On the Road Again...

I didn't sleep well last night. Too excited! An entire weekend of amateur radio! Woo hoo! I got ready and threw my suitcases in the car along with my mobile APRS kit and a spare HT. I also got my son ready so I could take him to school before taking off.

Fortunately, I didn't have to drive up to Reno all by myself. I carpooled with two amateur radio friends, one of them a presenter at the convention. After picking both of them up, we made a quick stop at Starbucks, I picked up a case of diet lime Coke for the cooler, and away we went!

The drive was uneventful, although the expected rain did show up this side of the Sierra Nevada. I was glad for my new tires. I had also pre-programmed some of the repeaters that I would be using during today's journey. We talked a bit with other hams also on their way up to the convention.

It was, however, not a day totally devoid of hiking preparation. We stopped at a massive recreational outfitter called Cabela's, a store even larger than REI. I was like a kid in a candy store! I bought some new liner socks and I also spent some time looking at headlamps. Cabela's had a much larger selection than REI. I found and purchased a Cabela's headlamp that weighs less than an ounce, clips on to the visor of my hat, and puts out 21 lumens with 5 LEDs. Perfect! I liked it so much that I bought an extra one (for backup, in case the clips break) for myself and two for Duane. We would need these while hiking in the dark on the Mist trail.

We drove on, reaching Reno and our hotel, Circus Circus, by 2:30 pm. We checked in and had some time to get settled and rest before the convention's first event - the barbeque, featuring hamburgers, hot dogs and one ham's award winning chili!