Adam does his best Grizzly Adam(s) impression in Kashgar. Dressed all in fur, he's ready for the Siberian winter.
[Photo by Neil Dana]

Journal by Nancy Olson

Howdy, ya’ll. Well, here we are at Kashgar, just puttin’ in time. It’s another waiting game, and not one of us is anxious to do any waiting. We want to get home to friends and family before the holidays so we don’t have to spend another Christmas and New Year on the road. But, since we have to have China license tags and permits, we have to wait until their big national holiday ends. As it turns out, today is the last day of their weeklong celebration. I’ve still absolutely no clue what it is they’re celebrating…

Anyhow, most today’s action occurred in the final hours of the day, with the early hours being quite mundane. My day started out with some Internetting, followed by pizza and apple pie at an American-run dining facility known as the Caravan Café. There, Todd and I conversed with our new friends from Canada and Australia before bidding them farewell. They’re hopping on a train for a 20-hour ride to another section of China.

Meanwhile, Neil and Colin bought up all the cold-weather Chinese Army surplus they could find in preparation for our impending advance into the frigid tundra of Russia and Alaska. Like two schoolgirls, they took turns modeling their new digs for Chanda and me. Neil has a knee-length, green army coat lined in sheepskin (or maybe it’s yak?) with a dark, furry collar (looks like beaver, but it must be rabbit or mongoose?). To match, he bought fur-lined, camouflage, Converse-looking Army high-tops and a big, soft, floppy rabbit-fur hat with tie-down ear warmers. Truthfully, since he loves them so much and wants them to last forever, he bought three pair of the boots.

Colin has been collecting big hats for a while now, and we made his final addition to the collection today with the purchase of a gigantic Chinese People’s Liberation Army hat. It’s green on the outside, with seriously thick brown fur on the inside. It’s a lumberjack-style hat with the fold-down ear covers, and this one is also adorned with a flap of fur that can be pulled down to protect the wearer’s nose. Of course, he also bought the matching jacket and trousers, with the PLA insignia still attached, illegally, to the jacket collar. He had to promise the frightened lady who sold it to him that he wouldn’t wear it inside of China. His most-prized purchase today was a uniform belt with a gleaming PLA buckle, red and gold on silver.

Finally, in the evening, the most important event of the day occurred. We’re still trying to get used to it, and it might take a while to sink in: Justin Mounts, our teammie, pilot of D4, medic, navigator, and PR guy, departed this morning. He’s heading home to Kansas to take part in his brother’s wedding, and we won’t see him again until Alaska. It’ll be weird, and we’ll miss him.

I’ll take over most of his jobs (thanks a lot, Justo), and Todd will take over his vehicle. So, for the next leg, it will be just the seven of us. Lucky for all of you back home, Justin will still be in touch through the Saturday journals and photos he will continue to produce for us.

Take care out there,

Nancy

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