The Girl and I rose early Saturday morning, although I didn’t sleep very well Friday night. I was up several times, woken by my dreams. They weren’t nightmares, but they were evidence I’m still processing my life changes.
Regardless, I woke early and fed my Girl. Then I gathered up a few things and we headed out. I stopped at McD’s for a couple of breakfast burritos, a coffee, and three of their oatmeal cookies. Wife got me started on these. They are fresh-baked, soft, and quite good — especially with coffee. We drove to the east side of Carson City and I ran the 4Runner part way up the hill, found a wide spot in the trail, and stopped to enjoy the morning light and my breakfast.
The Girl was anxious to get out of the 4Runner and do doggie things. She ran from bush to bush, peed, pooped, and chased lizards while I fixed my burritos and ate them. The morning light was gorgeous and the overlook of Carson City was really fun. Although a half-mile away, I could hear the clank of steel plates as the inmates at the prison worked out.
I finished my burritos and put the Girl back in the car and we proceeded up the trail another quarter mile. The trail is only moderately rough, requiring me to work my way through a few rocks but nothing too challenging. Along the way I saw a couple of dogs running, then a hiker. I stopped to let them pass. One of the dogs approached the 4Runner and put a paw on the Girl’s door.
She barked and growled. “Leave it!” I commanded… she whirled about and jumped to the back seat, her hackles raised but obedient. The dogs and hiker passed.
We were able to drive to within about 500 feet of the first geocache. I parked the 4Runner and got out. The Girl hopped out and started sniffing about, looking for the marks of the other dogs. I got out my gear and we started off in the direction the GPSr pointed.
The cache was easy to find. There’s not much danger of it being muggled at this location. I signed the log and poked about to see if there was anything interesting in the loot. There wasn’t. So I restored the cache to its (nearly nonexistent) hide and sat on the rocks. I pulled my camera out and kept an eye on the Girl to be sure she didn’t range out too far.
The morning light made for a few interesting images of Carson City. I sat on the rocks enjoying the morning light and air, listening as the Girl ranged around. After a bit she joined me on the rocks, over-watching the surrounding area.
Satisfied, we made our way back to the car to share the cookies. The Girl likes oatmeal cookies too, although I save the raisins for myself.
After the cookies, we headed back down the trail. I drove out to the Carson Armory to stop in and see my friends there, but we were too early. So we stopped at a nearby historical marker, logged the geocache hidden there, and returned home.
I had time to take care of the front yard and spray the locust sprouts in the backyard before lunch. I also managed to get my bills paid and make a mail run before my friend from Reno called.
The Girl and I had a bit of a nap, then headed for Reno for a late afternoon coffee/tea with our friend. Later we found ourselves at A Controlled Burn, one of the events leading up to Burning Man, but that’s another story for another time. We’ll see if I have time to tell it.