Ian's off on an 8-day river expedition with about 10 other 9th grade students this week. They were planning to spend one day driving, 6 days canoeing and then one day driving back to UB to paddle the Orkhon River ... but plans changed at the last minute (which is soooooo Mongolian!). The plans had to change to a different location a lot closer to Ulaanbaatar because there is a shortage of diesel fuel in Mongolia at the moment. You can read about it here, if you like. The new destination was selected to be the Tuul River, with put in near Terelj National Park. This trip is a true expedition, as the group is paddling for a few hours each day then setting up camp near the river bank each night. They are not staying in a camp ground, nor do they have vehicle support following them. Yikes! Thankfully Ian has prepared well by attending many Boy Scout camp-outs and has had survival training. I am anxious to hear all about this trip when he gets home on Saturday! (well, maybe after he's had a shower ...)

this photo of the Tuul River borrowed from mongoliacanoeing.com