How to Minimize Their Worries

Tell friends and family you're planning on traveling around Europe for three months and you will likely elicit several "are you insane"s, a handful of "please don't die"s, and hopefully a few "oh wow, may I come along"s. People are going to worry. It's unavoidable, and while there's nothing you can do to stop it entirely (hey, people care about you, deal with it) you can minimize their concerns by being a conscientious and prepared traveler.

Share Your Travel Itinerary

Whether you prefer to meticulously plan your trip, or keep things flexible as you go, it is still beneficial to keep track of several vital details concerning your adventures. I have found that a Google Drive excel document is a great way to organize your thoughts and plans, as well as an easy way to share them with friends and family. You have the option of allowing for editing or just viewing privileges. When Rachel and I planned our 2012 National Park Road Trip, we had to communicate from different states and while on very different schedules. We could work on the same file independently or together as we found time.

My shared Travel Itinerary. Other tabs in file include Budget and Packing List.

Have Some Travel Experience

While this summer will be my first solo traveler experience, I have been around the global block a time or two. I would not feel comfortable going on this trip alone had I not spent years learning how to be a responsible world traveler during trips to Spain, Greece, Italy, South Africa, and Thailand. During my 2013 summer travels I hope to stay in hostels, CouchSurf, and do a little camping along the way, all of which I have used before as primary means of lodging. I made sure to update my CouchSurfing profile, and thanks to spending time as a host, I have several recommendations from surfers and fellow travelers.

I don't want to discourage anyone from going for their ideal vacation or any wild, exotic adventures.  Dream big. So big. But once you have your own grandiose plans for world domina...err, travels, then don't be afraid to build up to them. Or at least find a partner-in-crime whose experience you trust. 

What you want is a genuine comfort with both how your travels should go and, perhaps more importantly, could go. The best you can do is to show others and yourself that you can hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

Reconnect with Friends Abroad 

Part of my initial comfort with this three month long trek around Europe was the offer from a dear friend to let me crash at his flat in London whenever I needed. He became my safety net during early planning along with a built-in companion for several outings. My friend has since moved back state-side, but your safety net may still be living abroad studying, traveling, volunteering, turning in their dang work visa forms on time. Don't be afraid to dig down deep in your friend/acquaintance reserves, especially if they are also away from home. I messaged friends I'd studied with at different internships, friends who had lived in New Mexico, even an old high school friend who has been studying/living in France! She had lots of great advice to share. Don't underestimate how refreshing even a little bit of familiarity can be when away from home for long stretches of time.

Wild tree critters in Redwoods National Park.

Don't know anyone abroad yet? Now is the time to start looking for extra special guest stars for your adventures. I admittedly dropped the blog updating ball last summer, so you didn't get to hear about Rachel's and my visit from our friend Chelsea for a short leg of our road trip (Portland to San Francisco)! It was a real test to rearrange our mound of luggage in my car to leave a nook for our third party member, but Chelsea brought a freshness to our adventures (as well as lots of great rock tidbits). This summer, Chelsea has agreed to fly out and meet up with me in July! We're hoping to meet up in Vienna and make our way to Prague. We've known each other for years (and years and years) and when we were wee little Chelsea and Meridith, trying to coerce my parents into letting me go places/do things with the reassurance that "It's ok, Chelsea's parents are letting her go" was a bit more difficult. Now, instead of fearing I'll lemming my way off a bridge after her, they will rest assured (for at least a week of my journey) that I have another smart young woman to travel with.



Check in Occasionally

We all hopefully learned this lesson in high school right after finally getting that drivers license freedom we'd been craving. If Mom wants you to call and check in if plans change, then you had better do that. I don't know how my mother could ground me at the age of 26 from a continent away, but I know she has ways and I still fea...respect her enough to not cause her and the rest of my friends and family any unneeded, additional stress. Skype, iMessage, FaceTime, and even mail (e- OR snail) are all glorious modern marvels that can help facilitate communication provided you have WiFi (or postage stamps and patience).

