Nomad Life - Day 344

I slept much better last night (no nasty smells or annoying noises).  Since it was a weekend day, I hadn't set an alarm and my body clock woke me up at 0600.  Since I wasn't in a hurry, I did some reading, puzzles and Duolingo.  After that, I made/ate breakfast in my hotel room at the Motel 6 (Carson City).  Much of the morning focused on travel planning and catching up on my travel blog.  Just when I thought I was going to finish things up and leave the hotel, I ended up in a long talk with Kerith, who told me she couldn't meet up with my at my timeshare in Nevada.  As a result of her persuasive arguments, I changed my plans (i.e., staying in Nevada) to visit with her in the Bay Area during the coming week.  Beyond that conversation, I had to take care of some administrative stuff, including canceling a stay and then talking with my timeshare Customer Service to resolve some unneeded charges - success!  After all that, I managed to get fully caught up on travel blog (finally).  Before I got ready to depart my hotel room, I made and ate lunch in my room.  By 1240, I was ready to go outside!  The day was a bit different from the previous one, especially as it relates to the wind (it was VERY breezy).  The un and 72 temps made for a nice adventure in the outdoors, though, so I drove (via city streets and US-50) to the Morgen Mill River Access Park.  After I arrived (1300), I started walking south on the Carson River Trail - I'd hiked the southern end in November 2025 and wanted to finish it.  For some reason, there were LOTS of soaring ravens near the trailhead...  Initially, my walk into the Empire Ranch area took me past a large golf course - there was some good birding in the water hazards there.  The trail was very dusty, though and I had to contend with a lot of loose (or unsupervised) dogs along the way.  From memory, I managed to find the place where I'd turned around during my last visit to Carson City (roughly the mid point of the trail).  While I was backtracking, I started to feel a very annoying blister on the back of my heel.  That settles it - I need new boots!  When I finished with my (four  mile walk) at 1435, I'd completed the trail as I'd hoped.  With exercise and exploration completed, I drove west into Downtown Carson City.  I was able to find a place to park in the shade (I love the free parking in the Capital!) and then walked to the Fox Brewpub, where I hoped to redeem a free drink I'd earned during my visit last year.  I sat down at the bar at 1455 and immediately encountered a problem with the rewards (the bartender said she couldn't honor it).  Oh well...  I got a drink that looked good and later learned that I'd had it during my last visit (still OK).  When I was about to depart the bar (to try a different place), the bartender lady told me she'd found a way to add the free drink and that enticed me to order a second beer.  She didn't wait to figure out if I wanted to try something else and had already poured a repeat brew when I gave her my preference.  As a result, someone else at the bar got a free beer.  During this exchange, I started talking to a guy at the bar near me - his name was Alan (US Army veteran & local chef) and we chatted for a while about local activities, eating establishment, hot springs and an overall assessment of Carson City.  It turned out that Alan shared my view that Carson City was very nice and we then continued talking about places to go and things to experience.  For example, he mentioned that there was a Mark Twain Festival during the coming week - maybe I can attend some of it!  Alan then departed and I finished my second beer.  After that (1615), I stopped to listen to a street music festival (fundraiser in support of Huntington's disease) that was happening in the square next to the Fox Brewpub.  The band was pretty good and I might have stayed longer.  Hoping to get a bit more exercise, though, I started a tour of the Capitol District and ended up finding the locations for the three branches of the Nevada State Government.  On the way back to my car (1645), I spied a sign for the Great Basin Brewing Company and walked over to check it out.  I was able to get a flight of beer and the bartender lady there stayed on the same page with me...  The drinks were each good and she let me try a new pour of something she really liked.  While sitting in the brewery, I watched college football and texted with my friend, Bob W, about the casino games that were at the bar (he told me not to play them because the odds were bad).  After I was finished (1745), I walked back to the area with the street festival and listened to the music again for a little while.  When I'd had my fill, I drove back to my hotel (arrived just after 1800).  It was only then that I realized I'd skipped dinner because lunch was so big (that's OK).  During the rest of the evening, I exchanged lots of texts with Brenna and Erin and watched movies, did some reading and completed my evening Duolingo exercises.  Once again, I was so tired that I barely made it to 2200 bed time.  Very glad I was able to get another nice day outside and complete another trail!