstick returned no signs of oil. They checked again. No oil. Kyle purchased two bottles of oil, and while attempting to fill up the truck the oil tank tube came completely off.

Completely shocked and appalled, all John, Jan, and Kyle could do was laugh. After they calmed down and placed the tubing in its proper location they checked the oil level again - and it finally returned something. They asked one of the gas station employees what to do. He simply returned, "you should consider yourselves lucky you made it this far." Jan bought a giant bottle of oil and filled Old Blue up until the oil levels were appropriate.

Satisfied and rejuvenated, we continued on our way. We made it about 5 miles down the road before we saw flashing lights in the rearview mirror. For the first time in his 23 years, Kyle was pulled over.

The officer asked for Kyle's license and the registration. Jan shuffled through the Pressurized Rover Log to find the appropriate paperwork. Kyle's conversation with the officer went something like this:

Officer: "Oh, a North Carolina drivers license with a truck with a Colorado license plate - "
Kyle: "Yes sir, with a crew from Georgia, if you can believe it - "
Officer: "I believe it. Where are you going?"
Kyle: "Hanksville. We are heading to a research facility to simulate being on Mars"
Officer: "Oh really?"
Kyle: "Yes sir, it is supported by the Mars Society. We are going out there to do various experiments in the desert."
Officer: "What's under the tarp?"
Kyle: "Our suitcases and gear."
Officer: "Oh, okay. Well the reason I pulled you over was because your taillights are completely out. The only light that is visible is the license plate light, and it's really dim. I wanted to make sure you guys weren't out here driving drunk with no tail lights."
Kyle: "Yes sir, I didn't realize that. We'll go to a gas station to take care of it."
Officer: "There is a gas station right up the road, but I don't think they will have light bulbs."
Kyle: "I think we'll go check out the problem anyway."
Officer: "That's fine, just make sure you take care of it soon. Okay, thank you. Have a good night."

The police officer stalks back to his car, and everyone in Old Blue takes a huge sigh of relief.

We drive up to the gas station to determine our problem. Are the light bulbs dead? Did we lose a fuse? We checked the lights before we left, and we didn't have a problem then -

As it turned out, our tarp completely covered the taillights. The entire crew erupted into laughter. After correcting that problem we attempted to start on our way again. But no, we had one more little crisis before making it back on the highway. Jan wanted some fresh air, so he had rolled down the window. Well, this was a big mistake. His window (the front passenger seat) came completely out of its groove and would not roll up anymore. Luckily Kyle and Jan were able to rectify the unruly window in 2 minutes flat.

The rest of the drive to the Hab was relatively painless. We saw a good number of deer, and we even drove through a few minutes of snow. At about half past midnight we finally found the Hab and moved our suitcases inside. The remaining members of Crew 36 were very pleasant and hospitable. Since most of their members had already left there were enough rooms for most of us to claim, and one slept in the loft.

Worn out and excited, Crew 37 (minus Doug) rests peacefully in the Hab tonight. Sweet dreams to everyone back at home! Tomorrow we say goodbye to the remaining members of Crew 36, meet up with Doug, and start getting ready to do our research.

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2005-03-20, 11PM MST

Lessons Learned:

1. "The best 4 wheel driving advice I ever got: whatever your instincts tell you, drive slower" - Shannon
2. Always make sure you have enough toilet paper
3. Never underestimate the power of good chili

Our day started around 6:30AM. Shannon, the Crew 36 commander, woke us up bright and early this morning. After a night of high winds and continuous rain the ground was saturated, leaving us with a busy (and eventful) day ahead.

After bringing in the remainder of our gear from the truck, we each took a tour of the facilities. Stacy took half of us, while Shannon took the other half. Everything was covered, from the GreenHab, to the generator, to the EVA basics. Doug was supposed to arrive around 8AM, so once Kyle and I finished our tour of the MDRS facility we hopped in Old Blue around 9:30AM and headed to the Hanksville airport. Shannon followed closely behind to begin her long trek home.

The dirt road was exceptionally muddy. Old Blue slipped along with Shannon trailing us. Kyle drove carefully while I monitored our speed and distance from the Hab with a GPS. We kept constant communication with Jan using Kyle's ham radio. Just when we thought we had cleared the most dangerous section of the road, and just before the turn back to the highway, we arrived at "The Hill."

"The Hill" was treacherous and steep, and definitely too muddy for Old Blue to handle in her 4 wheel high configuration. In attempt to make it up the hill she got stuck. Kyle tried to shift the truck to 4 wheel low, but it was to no avail. Old Blue would either sit in neutral or make grinding noises at any gearshift. After a good half hour of troubleshooting and help from Shannon, we radio the Hab to contact Don Foutz.

Don Foutz had saved Shannon from a similar situation in the past. He quickly drove away from the Whispering Sands Motel to rescue us from our plight. Crew 37 owes Don a huge thank you for saving our truck from the mud. He specifically instructed us to stay away from the dirt road if the rain started up again.

The whole ordeal took until about 11AM to solve. After we escaped the clutches of the evil muddy road we went to get gas for the recently rescued truck and buy a few last minute supplies (including toilet paper- something we definitely shouldn't be without!). It was right around this time that we heard Doug over the radio that he was approaching in 5 miles. Interestingly enough, although we were supposed to pick him up at 8AM, neither Doug nor Kyle and I made it to the airport until around noon. Doug had to dodge the dangerous weather, and Kyle and I had our issues with the truck. In the end, it was perfect timing.

Unfortunately after Doug landed we saw dark clouds looming in the distance. We knew this was a bad sign. Within minutes the rain started, and within 10 minutes the hail started. With this sort of weather we had no possible way of getting back to the Hab. The three of us went to the Whispering Sands Motel for further instructions from Don.

While at the Motel, we met Paul, the current Hab maintenance engineer. He informed us the rain was going to continue and that the ground would be soaked for a few hours, so we might as well find some lunch and get comfortable.

We went to a burger place and regrouped our thoughts about returning to the Hab. The rain subsided, and the sun eventually came out. We headed back to the Motel and rested for a few hours. Meanwhile, Stacy managed to make it out of the dirt road in one piece to leave for home, and the crew back at the Hab was busy running multiple out-of-sim tasks.

Later that afternoon we decided to attempt a drive back to the Hab. This time Paul led us through the mud. Doug drove and the road was relatively solid. We made it back just in time to see Rebecca and John filling the generator with gasoline and replacing the oil. Paul and Lee

The rest of the day was spent completing various chores and cleaning the second floor. Additionally, we found out some terrible news. Last night with the torrential rain and strong winds the cover for the Musk Observatory blew off and the equipment was soaked. The cover is now lodged incorrectly and we hope to reset it tomorrow. We are not sure on the status of the equipment itself, but we are a crew of engineers, so with a few hours and duct tape it should be as good as new, right?

As the sun started going down the crew returned inside. John and Rebecca made a giant pot of chili while I tried to make 6 cups of rice in the larger rice cooker. I have a good bit of experience with rice cookers on Earth, but apparently I'm not as good with them on Mars because I filled the container with a little too much water - and it started gurgling out of the top near the end of the cooking cycle. Luckily the rice was not ruined, and the chili turned out great. In the end our dinner was scrumptious, and everyone was quite pleased.

Tonight we are busy typing our reports and finalizing our schedules before we go into sim tomorrow night. A reporter from London will be arriving at 9AM, so we plan to wake up early and get a head start. We are having a great time out here, and we can only wonder what new and crazy adventure awaits us on the horizon.

Heidi Anderson
MDRS Crew 37