Registration at Hi Desert Roundup 2010...

Pre-registration for Hi-Desert Roundup is highly recommended, but not absolutely necessary, as you can register on-site, but you'll pay a little more, and they may not have a t-shirt in your size. For Hi-Desert Roundup, 2010, I pre-registered, online, several weeks in advance, and when my package arrived in the mail, my name had been transformed into number 54.

Photo: Registration is at the motorhome to the left, and if you've purchased a t-shirt, you'll be picking it up from Traci, in the motorhome next door, to the right of the photo.

After we set up our camp, we drove to the safety check area and had the truck checked out. The safety check is a simple, quick and painless process, and any vehicle that is in reasonably good condition will pass, as it's 95% common sense. The only thing that I had to do to ready my truck for the inspection was to remove a couple of loading coils from the high frequency antennas attached to the side of my truck, as for safety reasons on a CA4WDC run, no antennas longer than 54" are permitted. After placing the passed-the-safety-check sticker above the left headlight, we were ready to register for Hi-Desert Roundup, 2010.

Photo: Ray Leuschner, seated, handles registration and camp set up, and judging by the wide grin on his face, seems to be enjoying himself.

Photo: Hmmmmmm... what run shall we sign up for? This year, there were 9 different runs to choose from.

We'd pre-registered online, so for us, registration was a snap. We simply walked up to Annette and Ray, the friendly folks who were handling registration duties, and presented our confirmation letter - number 54 - and signed a release form, releasing CA4WDC from any legal repercussions should anything run amiss. Having done all of that, Matthew and I were presented with our registration package, which included one raffle ticket, a dash plaque, two tickets to the Saturday night barbecue dinner, and coupons for t-shirts and tank tops. No, the food and shirts aren't included with registration, as they're added "enhancements" but I never attend Hi-Desert Roundup without purchasing a t-shirt, and it would borderline on criminal if you passed on Chef Andy's Saturday night barbecue dinner.

Photo: Traci Longley, in the red t-shirt, handled this year's t-shirt duties, as she hands out shirts to a couple who had pre-purchased them. In order to get your size, it's wise to pre-purchase a t-shirt when you send in your registration.

Photo: This vendor was selling t-shirts, books, souvenirs and lots of other things.

Next stop on our agenda was the t-shirt motorhome, parked next to registration, where Matthew and I cheerfully received our t-shirts from friendly Traci, of California Casuals fame. Robert hadn't pre-registered, and he purchased the last t-shirt in his size that was offered on-site. Keep in mind that it was about 1500 on Friday afternoon, and Robert was lucky to be able to buy a t-shirt that fit him, so a word to the wise: Register and purchase you shirt in advance! While we were in the vicinity, we signed up for the Blue Moon run, which was to be run on Saturday.

Photo: Matthew purchases tickets for the Jeep raffle, and promised me that if he wins it, he'll give it to me. We'll see...

The sweepstakes Jeep was parked nearby, so I couldn't resist purchasing a $20.00 book of tickets - imagine winning that awesome Jeep for $20.00!!!! Did I die and go to Heaven??? - and Matthew and Robert rummaged through the boxes of souvenirs and other merchandise that was displayed on the table. After completing our business, we drove back to our camp to tip a few before enjoying a delicious Friday night dinner at Chef Andy's.

The friendly folks at High Desert Roundup registration will treat you well.