Bringing Marie into a 6,800 Foot Underground Lab

(Reddit is weird when it comes to image captions so I'll narrate the images slide-by-slide in the body text :D)

I have the best job ever this summer - working at SNOLAB, a physics lab located in a mine 6,800 feet underground!! Of course I couldn't go underground without bringing my Marie plush at least once and logging my adventure :)

1: Marie and I in our mine gear all ready to go!!

Most of the mine is restricted and pictures aren't allowed, but to get down, we took a 4-minute ride on the cage (like a sketchy, very fast, and very dark elevator), then went on a 1.5-mile walk through the drift (the mineshaft).

2: Stepping back a bit: prepping Marie for the trip underground. First some foil to keep her warm and dry...

3: ...then stashing her in my lunch box to keep her clean. Mine air is pretty dusty, and we want to keep it out of the lab, because our equipment is really sensitive.

4: Anything you want to bring into the mine goes into not just one plastic bag...

5: ...but two, to keep things EXTREMELY sealed off to any dust.

Once we get into a part of the drift that belongs to the lab (called the SNOLAB drift), we're allowed to take pictures again. Marie had to stay in my bag to keep clean and safe - but I would never be caught without a mini-Marie!!

6: Mini walking with me through the SNOLAB drift.

7: Mini and I getting hyped at the SNOLAB double track - the end of the drift, and the entrance of the lab. The lab entrance is behind me, and I'm facing back into the (very, very dark) drift here.

8: Mini and I at the boot wash station! Fun fact - there's more dust on ONE of your boots after walking through the drift than there is in the ENTIRE lab. The double track is to my left, and the lab entrance to my right.

Once we get to the (much cleaner) lab, we have to shower to wash off any dust and get changed into clean clothes. After getting changed...

9: ...we arrive at the refuge with a stowaway :D

10, 11: Marie chilling in the refuge and the refuge meeting room.

12: Marie and I :)

13: The stowaway squid sister hanging out in another part of the refuge - the lunch room. It's like a real-life Alterna down here! (Not-so-fun fact - a bear got into the room on the surface where we get on and off the cage a few weeks ago. I'm serious.)

Marie wasn't able to come any further into the lab, because anything fabric can release tiny fibres into the air. Unfortunately, she's not the boss in this underground society, so she stayed cozy in the refuge the rest of the day while I did some work in the lab.

After packing Marie up again, heading back through the drift, and braving the cage back up, we arrive safe and sound at surface.

14: Marie after changing out of her mine gear, at the surface change room.

15: Marie ON the hook, exhausted after another great day in the ink mines. Don't worry, I brought her home :)

It's definitely pretty cool to say I own the Marie plush that has probably been the deepest underground. If you're interested, here's a video with [https://youtu.be/-PgVA2_yVEU](more footage), including clips in places I'm not allowed to take pictures in. If you're interested in physics or engineering, I can't reccomend applying to work here enough!! (one of my supervisors is into splatoon and it will be very funny if he sees this)

Thanks for joining Marie and I on our adventure, and I hope you had just as much fun as we did!! Stay fresh <3