I am three trips behind on updating the blog, but this post is the most belated, as it was Part 2 of the San Francisco trip in July 2013. I considered just skipping over it, but I refer back to these posts for the memories (and my mind isn’t even totally gone yet!) and sometimes share them with friends traveling to the same places who want some ideas on what to do and see. So, I’m going back in time to recap part 2 of my 4th of July trip with Jessica and Thai.
In fact, the whole trip was planned around a bucket list item for me – seeing The Avett Brothers play at Red Rocks, which they did on Saturday, July 6th, with Old Crow Medicine Show opening.
We flew from San Francisco to Denver early that morning, and while we didn’t relish waking up so early, it was fortunate that we’d chosen the earliest flight, because otherwise, we never would have made it to Denver that day. Just a few hours after we departed SFO, Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed on arrival and the airport was subsequently shut down. Naturally, our phones were off for the flight to Denver, and upon arrival, we rented a car and immediately drove up into the mountains beyond cell phone range. We had no idea anything had happened, and hadn’t received any of the texts or calls from friends and family back home who’d only heard there was a crash at SFO on the same morning they knew we were flying out. Luckily, more details came out and assuaged any fears, since we were flying out to Denver and not in from Asia.
Meanwhile, we remained blissfully unaware as we took in the beauty of the mountains on our slow climb up to my friend Liz’s place, where we settled in from our travels and everyone got acquainted.
Soon, it was time for me to drift back down the mountain to go to Red Rocks for the show. It was quite a workout to get from the parking lot up to the actual venue. Luckily, seeing The Avett Brothers is an “ain’t no mountain high enough” kind of situation, so I pressed on and found a perch where I could see the Denver skyline in the distance behind the stage.
Old Crow Medicine Show – themselves Virginia boys – opened up the night with their tune “Carry Me Back (to Virginia),” which brought a big smile to my face. I took it as a sign that the show was practically made for me, which is a nice feeling when you’ve flown across the country to see it!
Old Crow put on a great show, and those who’d shown up for them were rewarded with a great time. The stairs/seats at Red Rocks are great for dancing, which was a good thing for this show, because everyone was bursting at the seams with bluegrass-fueled energy.
The crowd filled in immensely while we waited for The Avett Brothers to emerge. About the time everyone was packed in like sardines, a guy came over to tell me that his seats were right there. I thought the whole show was General Admission, so I assumed he was joking and laughed. I turns out that there really was reserved seating for a higher price, and I had indeed encroached upon his seats.
As it would happen, the row right behind the one I’d chosen was where General Admission actually began. His friends had parked there while he walked down to find out what was going on. We sat there talking for a while and he learned that I was from Virginia and had just flown into Denver that day for the show. We covered a number of topics, and when the on-stage commotion suggested that The Avett Brothers were about to emerge, I started to move back and he stopped me and said, “This is your spot now. I’ll move back. Enjoy the show!” These are the kinds of situations that tend to come to blows at other shows, but I’ve never met a rude person at an Avett Brothers show. It’s an easy litmus test for a kind and generous heart if you encounter an Avett fan.
I guess this is the point where I would attempt to convey something about the show to you, but I cannot. Until you see The Avett Brothers live, you don’t know, and you will never know. So, go get a ticket, stir your soul, and make your life better.
Sunday morning, we set out to repeat the journey that Liz and I made on my first trip to Denver in 2010 via the Peak-to-Peak Scenic Byway. The views were new to Jessica and Thai, and I loved them so much the first time that I was happy to see them again.
When we stopped at the “Chapel on the Rock” (The Saint Catherine of Siena Chapel, once visited by Pope John Paul II), there was another family there touring as well, and one of them was sporting a Liberty sweatshirt. He was an online student. Small world!
We had a delicious lunch at the Bald Pate Inn, which is Liz’s favorite restaurant and inn. We had also eaten there before, and I was eager to return. I keep a postcard on my refrigerator to this day that Liz sent to me from there.
After lunch, we continued along the Peak-to-Peak until we arrived in Estes Park, where we walked around town and visited the various shops. We saw some folks tubing, and this photo doesn’t show it, but this river was running alongside a strip mall, which made it a comical scene.
I spotted this raccoon in one of the stores, and he obviously had to come home with me. I named him Rockie.
Of course, I had to make a return visit by this sign:
This is where Liz and I had ended our journey before, but to add something new, we continued on so we could go up to the Continental Divide, with some more great scenery along the way as we made the climb.
We rode up above the tree line where we saw patches of permafrost and elk laying around.
Up at the Continental Divide, there was a visitor’s center and folks hanging around in shorts and tank tops next to a wall of snow.
There was also an intimidating path leading up to the ACTUAL top of the Continental Divide, and nobody was feeling particularly energetic about making the climb. Liz went into the Visitor’s Center, everyone else stayed in the car, and I looked for a few minutes at that climb and decided that I had to seize the day. I may never return to that spot again, and I couldn’t go the rest of my life knowing I was that close to the top of the Continental Divide and didn’t face the challenge, so off I went!
It was a steep and long climb, but not terribly difficult aside from the lack of oxygen at that altitude where trees cannot even grow. A guy started the climb at about the same moment I did, so I thought I had myself a walking buddy, should one of us pass out along the way. However, about a third of the way up, he gave up and turned back. I moved ahead slowly, doing that awkward stair-walk that my knee injury allows, and I’d count off 20-30 steps and then stop to rest a bit. At least the views were nice.
I took this photo when I thought I was almost at the top. It looked like the top of the stairs ahead, which must’ve been the top, and I could surely make it. But, when I got to the top, I discovered that the stairs were ending, but the climb was not, and what I thought was the finish line was really about ¾ of the way up.
Luckily, every once in a while someone would walk down from the top and offer some encouragement that the climb was worth it in the end. They were correct. It was a great feeling to make it up and feel like I could have been standing on the top of the world.
There was one other guy up there when I arrived, and he said I had to have my picture taken after coming all that way.
When he left, I had the place to myself for few glorious minutes before I started my descent.
On the subsequent drive back down, traffic had jammed up as everyone was watching these elk.
We got to watch the sunset over the gorgeous landscape on the drive back to Liz’s place.
Liz had to leave town on business on Monday morning, so we got up to see her off before formulating a plan for the day. We were planning to drive out to Colorado Springs to see the Garden of the Gods, but figured we’d have time for at least one other activity in the day, so we googled spas and made ourselves appointments for massages and pedicures!
Our spa break was a great idea and we left there feeling rejuvenated for our visit to Garden of the Gods. The heat was almost suffocating, but Garden of the Gods was gorgeous enough to make it well worthwhile.
We had an afternoon flight out of Denver on Tuesday, so we packed up that morning and drove into Denver and picked up my friend Mel so we could all go to breakfast. We stuck out the heat again to walk around downtown a bit and enjoy Mel’s company before we had to leave for the airport.
It never fails that I wind up sprinting through the Charlotte airport to catch the last puddle-jumper back to Lynchburg, and this trip was no different, but we made it back, exhausted but happy from our journey.
pandandrum 