Planning for our field season started last fall, when Anna came on board, we posted our job ads, and reserved our research vehicles. Even last week we were still in planning mode- I led a discussion for our weekly lab meeting where we went over the details of our upcoming robot experiments and got feedback from folks in the lab.

The Snow Chief in its natural habitat

Today we finally pulled up stakes in Davis and started the 2-day trek to Wyoming to put these plans into action. Friday was a long day of packing, and this morning we loaded up our vehicles and joined a steady stream of traffic heading east on I-80. The drive was pretty manageable, and we had beautiful weather for the drive. We stopped in Reno at the Cabela’s outlet (this was Becca and Anna’s first trip there- I feel like this is an important part of one’s education as a wildlife biologist, of course!)  We had another excuse to stop there- we are loaning some recording equipment to a sage-grouse biologist from Nevada, and the Cabela’s store makes a nice landmark. The trip through central Nevada was beautiful. The only potential tragedy was soldiering on until 9PM to make it to Wendover, Nevada, our intended destination for the first night. We pulled off the interstate to find the parking lots ominously full, and literally “no room at the inn” at the hotel we traditionally go to. We managed to find the last room in town. The No Vacancy sign was put up right after I booked our room. We are all very thankful we didn’t have to retreat to Elko or Wells, or try to make it further to Salt Lake City.

Got the last room- is that a sarcastic smiley face?