Your parents (and/or other older relatives) don't know how to video chat? Sit down with them before you leave and help then set up an account and do a few trail chats. You do not want to try and walk them trough the process from abroad in the middle of a hostel common room. I plan on bringing my iPad along with me as my main means of communication and interneting, but if you don't want to drag along any extra technology in your pack try and find hostels/hotels that offer internet access or even politely ask your CouchSurfing host if they'd mind if you sent a few email updates or tweets to reassure those waiting to hear from you back home that you've lived to see another magnificent day.

Travel Insurance

I was admittedly on the fence about this purchase at first. Mostly because obviously nothing could possibly go wrong with my trip, right? A little bit of research and talking with other travelers led me to the decently priced World Nomads travel insurance. For three months of coverage I paid less than $200! As a general disclaimer, this choice may not be for you. Be sure and do your own research that incorporates your own destination(s) and planned activities. Don't forget to print out pertinante insurance information and keep it on your person while traveling!

Restart Your Blog!

A great communication tool, but also a challenge to keep up with, blogs can be a great way to share your adventures and lessons with readers at home (or elsewhere abroad). I admittedly do not have the most solid of track records with keeping up with this blog, but I'm trying and therefore nobody can criticize me. If blogging isn't for you, there's a myriad of social media outlets you can use to update everyone. Twitter. Tumblr. Instagram. Youtube. Facebook. Get creative! Of course, you do want to find a nice balance so you can experience everything and everyone around you.

Question of the Day:
How do you keep in touch with friends and family when living or traveling apart from them?

Eco-Inspiration 6: Confession

Alright guys, I have a confession to make.  I have never actually finished reading A Sand County Almanac.  Those of you who know the book are, I'm sure, instantly scandalized.  The much acclaimed work by visionary and Land-Ethic developer Aldo Leopold has been inspiring conservationists and green warriors since 1949.  I have owned not one, but two copies of this book.  I leaf through it and sort of treat it like poetry.  It is, after all, beautifully written.  But for some reason, I have never read it cover to cover.  I am always so moved and uplifted by Leopold's words, and I have decided that this spring I will read this book!  So, with blog as my witness, I will finish this book by the end of the spring quarter (June).  Once I have finished, I will report back with my feelings about the text and how reading it straight through differed from my cafeteria style readings of the past.  Anyone else want to read along?

In keeping with the theme, I thought I would share with you all one of my favorite passages from the book.  This is equal parts sad and inspiring to me, as it really sets into clear context what we stand to loose if we do not make concerted efforts at conservation.  I hope you enjoy it.

The last Passenger pigeon. Crd. Wikipedia

"Our grandfathers were less well-housed, well-fed, well-clothed than we are. The striving by which they bettered their lot are also those which deprived us of [Passenger] pigeons. Perhaps we now grieve because we are not sure, in our hearts, that we have gained by the exchange. The gadgets of industry bring us more comforts than the pigeons did, but do they add as much to the glory of the spring?

It is a century now since Darwin gave us the first glimpse of the origin of the species. We know now what was unknown to all the preceding caravan of generations: that men are only fellow-voyagers with other creatures in the odyssey of evolution. This new knowledge should have given us, by this time, a sense of kinship with fellow-creatures; a wish to live and let live; a sense of wonder over the magnitude and duration of the biotic enterprise.

Above all we should, in the century since Darwin, have come to know that man, while captain of the adventuring ship, is hardly the sole object of its quest, and that his prior assumptions to this effect arose from the simple necessity of whistling in the dark.

These things, I say, should have come to us. I fear they have not come to many.

For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun. The Cro-Magnon who slew the last mammoth thought only of steaks. The sportsman who shot the last [Passenger] pigeon thought only of his prowess. The sailor who clubbed the last auck thought of nothing at all. But we, who have lost our pigeons, mourn the loss."

