After a week in Siberia, I have learned the number one rule to follow when traveling abroad, and it is to “go with the flow.” I don’t say this from observation; I’m speaking from direct experience. My trip to the Arctic has been a series of unfortunate events. First, I experienced an aching three-hour delay in Wisconsin, second I missed my flight from Minneapolis to New York, had to camp out in the airport, and finally my bag didn’t show up in Moscow. I had every reason to arrive in Cherskiy and go Godzilla, but instead I stayed focused on enjoying the entirety of Russia. I chose to go with the flow.

So far, the moment I have enjoyed most has been my backstage-pass visit to Pleistocene park. The concept of this place is amazing! Pleistocene Park is an attempt to recreate one of the most extensive and productive ecosystems, which has essentially disappeared – the mammoth tundra steppe. This was a land dominated by large herbivores including: the wooly mammoth, bison, horses, rhinoceroses, musk ox, elk, moose, and yaks.

The idea is to transform meadows, forests, and willow shrub-land into grasslands by reintroducing those animals that trampled through these areas and influenced the vegetation and soil on 160 km2 of Kolyma lowland. The horses, muskox, and bison that occupy Pleistocene Park now conjure up images of the Great Plains of North America – but in the Arctic! It’s hard to navigate through the park without focusing on the amount of poop, however it’s a necessary component of transforming this landscape. Still, there is a lot of poop!

Nigel Golden, reunited with his missing bag, makes his way to the barge.

I finally received my bag today. Not to say that it has been easy but I have many thoughtful friends with me in Siberia that helped me every step of the way. That being said, now that I am reunited with my bag, there will be a party! And we’ve aptly named it “bag party!”