![Before the Trip](/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-02-journey/gg-02-journey-before-title/5929133-3-eng-US/gg-02-journey-before-title_full_495.png 495w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-02-journey/gg-02-journey-before-title/5929133-3-eng-US/gg-02-journey-before-title_full_990.png 990w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-02-journey/gg-02-journey-before-title/5929133-3-eng-US/gg-02-journey-before-title_full_1468.png 1232w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-02-journey/gg-02-journey-before-title/5929133-3-eng-US/gg-02-journey-before-title_full_1980.png 1232w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-02-journey/gg-02-journey-before-title/5929133-3-eng-US/gg-02-journey-before-title_full_2475.png 1232w)
Click the ( + ) signs to explore the items in our scrapbook.
![Mike Novacek](/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-mike-headshot/5902959-4-eng-US/gg-mike-headshot_full_495.png 344w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-mike-headshot/5902959-4-eng-US/gg-mike-headshot_full_990.png 344w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-mike-headshot/5902959-4-eng-US/gg-mike-headshot_full_1468.png 344w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-mike-headshot/5902959-4-eng-US/gg-mike-headshot_full_1980.png 344w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-mike-headshot/5902959-4-eng-US/gg-mike-headshot_full_2475.png 344w)
Expeditions can be very expensive. To cut costs we send supplies from the West Coast of the U.S. rather than from New York. Although the expeditions don’t begin until July, two people from the New York team fly to Los Angeles in March to buy supplies and ship them to Mongolia.
![Mark Norell](/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/head_mark_off/6028555-1-eng-US/head_mark_off_full_495.png 344w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/head_mark_off/6028555-1-eng-US/head_mark_off_full_990.png 344w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/head_mark_off/6028555-1-eng-US/head_mark_off_full_1468.png 344w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/head_mark_off/6028555-1-eng-US/head_mark_off_full_1980.png 344w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/head_mark_off/6028555-1-eng-US/head_mark_off_full_2475.png 344w)
![scrapbook page with labels and pictures](/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-02-journey/jtm-ii-before-the-trip/6000771-2-eng-US/jtm-ii-before-the-trip_full_495.jpg 495w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-02-journey/jtm-ii-before-the-trip/6000771-2-eng-US/jtm-ii-before-the-trip_full_990.jpg 926w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-02-journey/jtm-ii-before-the-trip/6000771-2-eng-US/jtm-ii-before-the-trip_full_1468.jpg 926w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-02-journey/jtm-ii-before-the-trip/6000771-2-eng-US/jtm-ii-before-the-trip_full_1980.jpg 926w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-02-journey/jtm-ii-before-the-trip/6000771-2-eng-US/jtm-ii-before-the-trip_full_2475.jpg 926w)
A few things on our shopping list
Since there are no supermarkets in the Gobi, the two ambitious shoppers have a giant shopping list. Once all this stuff is gathered, it is loaded into a large truck and driven to a dock, where it is shipped to Ulaanbaatar. The cargo arrives in June.
![bag of plaster, bottle of sunblock, cans of beans and vegetables, a box filled with hard candy, paper bowls and chopsticks](/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-02-journey/jtm_01before_shoppingitems/6014674-3-eng-US/jtm_01before_shoppingitems_full_495.png 495w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-02-journey/jtm_01before_shoppingitems/6014674-3-eng-US/jtm_01before_shoppingitems_full_990.png 990w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-02-journey/jtm_01before_shoppingitems/6014674-3-eng-US/jtm_01before_shoppingitems_full_1468.png 1468w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-02-journey/jtm_01before_shoppingitems/6014674-3-eng-US/jtm_01before_shoppingitems_full_1980.png 1980w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/paleontology/going-gobi/gg-02-journey/jtm_01before_shoppingitems/6014674-3-eng-US/jtm_01before_shoppingitems_full_2475.png 2000w)
Plaster: When the plaster of Paris is mixed with water, it turns into a hard substance that will protect the precious fossils on their trip to the Museum. Canned foods: The team has to pick food that can survive in the desert heat. Paper bowls and chopsticks: So the team can burn their utensils after dinner rather than having to use water, which is scarce, to clean them. Sunblock: To help prevent sunburn in the desert. Big box of candy: In case someone gets a sweet tooth in the middle of nowhere, and also for the kids in the nomad families in the Gobi.
Image Credits:
All photos, courtesy of AMNH