We had a great time at GBR-IV. Now, we’re eating breakfast and will head out right afterward.
Blog more later!!
Blogosphere
Rendezvous – Hospitality Room
Gun Bloggers gather for swapping stories and sharing their love for firearms and blogging in Reno.
Good friends, interesting people and a common passion. We love these guys.
The Road to Reno
Goes through Lake Tahoe. Click image to enlarge.
We’re going down to meet with the Gun Bloggers in a few minutes. We’ll have more later.
September Sacrifice
Well, it’s more like a trade-off than a sacrifice. We’re giving up our annual vacation to the City of Avalon on Catalina Island. Our wedding anniversary falls in the middle of September and we generally go back to Avalon, where we were married, to celebrate.
We’ve gone to Catalina for the last five years straight, but we’re not going this year. Instead, we will be going to the Gun Blogger Rendezvous in Reno, Nevada. We will spend our anniversary at the Silver Legacy Hotel among the ranks of some of the Gun Bloggers.
We look forward to going next month, but we will also miss some of our favorite Avalon places, like the Casino, where this world-famous art-deco image of a mermaid lives.
Image credit: Damsel – click on the image to enlarge.
Tid Bits from the Blogosphere
Tonight we’re just going to post links to some things going on out there in the blogosphere . . .
Signal 94: Shovel ready medical plan for seniors.
Gun Rights Examiner: L.A. Gun Bust raises questions.
The Liberty Sphere: Cash for clunkers a government spy program!
Gunblogger Rendezvous IV
According to Mr. Completely, you should “Get Your Registration and Reservations in ASAP.” They have blocked out rooms for Wednesday the 9th, through Sunday the 13th. Damsel and I have already made our hotel reservations and continue to plan the trip. We’re going to drive from the Los Angeles area and plan to make some touristy stops going and coming.
As for the GBR-IV event, we’re looking forward to meeting other attendees, participating in the events and activities, and, of course, winning one or more of the door prize drawings. Ride Fast and Shoot Straight has a rundown on some of the events and prizes.
A quick update to getting a Nevada CCW permit: We won’t have enough time to get through all the hoops required for a permit – however, we think that open carry may be do-able. I’ll continue to do the research, but this is on the OpenCarry.org website:
Nevada is a traditional open carry state with complete state preemption of firearms laws. However, Clark County (Las Vegas) is grandfathered so as to continue a “Deadly Weapons” registration scheme. Fortunately, Nevada law exempts travelers to and through Nevada from these registration requirements for 60 days.
Open carry seems to be allowed in vehicles and on one’s person as long as the weapon is visible. We’ll continue to evaluate this option.
Ready for Gun Blogger Rendezvous ’09
For the last week or so, we have been making arrangements to attend the Gun Blogger Rendezvous which will be at the Silver Legacy Hotel in Reno, Nevada. The event is scheduled for September 10-13, 2009. We’ve sent off our registration and made the hotel reservations, so all we need to do is fill in some details for the trip (we’re driving from the Los Angeles area), like staying near Yosemite NP on the way up and the Owens Valley on the way back. We’re looking forward to going to Reno.
Over the years, we have visited Reno many, many times, enjoying every visit. We’ve been going to Reno ever since it really was “The Biggest Little City in the World.” Don’t get us wrong, we like the bright lights and big hotels in the New Reno, but we’re also quite nostalgic about the way it was.
In August of 2007, we posted about Reno’s famous welcome sign. Here is the original article repeated here:
Pigeon Dung and Reno’s Famous Sign
After reading news accounts about the contribution of pigeon dung to the collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, I was reminded about how pigeons similarly factored into the destruction of the famous “RENO – The Biggest little city in the world” sign that spans the entrance to the downtown gambling district. I recall reading a the story in the 1980’s about how the old sign became inhabited by pigeons that roosted or nested in the sign. They got in through gaps in the sign and, of course, pooped while they were in there.
Image right: Reno sign, 1980’s – click to enlarge
Eventually, despite having been evicted several times by the city’s maintenance crews, the pigeon problem persisted until one day there was an electrical short-circuit in the sign. The methane from the dung ignited; there was a minor explosion and a fire afterwards that damaged the sign beyond repair. The sign was removed and subsequently replaced by a newer Vegas-style beauty which electronically beckons visitors to the downtown district. While it’s a beautiful sight, the new sign doesn’t have the old sign’s charm and breaks the promise for a “little city” beyond. Recent visitors to the new Reno, if they knew the old Reno, will know what I mean.
Image left: New Reno sign – click to enlarge
As for pigeons? They’re just rats with wings.