Wilkes

I'll keep my explanations breif, and allow the photos and the captions to tell the story of Wilkes and our overnighter spent there last week.  It was only a very short stop over, as we left Casey after work on Thursday, and were back in time for an eight am start on Friday.  If you're interested in a brief history of the place, check it out on Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilkes_Station.

Wilkes is an abandoned US station only about 1/2 hr quad ride from Casey

The veiw of Casey Station - looking back towards to west on the way to Wilkes.

Beautifully basic.

Inside the Wilkes Hilton.  It's one of the most roomy huts about Casey.  Basically one big room, fire in the middle, bunks on either side, and a basic kitchen at the far end.  Great for a weekend get-away.

Some of the junk left behind by the Yanks.  Curry powder looking good, the cold keeps it looking good.  The story goes that the waste from Wilkes was simply pushed onto the sea ice in the winter and let foat out to sea as the ice breakes up and disperses in the thawing summer months.  It's said that the bottom of the bay is littered with tonnes of rubbish accumulated over the time Wiles was operational.  The above photo shows top of the main living quarters and other buildings - buried almost in their entirety. 

Photo of the same area in 1957 (soursed from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilkes_Station).  I suspect this is looking in almost the opposite direction to the last of my pics above.

This little fella approached us.  He came within about a meter and a half. 

We hung about with him for a while, as he checked us out.

Drifting by...

Wonderful lines left by years of wind and snow.  There are plenty of examples of this about Wilkes in the abandoned oregon cladding boards, it would have been good to gather some up and create a little something.