Transport

Every institution needs reliable transportation, and COC is no different. We rely on a 1998 RAV4--which we jokingly refer to as the COCmobile--to help us trek across the rugged Chihuahuan Desert terrain. Chappy, who's something of a contrary, calls the vehicle "RAV-E-Shank-Car." As you can tell, she hails from a different era. The COCmobile has been to three of the four great American deserts: the Chihuahuan, the Sonoran, and the Mojave. She's been particularly invaluable on remote trips into the Big Bend country of West Texas, notably providing reliable transport up the rugged paved road through Green Gulch and into the Basin area of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park. Research Associate Becca especially likes riding in the COCmobile, eagerly pressing her face to the windows to see what new adventure lies around each corner, often leaving nose imprints on the glass.