Final preparations

My visa arrived from Paraguay, phew! I was getting worried that not only would I not have the visa but that the embassy would still have my passport when it was time to fly! The cryoshippers arrived from Alaska this week also. These are large metal containers with an absorbent core. The core absorbs liquid nitrogen and can stay cold for up to three months! They are packed in a 55-gallon blue plastic drum. I just hope we can make it through security. The airline nor TSA could give me any guarantees though I have exception letters from the manufacturer. Other things are rolling right along, even the packing, ugh! Thanks to a big help from Dad, I managed to squeeze all the gear into eight (yes, 8!) containers to be checked as baggage on the plane. Brett, my major advisor, took four of them today on his way to Paraguay. The picture is the field truck packed with the gear I used in Texas this spring at Anahuac NWR (http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/anahuac/index.html). I sense your disbelief. Obviously things have been streamlined.... A LOT! Wish me luck. I'll relax once I am on the plane.