Nomad Life - Day 150

My body must be getting really used to Mountain Time because I woke up before my alarm again (this time at 0515.  As usual, I started teleworking immediately.  At 0730, I went to breakfast downstairs at the Microtel (Rapid City) - while in the lobby, I extended my stay for two more nights (the lady working at the counter gave me a very good rate).  After that, I continued teleworking (once again, I had lots of meetings).  Just after noon, I took another break and drove over to the nearby Millstone Family Restaurant, where I ordered a good lunch (club sandwich and side salad).  My meal only lasted until 1230 and I was soon teleworking in my room again.  My work day ended at 1430 this afternoon.  Since it was quite cold outside and I didn't feel like I had it in me to do a second day on the trails.  Instead, I went through some boxes in the car (consolidated and reorganized them) and finished digitizing my volunteer and exercise events from 2025 (I've been working on this all month).  At 1530, I'd had my fill of paperwork in the room and decided to leave my hotel room.  By then, the temperatures were in the teens, even though it was sunny, and quite windy.  With limited options, I ended up trying to complete my daily step goal (10K) by walking near the hotel.  Starting at 1545, I used a combination of inside/outside (probably a 2/3 outside) steps but it was hard to stay consistent.  When I was outside, I found shelter behind the hotel next door - it had lots of floors and sections of the building and I was able to get many steps there before wondering if I looked suspicious to the residents.  Each time some of them appeared, I walked back over to my own hotel.  That's how it went for the whole time I was trying walk - back and forth I went.  In the sky above, there were a LOT of Canada Geese flying in long "V" shaped groups.  They nearly covered the sky at times and I even saw smaller groups trying to join the larger "convoys".  I also watched a demolition team pulling apart another hotel that was located next door to mine.  There must be a good story there because there are many, many lodging places right where I am staying and I can't imagine someone wanting to give up their business.  One more highlight of my walk: I got some good views of the prairie to the north and east of my hotel because it was located on a rise in the terrain - I actually believe I could see Ellsworth AFB.  As I was getting close to finishing, though, the weather began to degrade, with mist and snow flurries obscuring the lower areas.  As the visibility continued to get worse (1715), I wrapped up my walk.  Altogether, I walked four miles in 90 minutes!  Back in my room, I made dinner and then watched movies for the rest of the evening.  Before 2000, I was feeling VERY tired and had to struggle to make it to a "reasonable" bed time (2145).  I've had such good luck outdoors until recently - I truly hope the cold days don't continue forever!