Colorado

August 22, 2008


The Kilroys

Planet Bluegrass



Colorado

We make at least one annual visit to the wonderful state of Colorado. For the past four years we have attended the wonderful Rocky Mountain Folks Fest in Lyons. In addition, we own a rental property in Colorado Springs and have family in Manitou Springs so we always try to slip in a visit to that area as well.

Manitou Springs

Sophie

This year, we flew into Denver and rented a Jeep Cherokee which we drove south to Manitou to see Kathy’s brother Chris, his wife Kari & their kids Sophie & James. We love Manitou, with its funky vibe- it feels like a mountain cousin of Key West. We only were there for a limited time this visit, long enough to take in the weekly summer farmer’s market and to go out to eat at the Loop restaurant. We were hopefully that the Kilroy clan would be able to join us for a day at the Folks Fest, but the start of school and Chris’s annual participation in the Pikes Peak run prevented them from driving up. Chris did manage to once again run the Pikes Peak Ascent, a 13.32 mile, 7,815 ft. ascent up the side of the mountain, this year in pretty hideous conditions. Congrats are in order, though perhaps this really will be his final time and they can head up for the festival next year.

The Loop

After a far too short visit, we headed for Lyons, stopping for the night in Boulder. We stocked up on camping gear and warm supplies as the forecast called for a wet and cold weekend; then headed on up to get in line at Planet Bluegrass for the camping site lottery. It was our first time camping on-site, but thankfully our friends Bruce & Kerry Darby are veterans of the process and they were able to secure a good spot in line. They let us head into the property promptly at 6 PM and the dash for campsites was on. Thanks to Bruce, we were able to snag a highly desirable corner location, right along the beautiful St. Vrain River. In a campsite known for its cramped conditions, we were able to spread out and set up an awesome base camp for our group.

The Line

Kerry in Line

Kathy, Katherine & Jill

The rain started that night, but Kathy’s excellent tarping skills kept our site dry and warm, despite the deluge. Our first night in camp was great as we were entertained by the wonderful singing of Kerry & Bruce’s friend Jill, who plays with the house band at their restaurant, The Rock Inn Mountain Tavern in Estes Park.

Bruce

The St. Vrain River

Kathy

By the start of the festival, Friday morning, we had secured a front row spot for our pop-up and Kathy had gone to retrieve her friend Kate & her partner Sarah who had flown in from Santa Cruz for the Festival and the rain and cold continued. In fact, the entire day on Friday was light rain, followed by heavy rain, then wind, then more rain. Our group was troopers and we were mostly warm and dry under our handy pop-up and the show went on as planned.

Our Tent

Muddy Campground


Pikes Peak Ascent

Moving On

August 15, 2008

Lobsterfest

Night Blooming Cereus

Larry Baeder at Midsummer's Night

Moving On

Melissa & friend

As tough as the past week has been with the loss of our dear friends, life in Key West has soldiered on and Kathy & I have attended a bevy of summer events that have at once taken our minds off our sadness and re-affirmed what a special and wonderful community that we are fortunate to call home.

One annual event that is becoming a fixture on our calendar is the annual Lobsterfest that is held each August. Duval Street is blocked and various restaurants and vendors set up and sell the deliciously fresh lobster in a variety of forms. Personally I prefer a simple grilled lobster dipped in butter, but you can get your Lobster in just about any form. It is a great, if nit blazingly hot, event that celebrates the opening of the Lobster season here in South Florida.

Michael- Lobsterfest





Another wonderful annual party is the Midsummer Night’s celebration of the Arts party at the home of Joyce Stahl. The party is lovingly organized by Michael Shields, who brings together an amazing array of artists, poets, singers, dancers and performers for a fantastic and dreamy evening under not only the stars, but the Perseid Meteor showers this year. Our island is home to a remarkably deep talent pool of artists and we are happy to call many of them our friends and this type of celebration is wonderful. We missed the party last year due to our trip to Colorado, but this year, we did not leave until the morning following the festivities.

Beth

Michael & David



We have also been happy that a couple of great bands have visited Key West in the past week. First up was Buffalo Strange at the Green Parrot. I guess they would fall into the jam band category if you insist on affixing a label. A mix of reggae infused roots music, Buffalo Strange deliver an awesome show and are well worth checking out. I got a tip from a friend in Nashville about a band from there that was headed to play at the Hog’s Breath and the band, The Levees, did not disappoint. They play a more Americana/ alt country mix, but were really awesome as well. Let’s hope that both these bands play our island again soon.

The Levees

Buffalo Strange

Gae, Rob & Kathy

In addition to the out of town bands, we also made it out to the Schooner Wharf for one of our local favorites, Raven. She is one of the best local singers and we always enjoy getting to see her, especially with her fancy new haircut.

Raven

Terry & Reggie

Finally, we also attended the Hometown Pac candidate forum at the Grand Key Resort. It was one of the final chances prior to next week’s primary election for local candidates to present themselves. This year the local elections are exceedingly interesting. I urge everyone to get out and participate and hopefully we can get some good people elected.

Hometown Pac Forum

Buffalo Strange site

The Levees