Rocky Mountain Folk Festival 2008

Because Missy Higgins was playing at the Rocky Mountain Folk Festival in Lyons, CO this year...I decided to throw down for some tickets. I am so glad I did. What a great time. The festival is a general admission event. This is where we setup our chairs and convinced ourselves that it wasn't too bad considering we arrived at 2:30 in the afternoon. Most of the chairs in front of us were likely set up by concert-goers who camped on-site. It pays to able to setup as early as possible.

What a cool way for the kids to keep occupied. I think a lot of adults like myself also enjoyed the river that ran by Planet Bluegrass, the concert venue. There were lots of rock sculptures, kids tubing, and adults wading throughout the afternoon.

In front of me are our new seats. By politely asking a "tarp owner" down front if I could sit there, they responded in the positive. Much better sound, could see the performers pretty well (the fence sometimes got in the way), and felt more like I was in the thick of things. Also met Josephine who had just moved to Denver from Seattle, WA. She was so sweet and sort of embodied the spirit of making new friends at an event like this.

Missy Higgins. Wow! What a great singer/songwriter. She put on a wonderful show! I was so thrilled to get such fantastic close-ups and to even record a full video of her singing "Ten Days", which is on my YouTube site.

Dolly Parton Concert

I've always wanted to see Dolly in concert, and this summer she happened to have a tour date in Denver. I scooped up 4 tickets. 2 for me and a friend and 2 in case my parents were in town. The parents came early and I almost lost my money on the 2 extra tickets. But at the last moment, craigslist came through for me. The concert was awesome, thought it was VERY difficult to get a picture. No pictures or videos were allowed, and security was heavy at the event. I was lucky to get this shot. Dolly puts on a very broadway like show where she tells her life story, and also lives out her dream (I believe) of being on Broadway. It was a great show, and I'm really glad that I went.

Fire On the Mountain!

Green Mountain, that is. The wind-driven grass fire was started by a lightening strike on Monday August 4th, 2005. More than 100 fire fighters from at least 10 different agencies helped fight the fire which burned a fence and melted some siding on one house. The fire was close to my condo on the north east side of green mountain, but far enough away that I did not worry about my own safety. I watched during the afternoon as approximately 900 acres was charred. Flames were visible from my condo on this hillside.

Golden Gate Canyon State Park

Went hiking up in Golden Gate Canyon State Park on Sunday. We hiked a 4 mile trail up to Lost Valley trail. The main objective was to view wildflowers, exercise the dogs, exercise the people, and explore some of the beautiful country near my home.

Trinity and Mira were excellent hiking companions. For the most part, they listened very well. Both enjoyed sniffing around off trail, racing each other around the lake, chewing on some snacks that I brought along for them, and taking a dip in the pond. I think they also enjoyed hanging out with their people:)

Alas, the long awaited view of the homestead. Since the hike is approximately 4 miles in and out, I can only assume that the lake and cabin are 2 miles from the trail head. We hung out for probably 2 hours around the lake enjoying the quiet, the occasional visitors that stopped in, lunch on the front porch, and the beautiful wildflowers which were still blooming. Storms circled during late morning, but didn't materialize until afternoon...which was about the time we left the cabin. We were chased over the mountain top by thunder, lightening, and a few raindrops, but made it back to the truck before the storm arrived. Whew!

What sort of animal print do you think this is? It's larger than my german shepherds' paws. I don't think there are any wolves in the vicinity. I like to think it was some sort of dramatic animal like a bear or a mountain lion, but I really have no idea. Hmmmm...

Rain @ 5 months

I attended an Obedience/Rally A.K.C. event at the Jefferson county fairgrounds yesterday. Jon brought Rain along to further her exposure to new situations. As it turned out, we had to sit on the side lines at the event because non-competing dogs are not supposed to be on the premise.

Afterward, we took Rain down to Golden. We visited the Golden Farmer's Market, took a little dip in Clear Creek, and ate some lunch up town.