Field notes from May 28-29:
Yesterday we left UB for the wild Mongolian countryside. Sue, Chimga and I caught a flight from UB to Moron. It was about an hour late, but we eventually got to Moron and got some food supplies from the black market. Moron is a good sized, dusty, dry town that happens to be the closest one to fishing camp with an airport. It is also Chimga’s home town!
We decided to stay the night in Moron and embark on our 7 hour jeep ride to the remote fishing camp on the Uur river early this morning. This turned out to be an excellent idea, as our driver had to stop multiple times and check various parts of the car, including the brakes, on the drive out. Roads are defined in rural Mongolia as a place where someone drove their jeep before you, so the ride was pretty rough. But the scenery was beautiful. It reminded me so much of Montana that I sometimes had to consciously remind myself of where I was!
When we finally got to camp, Sue and I, and some others from camp, hiked up to the top of a nice hill behind our gers (circular canvas homes unique to Mongolian nomads) and got an amazing view of the whole valley and river. It was a nice way to end the slightly stressful and tiring expedition to get to into the field. The ger is incredibly comfortable and warm and I’m looking forward to a great night sleep, because tomorrow we get to work!
Best,
Grace
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