Namche or Oxbow?

Step 3 – Second van trip and Part 107 license – 25 January 2026

It’s been a minute since the last update, but it was time well spent on a lot of learning, some decent achievements but still very much in the forming stages of the dreams on Namche. Or is it Oxbow? Every van needs to have a name, and I was thinking “Namche” from the unforgettable stopover on the way to the Everest Base Camp. But a few encounters over the last couple of months have helped me envision a very first faint concept of what I want to do with my passion for photography and sustainability. The last couple of months have been great for birding and photography. A recent trip to Peru and Lake Titicaca and seeing the absolutely gorgeous endemic Titicaca Grebe, seeing the tallest bird in North America, which was brought back from near extinction, the Whooping Cranes and learning more about the incalculable harm we are doing to their habitats, I have a strong urge to do something about it. Not sure what that might look like, but it must be at the intersection of photography, research, data and good old-fashioned storytelling. And I am increasingly gravitating towards wetland ecosystem and their bird inhabitants. And that is why Oxbow, the U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water which are havens for birds. What I struggle with is how to make it impactful without turning into another click chasing wannabe influencer. The world needs less of them, not more. I am still on the drawing board and I have some time. 2026 will be a year of intense learning and skills development. Because I am sure of one thing. What I want to do will be honest, science based, will make a difference and will definitely not be to harvest attention. I did get my Part 107 Unmanned Ariel System certification on December 17. It was one of the most enjoyable tests. Because I was under no pressure to perform. I was doing it simply to learn and be a better-informed drone pilot. The certification gives no additional advantage to flying a drone given I am not going to use the drone for commercial purposes. But I do need to put in a lot more hours to learn how to fly the drone and learn more about the photography aspects. It is a steep learning curve and more crucially needs a lot of dedicated time and planning. I really hope I can put in the weekend hours on it. Then there is the entire aspect of editing videos. One thing I am envious of influencers is their ability to produce compelling video content. It’s a hard skill. It took me years to get confident with photo editing and even though some of the skills are transferable they are still very different. The best way is to jump in and do it with some level of discipline. Yes, that is probably what I need to do. I now have 83 bird species recorded to eBird and those are all with photos. Show me the evidence or it did not happen. And as of today, I am ranked around 2,500 for 2026 in Texas. The target will be to reach 200 species by the end of this year. Should be possible given the immense variety we are blessed with in Texas but like all things, consistency and dogged pursuit. We did our second van trip. This time with an organized group with Fernweh Expeditions to see the tallest bird in North America. I could not have asked for a better trip which was a combination of bird watching, photography and van living. Kind of what I want to do anyway! There will be a page for it, but I did want to capture the van specific learning here. This time we rented a Revel 4x4 from Austin.

• Battery capacity is critical. The older Revel had about 4 kWh of battery and it was just about able to keep the tiny fridge running. We were boondocking for two days and there was no way it could survive running the air conditioning for more than two hours.
• 20+ gallons of water is plenty for most situations.
• It reaffirmed my idea that a decent bathroom solution is critical to our liking long-term living in the van. We are thinking about dry flush toilets now.
• I do need to learn about leveling and using leveling blocks. The van was on an uneven surface, and I did get a headache on the first day.
• Less than 800 watts of solar array is not meaningful in most situations.
• This time I was much better with packing. I was also able to use the storage cabinets more effectively. We are getting better.
• It was better with camera gear arrangement, and this is probably the best I will get with a rented van but need more practice. Using the drone needs a lot more practice.
• As I get into video content, I need to learn the DJI OM gimbal. Also need to learn using the video shooting capability of the Canon 5D iv.
• Cold is as miserable as heat in the van. Well maybe a little less.
• Being able to park the van in a regular parking spot is a benefit especially when you go to popular spots.
• Van height matters and needs to be considered. We had to use a ferry where the maximum allowable height was 13’6”.
• We do need roof access to the van. It should be non-negotiable.
• We are leaning towards box cutout chassis vans which are 22 – 24 feet.
• Chase sunrises and sunset when you are in a van. Do it every day. It is the ultimate joy.

So, a lot of progress and learning. I will try to do this once a month. Discipline and doggedness.