The D500 is priced great and would be a great action camera for the soccer games, but, honestly, it will be just as heavy as the D600. The D7200 is also a great camera, but I do not like it as will for action, but if you are not too particular, and will not be taking that many action shots, it will work fine for what you like to photograph other than the soccer. If you sell the D600, keep the 12-120mm lens, it is a great lens and will work fine on a DX camera.
If you have a camera store in your area, check with them and see if they have the cameras you are looking at and pick one up to see how they feel and to test the weight. I do not own a mirrorless body, but a lot of people are changing to them for the lighter weight. You may want to check them out as well. I don't mean to get off subject, just a suggestion.

I bought a large dresser and built inserts into the drawers to fit my lenses and cameras for storage. It is easy to locate what I need and the equipment is kept safely out of sight.

It is all trial and error, and there will be many errors if you are a beginner. I would start shooting in Auto for a few trips to get used to the camera and get a feel for the camera body and see what your lens will do for you. Once you get comfortable using the camera, set it on A for aperture mode. This will control your depth of field and is what will create what is called bokah, the blurring effect of the background in your photo, assuming your lens will step down far enough to create bokah. Once you get used to that, use the S mode for shutter speed control. This comes in handy if you are shooting any kind of action, as it will control the speed at which your camera shoots. After that, you might want to try M for manual mode. This will allow you to control the Aperture and the Shutter speed. All the while you are experimenting with the different modes, you will also need to learn to control your ISO, the sensitivity of your sensor. It is best to use 100 ISO in well lit situations, but increase as needed in lower light situations. In my experience with a D7100, try to stay away from situations where you would need more than 800 ISO, as the D7100 does not handle high ISO very well, in my opinion.

Have fun playing with your camera and settings. When you need help, and your manual is not understandable, try looking to You Tube for videos to help you out, or google.

About 200 feet, way too close, but he stayed calm and I stayed quiet.

Thank you all for looking.

I prefer the color photo, but which ever you choose, the picture looks as if it may be tilting to the right. You may want to straighten it out.

If you have room, throw out some hay. Big animals need to eat in the winter also.

A few favorites from Alaska from a couple of years ago.

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google and you tube, both free and very useful for what you are needing.

The primary reason you get a battery grip is for the convenience of having an extra battery. If you do not want to place a battery in the battery grip, why get a battery grip in the first place?

The Nikon 200-500 is a fine lens for wildlife photography, or if you need a large zoom lens. If I were purchasing an overall lens for travel photos, I would recommend the Nikon 24-120. It is a full frame lens for when you decide to upgrade to a full frame body. Something you may consider looking into is the Nikon D750 with a 24-120mm lens as a kit lens. Nikon rumors are that Nikon is bringing out a new D760 sometime this year, so places like B&H Photo have the Nikon D750 deeply discounted right now.

I am not a big fan of Apple's Photos app. I downloaded an app from the app store called Photo Manager Pro 5 and I think it is a great program app for your photos. You are able to create individual folders for your groups of photos. You simply sync the photos from your computer to your iPad, then move the photos into the folders you have created. There is a small charge for the app, but it is worth it, I am able to go to specific folders rather that looking through all my photos to find a specific photo.

I would agree on the Olympus. Know the laws of the countries you will be traveling to, the laws are much different than you are used to, and what you take for granted here may be illegal elsewhere. Remember you are traveling to Communist countries that may or may not be friendly to outsiders. Also be aware of your surroundings and stay with a crowd that you know if possible. Have fun and enjoy your trip.

The photo is very nice in both formats. My preference would lean towards the color, as the horse is already "black and white", and the color in the bridle and the stall highlight that. If the horse had been another color, I may have preferred the black and white. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but both are very well done.

if you want to get more into birds and action photography, I would recommend the Nikon D500, otherwise, for what you currently shoot the D5500 should work great. You may want to focus more on new lenses, I would recommend buying FX lenses in case you ever get the urge to move up to a full frame camera. A 105mm macro lens would be great for the flowers, and a 35mm and a 50mm would be great for the landscapes. Your 18-400 should work fine for the birds and wildlife.