tiredThis is the normal route home, and at 7 PM it normally shouldn't have been a problem. However, just as we passed the last easy exit for bailing out and going back into Reno/Sparks, we ran into a slowdown. With Lisa driving, I could check my phone, where I found that the rain we had yesterday evening had led to multiple accidents and a huge slowdown from Sparks to USA Parkway. When we finally made it up to the first exit east of Sparks (Lockwood), Lisa decided that it was better to take the long route even if it took longer, as moving through blocked traffic is too stressful.
So we took the alternate route through Spanish Springs up the Pyramid Highway and then back down through Nixon. It's roughly twice as long, but with no traffic to speak of.
Had we realized while at Winco that there was the clog along I-80, we could have left straight from there as the map shows, and probably would have beaten a notional vehicle leaving from the same spot heading for home via the shorter route. However, we instead got clear to Lockwood, then had to go back to Pyramid Way in Sparks before turning north. There's a chance that it would have been marginally faster to stick with the coagulated traffic on I-80, but it would have been more nerve-rattling. Why can't people slow down when it rains?
Perhaps I'd better make a habit of checking I-80 traffic before leaving Reno/Sparks for home. Once you're beyond Sparks, there aren't many alternative routes.