Teri Vance: Doggone it, our capital, Carson City, is the best place to be

Carson City is celebrating its new status as the country’s best destination capital, as named this week in a USA Today poll. And rightly so.

There’s much to draw the visitor to our city. There are the obvious attractions like the Capitol and the Nevada State Museum. History enthusiasts will find relics from the past all over Carson City, particularly so along the Blue Line Tour.

There are also the things we take for granted on a daily basis. On a recent election day (we come in late those days, for obvious reasons), I took my dog for a walk in Riverview Park in the morning. While we were walking under the canopy of fall leaves, we ran into a couple from Oregon.

They were on a drive through several states, and had stopped just to stretch their legs before moving on. While they were impressed with the obvious beauty along the Carson River, they were also surprised to see my dog, Roxy, trotting along without a leash.

They said they had never heard of such a place where dogs were able to run relatively freely, with other people and other dogs.

I realized how many open spaces we have in and around Carson City where we can take our dogs or just connect with nature.

In one of my conversations with Jeff Potter, who spearheaded the effort to build a multi-use trail connecting Kings and Ash canyons, he explained part of his motivation.

“When you come back out here and see some of the views, it’s just a peaceful feeling,” he said.

I spoke to Joel Dunn, executive director of the Carson City Visitors Bureau, after the award was announced Tuesday.

He gave much of the credit for the city’s desirability to the people who live and work here.

“It’s the waitress, the front desk clerk at a lodging property, the taxi driver, the employee at the state museum, the local artist,” he said. “All of these community influencers are what make a good experience for the Carson City visitor.”

When I look at the totality of what the city has to offer visitors, I think those same argument can be made it’s the best place to live.

As the people here make the experience a positive one for those visiting, they also make this a nice place to call home.

I have had this driven home in the last weeks as I’ve been preparing to and leaving my traditional job in favor of a less secure avenue of freelance writing.

So many of you have sent emails of support, called or told me in person. Even beyond that, I have received so much useful advice and real help in establishing my new venture.

I’m grateful for it.

We’re lucky to live in this beautiful place. And we’re lucky to have each other.

Teri Vance is a native Nevadan and freelance writer. Contact her at terivance@rocketmail.com or (775) 220-5333.