Today we cleaned up the Hab, and I daresay we got it shining pretty brightly. We took a ton of food over to the Whispering Sands so it could be put to good use, and not just sit here and spoil over the summer. Also, per tradition, we added our picture nametags to the front of our crew quarter doors. I authorized the crew to cover up Crew 27 tags, if they needed to find space (it was just a joke; Crew 27 was the one Alex had commanded -- his reaction was very amusing).

We put off our packing to the evening and went on that field trip. The crew chose to go to Goblin's Valley. The landscape was even more strange looking than what we have around the Hab. I have heard many good things about the place, and I was not disappointed. I hope to take my daughters there someday; I think they'd have a lot of fun bounding about the many "goblins" that litter the valley floor.

And that's it. Our turn is over, and we take our place with the 60 past crews that have once inhabited this outpost. We feel very blessed to have had this rare experience. Thank you, NASA and Spaceward Bound, for sponsoring us. Thank you, Mars Society, for building, furnishing, and maintaining this cozy Hab. Thank you, Mission Support and Engineering Team and Remote Science Team and Don Foutz for your valuable assistance throughout these past two weeks.

We'll be departing for Earth soon. This is the final log entry from the Mars Desert Research Station for this field season. So in closing, we have a parting wish to everyone back home:
Be Safe, folks. Have fun. And get it done. In that order is the key to a happy life.

Warmest regards from your friends on Crew 61!!!

Chip, Alex, Elizabeth, Irene, Pieter Jan, and Marcus