Travel Plans and Upcoming Research

With a couple hundred pounds of equipment and supplies stuffed into several full-sized roller bags, PDXWildlife is about to begin the Summer/Fall research season in Sichuan, China. Even though we’ve managed to turn this trip is this a “family” research event, Meghan and I still have separate itineraries flying in opposite directions. A small detour of ~7,000 miles is taking Meghan to a behavioral conference in Lisbon, Portugal a few days before Dee and I cross the Pacific for Sichuan, China. Meeting in the Chengdu airport on the evening of August 3rd, we will then spend a few weeks in the small mountain town of Gengda to open up the reintroduction and weaning research to Zach and three new interns. With no time to waste, we will then travel back to Chengdu on August 20th to welcome in three more interns to continue the research being conducted at Bifengxia.

As Dee begins 2nd grade at the end of August, I will remain at Bifengxia to finish training the interns while they return home. Near the middle of the month as my trip comes to an end, Pandas International has a large tour group coming through Sichuan and I will be glad to see some familiar faces. Six weeks of travel is double our usual length, but with such a busy itinerary, it promises to go by very quickly. As the saying goes- Off to the races!

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The schedule is packed to the max, but I’m sure that we will get plenty of updates out on our progress. Be sure to check our blog and Facebook posts for more info on our whereabouts. As always, feel free to send us your questions by commenting below. See you in China.

7 Comments

JoAnn Mann on July 27, 2017 at 2:41 pm

What a wonderful opportunity for your daughter!!

Nathan on July 27, 2017 at 8:08 pm

Hi JoAnn,

We’d love to have you visit BFX sometime. I try to push interested parties to travel during the holiday months as it’s quiet, dry, cold, and less expensive. I’m currently organizing my November-December trip as we just finished interviewing all the intern applicants.

Thanks-

Frances Aronson on July 27, 2017 at 4:20 pm

You seem to have all your packing and traveling down to a science, as it were. I’m looking forward to your reports about the new programs in Gengda, and to meeting up with you in BFX. I followed your suggestions and got both Hep A and typhoid shots and we’ve all been emailing about packing and things to bring and all that good stuff (my packing is not down to a science–I suspect there will be many bag selections and packings and repackings in the next few weeks.) Bon voyage and see you soon!

Nathan on July 27, 2017 at 8:06 pm

Hi Frances,

I’m looking forward to seeing you and the group. Packing… Oh man! I began packing our bags 4 weeks ago, but I tend to be a tad obsessive in making sure nothing is missed. Our living room is the real tragedy given that it remains in constant disarray. Stay in touch.

Nate-

Frances Aronson on July 28, 2017 at 11:16 am

My living room is always a mess, and the rotating pile of possible bags and backpacks and pillows and batteries and etc., which I have been assembling (or piling) since we started talking about the trip for real several months ago, has only added to the fun. Eventually I will have to reduce the piles or I won’t have anyplace to pack the suitcases I’m actually taking. You, of course, have much more to take and much longer time to plan for being away, so obsessiveness is not necessarily a bad trait!

Nathan on July 28, 2017 at 8:36 pm

I’m fairly confident in most of our luggage being able to make it to our destination. However, there is a curious restriction on checking lithium batteries. The airlines state that you MUST pack them in your carry-on. Hopefully they don’t mind that I am bringing 384 lithium AA’s that will power our field cameras. If anything is to cause a holdup in security, I’m certain this will be it. Oddly enough, the only hiccup that I have ever had going through airport security was in 2006, when a pair of finger nail clippers slipped behind the webbing of my roller bag. I can get away with quite a bit with my daughter in tow. Fingers crossed.
- Frances Aronson on July 28, 2017 at 10:36 pm
  
  Yes, I think Dee will be a very helpful distraction! That’s a lot of batteries. They don’t want them in the unpressurized cargo area because they sometimes burst into flames, I think. I have a fairly hunky one that will recharge a phone and/or iPad a couple of times that I’m hoping they won’t object to. I read in one of the travel forums that one guy had hid taken, even though he had the box for it, because it didn’t have the specs printed on the battery itself. I think that was in China, not here. I’m guessing you’re carrying all sorts of things that the TSA might be puzzled by. Good luck!

JoAnn Mann on July 27, 2017 at 2:41 pm

What a wonderful opportunity for your daughter!!
- Nathan on July 27, 2017 at 8:08 pm
  
  Hi JoAnn,
  
  We’d love to have you visit BFX sometime. I try to push interested parties to travel during the holiday months as it’s quiet, dry, cold, and less expensive. I’m currently organizing my November-December trip as we just finished interviewing all the intern applicants.
  
  Thanks-
Frances Aronson on July 27, 2017 at 4:20 pm

You seem to have all your packing and traveling down to a science, as it were. I’m looking forward to your reports about the new programs in Gengda, and to meeting up with you in BFX. I followed your suggestions and got both Hep A and typhoid shots and we’ve all been emailing about packing and things to bring and all that good stuff (my packing is not down to a science–I suspect there will be many bag selections and packings and repackings in the next few weeks.) Bon voyage and see you soon!
- Nathan on July 27, 2017 at 8:06 pm
  
  Hi Frances,
  
  I’m looking forward to seeing you and the group. Packing… Oh man! I began packing our bags 4 weeks ago, but I tend to be a tad obsessive in making sure nothing is missed. Our living room is the real tragedy given that it remains in constant disarray. Stay in touch.
  
  Nate-
Frances Aronson on July 28, 2017 at 11:16 am

My living room is always a mess, and the rotating pile of possible bags and backpacks and pillows and batteries and etc., which I have been assembling (or piling) since we started talking about the trip for real several months ago, has only added to the fun. Eventually I will have to reduce the piles or I won’t have anyplace to pack the suitcases I’m actually taking. You, of course, have much more to take and much longer time to plan for being away, so obsessiveness is not necessarily a bad trait!
- Nathan on July 28, 2017 at 8:36 pm
  
  I’m fairly confident in most of our luggage being able to make it to our destination. However, there is a curious restriction on checking lithium batteries. The airlines state that you MUST pack them in your carry-on. Hopefully they don’t mind that I am bringing 384 lithium AA’s that will power our field cameras. If anything is to cause a holdup in security, I’m certain this will be it. Oddly enough, the only hiccup that I have ever had going through airport security was in 2006, when a pair of finger nail clippers slipped behind the webbing of my roller bag. I can get away with quite a bit with my daughter in tow. Fingers crossed.
  - Frances Aronson on July 28, 2017 at 10:36 pm
    
    Yes, I think Dee will be a very helpful distraction! That’s a lot of batteries. They don’t want them in the unpressurized cargo area because they sometimes burst into flames, I think. I have a fairly hunky one that will recharge a phone and/or iPad a couple of times that I’m hoping they won’t object to. I read in one of the travel forums that one guy had hid taken, even though he had the box for it, because it didn’t have the specs printed on the battery itself. I think that was in China, not here. I’m guessing you’re carrying all sorts of things that the TSA might be puzzled by. Good luck!