The trip was followed by numerous others in the 1970s, catering to bird enthusiasts and then to students.  Birds were highlighted, but we also paid attention to mammals.  Early participants with mammal interests included my graduate students Mike Kennedy, Troy Best, and Robert Owen.  One trip in the late 1970s involved collecting of specimens and a sojourn to the village Campo Uno.  Our trip to Campo Uno was a true misadventure, with concomitant vehicle troubles, flooding of a vehicle, amateur road building so that we could proceed, etc.  We needed to turn around immediately after reaching our goal, with no time to explore.

We did not go to Colima in the 1980s and, during a difficult time financially, the University sold the Hacienda.  However, this did not stop us from talking about Colima.  At annual meetings of the Southwestern Association of Naturalists (SWAN), conversations during socials often turned to our Campo Uno misadventure and how we wanted to try again.  Finally, after numerous years of pining, we decided to either go back to Colima or quit talking about it.

In December 1996, we initiated a series of 13 annual trips extending from December 28th to January 15th each year to study the Colima mammal fauna that previously had received little scientific attention, even though Colima is situated in a rich “biodiversity hotspot” on the west coast of Mexico.  Regular trip participants have included Mike, Troy, and Robert as faculty members at the University of Memphis, Auburn University, and Texas Tech University, respectively, as well as Mexican colleagues Cornelio Sánchez-Hernández and María de Lourdes (Lulu) Romero-Almaraz of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City.

We decided early on that these trips should involve faculty and students (both graduate and undergraduate) from all of our institutions; each year from 16 to 36 individuals have participated.  Students have ranged from seasoned veterans to novices at mammal field study.  Typically, Troy’s Auburn group travels to Memphis and together with Mike’s group they come to Norman.  Here we pile into vehicles with OU participants and equipment (over 1,000 traps, 40 mist nets, camping gear, and other supplies) to initiate the 1,400-mile trek to Colima.  The trip includes an overnight in Laredo, TX (where Robert and students join us), and an often very cold camping night in Zacatecas, Mexico, before meeting our Mexican colleagues and their students in Colima.

The time in Colima involves some nights in the Hotel America and 10 days of camping at field sites.  Initially, we concentrated on documenting Colima’s mammalian fauna, visiting over 250 sites and preparing over 5,000 specimens.  Subsequent trips have concentrated on learning about Colima mammal ecology, with the centerpiece of our efforts being 5 mark-and-recapture grids each year.

What do students think they have learned on the Colima trips?  Comments include:

• “The trip was truly one of the best experiences of my life. I learned a ton about the scientific process, and I also learned a lot about myself.The experiences I gained will last me a lifetime.”

• "The trip to Colima, Mexico, has opened my eyes as to the amount of effort it takes and the hard work that goes into research compared to what you see on TV."

• "During the field work, the level of work was very difficult, but you learn a lot about yourself when you push yourself that much. We were all forced to rely on and trust one another while we were working, which is not always easy to do for type-A personalities."

• "From eating in a restaurant built around a living tree, to hiking up mountains every day, the Colima, Mexico, Travel Study was an experience I will never forget."

• “The trip to Colima was an event I will never forget.  Mexico was nothing like I had ever imagined.  I was in a state of amazement for the entire trip….  I learned so much about proper research techniques but I also learned a lot about people and a little about myself.”

• “It often times felt as if the professors were inducting us into their secret Colima society and finishing up the trip meant that we were now part of the club.”