Aldo Leopold, from A Sand County Almanac 

Last Word:  As I said, I find this rather sad quotation inspiring.  Perhaps you don't agree, but this is exactly the sort of situation I strive to avoid.  If you would like some more information about the Passenger pigeon, start with this pretty good Wiki article.  It is a truly sad story, but one worth knowing.  In related news, there are a few classic, popular ecological novels I've been meaning (literally for years) to read.  Silent Spring and the Sea around Us are at the top of that list.  Anyone interested in a book club via the blog?

What do you think?  Have you ever heard the story of the Passenger pigeon?  Have you ever read A Sand County Almanac?  Would you have any interest in an ecologically themed book club?  

EcoNews Round-up: April 1, 2013

Along the trail in Cache Creek Canyon Regional Park

Happy April!  I've got some fun things planned for spring on the blog.  Hopefully, you will see these coming up in the next few weeks (sneak peak of a new travel post via this pretty picture).  For the moment, I wanted to share with you all some more of the interesting science news I have been hearing lately, or at least thinking about lately, as some of it is not super-duper recent.  Spoiler alert, none of these are April Fools Day stories (or are they...).

This is a little less "breaking news" at this point, but I couldn't resist telling you guys about how amazing dung beetles are!  These little guys are using light from the Milky Way to navigate around their habitats!  The point of this navigation is to roll the dung ball (a precious resource!) away from the dung pad in as straight of a line as possible.  This helps the beetles avoid competition from their potential dung ball stealing fellow.  This Science Friday story is worth a listen for several reasons, not the least of which is the great explanation by the study author and the amazing mental image of a dung beetle wearing a Milky Way obscuring hat (just listen, believe me).  These sorts of findings are adding to the growing field of sensory ecology.  Researchers are learning about how organisms perceive the world, and how that world view, or umwelt, impacts the ecology of different species.  It's more than just cool facts too!  Sensory ecology can be used to help plan protected areas or understand the impacts of a new development.


I like this article mostly because of the title:  Somewhere Over the Brainbow.  Thanks NPR.  I'm also genuinely intrigued by the idea of a brain activity map.  Obama claimed in a speech that this project would help with the treatment of brain disease, specifically mentioning Alzheimer's Disease.  The story starts by comparing this project to another major government science initiative, The Human Genome Project.  It's an appropriate comparison, I think, but the brain is so complex results will likely be very slow in coming.  One issue brought up by the article that interested me was the argument against the project, which stated that such large groups organized by the government aren't the best for science.  In any case, I'm excited to follow the story!    

If you want to talk about Fracking,  pro or con, you should understand how it works.  Here is how these wells are supposed to work under ideal conditions.

For more on Fracking, check out the cover story for the March issue of National Geographic.  Here is another interesting article by Nat Geo about the same issue but centered in New York.  I would love to know some people's opinions.  Do you think Fracking has a place in America's energy future?  Not at all, or as a stepping stone to more green technologies?      

Last, here is an Ecological Society of America press release about one of my very favorite habitats:  the salt marsh.  Unfortunately, as the press release explains, these already threatened habitats are not doing too swell.  Specifically, on the east coast, erosion is slowly eating away at these valuable habitats.  This is due, at least in part, to some of the same food web processes discussed in the last EcoNews Round-up.  Another contributor to the erosion are drainage ditches meant to draw off standing water in the marsh and, thus, decrease the available breeding ground for mosquitoes.  It's a complex problem, but, as so many love to say, that's ecology.  It's always very interesting to see how human alterations to an environment have so many unforeseen consequences.  This is another excellent example of that phenomenon.

Again, I like to leave these news segments, which can often be kind of depressing, on an up note.  Check out this gem sent to me by a friend during finals week.  Love.

 Last Word:  I love these news round-ups because they encourage me to stay (at least a little) up to date on what is popular with the media.  One thing I highly suggest for those who aren't scientists themselves, is to check press releases from organizations like the Ecological Society of America.  They have trained scientific journalists writing these articles, so you are must more likely to get a does of quality scientific reporting

What do you think?  Is there a place for Fracking in America?  Do these news round-ups amuse or depress you?  Is there any sort of news you would like to see more of on this blog?  Probably, you just want more nerdy boys singing about beer.  I'm right, aren't I?