Day 0: Ready to Go!

Aside from a few "glitches" that have been successfully resolved, I am all ready for my trip to Utah!  

One of my fears was that my flight might be cancelled for various reasons related to Covid-19, and while a last minute cancellation is still possible of course, it seems be a go at this point, and I am all checked in.  In addition, neither Utah nor Michigan have Covid-19 travel restrictions at this time, such as a required quarantine period, which is actually a little surprising considering cases are on the rise in Michigan, and Salt Lake City is currently a hot spot.  If that changes during my trip, then things could get interesting!  But I'm not going to worry about that until and if it happens.

The weather forecast looks very good for the next week or so: no rain, light winds and plenty of sunshine.  While I would prefer a few clouds here and there, this should work fine, especially for evening Milky Way shots.  Perhaps the only potential challenge will be the night time lows, which for the most part will be in the teens and 20's.  Brrrr!  So it could get a little chilly at sunset/sunset and in the middle of the night.  However, I've packed ample warm clothing, gloves, hats, etc., and I purchased a zero degree sleeping bag in case it gets cold inside the campervan.  

As far as camera gear I'm taking (see photo), I have scaled back a fair bit compared with previous trips.  I have learned the hard way to pack only essential items and equipment that I will most likely use.  Lugging a heavy backpack and other bags full of "just-in-case" items is a pain, literally!  

A few notable changes in the gear department:

• No laptop. This is definitely nice-to-have, especially as a means of backing up image files.  But the laptop is bulky and and adds extra weight.  For backing up image files, I have instead found a way to transfer files on the SD memory cards directly to a small, portable hard drive using my iPhone as a file manager.  These are the two little rectangular things in the lower right of the picture.  Slick!
  
• A robust portable power bank (rectangular object just above the two things mentioned above), which I can use to charge my iPhone, camera batteries, etc. when I'm not in the van.  What's nice about this unit is that the bank itself can be recharged via the integral solar cell.
• A dry bag (the orange thing).  This will keep equipment dry when am I hiking through water, which I will be on one occasion at least.
• A carbon-fiber tripod.  This is MUCH lighter (and smaller) than my aluminum tripod.  This makes a significant difference with longer hikes especially!
  

Some of you may recall that I took two camera bodies with me to Iceland, which paid off big time when my main body malfunctioned 2 days into the trip.  Since then, I always travelled with two bodies just in case.  Ironically, my back-up body was damaged this past weekend.  Crap!!  I tried to find a used replacement body in time -- to no avail -- and I debated whether to take a chance with just one body.  Fortunately, someone in the local camera club had an extra body they were willing to loan me for the cost of dinner at a local steakhouse.  Deal!!   I will however have to get another back-up body when I get back since the repair to my current one will not likely be cost-justifiable.  In any case, I now have two bodies for my trip!

So that's it.  Time to relax and get a good night's sleep.