Heading East... 8-(

The John Adams concert last night was very good. John played a number of JD songs that no one else had played during their concerts. Overall a nice way to wrap up the week's concerts.
Today we woke up to light rain and snow on the mountaintops. Mary snapped this photo of the Wheeler as we headed to "Good-Bye, Again". There were about 50 people for this closing event which, due to weather, was moved inside the Chalet. After that we headed for Glenwood Springs where we grabbed some subs and headed for Glenwood Canyon for a nice picnic at a rest area.
As we continued east, we started to see some state highway trucks and, sure enough, we hit some light snow at Vail Pass (10,600' elevation). It was very pretty as you can see from this picture. The snow cleared as we headed east (there were "ice on road" warnings at the Eisenhower tunnel) but after that no traffic issues at all.
We stopped at Georgetown to shop and visit the post office and to get a little break from the drive. It was nice to see that quaint berg again and to hear how the owner of the Shoppe International had 30 minutes to teach John Denver to drive a sleigh for the movie "The Christmas Gift".
Tomorrow it's back to Detroit and to work on Wednesday. It's been a great trip with lots of "Aspen Moments" to recall. 

Sunday in Aspen

Our day started out with yet another "Aspen Moment" -- we had breakfast with Mack Bailey and his wife, Rachel! We enjoyed a nice, lively conversation over our food. What a great way to start the day, especially for Mary.
Mack Bailey and Ellen Staplehorst were singing for a church service at the Aspen Community Chapel so we went to it. It was not the kind of service we are used to, but the chaplain presented a message about St. Francis of Assisi around their songs. Afterwards they were having a blessing of the animals so there were lots of dogs, large and small, outside.  One lady brought a picture of her cat (due to all the dogs) and we received a certificate for Kitsa so she was blessed in abstentia. We said "good bye" to Mack, met up with a couple from Melbourne, Australia that wanted a ride to Windstar and headed out.
We had a free lunch at Windstar, heard Jim Conner and Aspen Meadow perform, then walked around the grounds. Mary sat on a bench next to John Denver's aunt, Bubbles, and Bubbles struck up a conversation with her, another Aspen Moment. We checked out the John Denver statue and the commemorative bricks around it, the gift shop, and enjoyed the sunshine as we walked the grounds.
After leaving Windstar we took our Aussie friends to the Woody Creek Tavern for a snack before returning to Aspen.
Tonight is the last JD concert by John Adams. Tomorrow is "Good-Bye Again" and then a stop at Glenwood Springs and Georgetown as we head east.

Saturday in Aspen

Saturday was a very busy day for us with the Cookhouse and evening Tribute concert,a few sporting events to watch, and another special Aspen moment in the afternoon.

The Cookhouse was very special, as always. Thanks to Judy Therian we had a great table right in front of the band (Chris Collins, Paul Swanton, Jeff Pine, and Jim Conner). The special guest of the day was John Denver's daughter, Jesse Belle. She had jewelry and artwork for sale and was doing a very brisk business. Her mom, Cassie Denver, showed up and Mary got this nice picture of the two of them. During the singing, Cassie's mom even took the stage to sing "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie". Later on, Cassie also took the stage for a rendition of "Country Roads". The meal was superb with salmon and chicken as the main entrees.

Mary got a big surprise in the afternoon when she went through the lobby and saw this group of guitar players jamming! Mack Bailey, Pete Huttlinger, Alan Deremo and 3 others were having a great time. She text'd me and I came out to enjoy it as well. Mack's son, Hayden, was there as well trying to help his dad -- very cute!
The second Tribute concert was very good. Even tho it was a repeat of the first one, things always change up a bit. The band members seemed looser at this one and it had a bit more energy, if that was possible. Pete Huttlinger was introduced after the intermission and even joked about his medical condition! Comedian Gary Mule Deer did have new material for this act. The silent auction did quite well with several of the items going for several hundred dollars.
On to today's events - church, Windstar, and John Adams concert.

First Wheeler Concert

WHAT A CONCERT!!!! Had a superb show tonight with quite the surprise when Pete Huttlinger came out after the intermission. And he not only came out, but he played the entire second half of the concert, including a few solos. But even before that it was a super show. The performers had great energy and it carried into the audience. They had 3 recordings of John Denver singing which was also a nice touch.

Pete even came to the after party where I got this picture with him. He also said he plans to resume work on McGuire's Landing (his major music project before he got sick) soon. He sure is a trooper. He has a heart pump with an external power pack, but besides that he is gaining weight and back to "Living Life".

I also had a chance to "talk flute" with Jim Horn at the after party so Mary snapped this picture. Alto flute, d-flat piccolos, Sousa marches, stuff like that. Very cool! He also said how he surprised John Denver by playing a soprano sax on a flute part one day and John liked it so it became a part of the show.
Overall a very great night!

Aspen day 2

Last night went went to Mollie Weaver's concert. It was a very informal, unrehearsed concert - like having a group of musicians getting together and jammin'.  Mollie has a beautiful voice which came through clear, but she sang some unusual arrangements of songs.  Overall a good concert with plenty of energy that went up when Bill Danoff joined them for a couple of numbers.
We went to the nightly sing along at the Mountain Chalet. At first only one guitar player, a new guy named Ron Matthews, was there but it soon expanded to 3 guitars and a banjo (also a first timer). Ron had a large repertoire of JD songs and wrote one in memory of John's passing. It was a great sing along, with lots of popular songs so we stayed for about an hour, but were fading by midnight so we headed back to our hotel.
This morning we slept in a while, then headed out to find the location of the picture on the cover of the Rocky Mountain High album.  It was a pretty walk along the Roaring Forks river with a clear blue sky and enough sun that Mary left her coat in the car. Just over 1/2 mile down the trail we found the spot! Very nice to see it.
This afternoon's Aspen Meadow concert was supurb! Jake and his crew put on a great, non stop 2 hour concert, playing a great selection of John Denver songs as well as a few of their own.  The received several standing ovations, including one for a flute solo rendition of My Sweet Lady. 
Tonight is the first Tribute concert and is rumored to have a big surprise. 

Day 1 at Aspen

Today was a beautiful day to be in the mountains!

Today's weather was wonderful: a bright blue, cloudless sky and nice moderate temperatures.
Our day started with going to the John Denver Sanctuary for "Meet and Greet". Mary and I walked among the boulders and reflected back on our past visits.
The event started a bit late as people mingled and got re-acquainted with friends from prior years. Eventually we had 5 guitars playing a few John Denver songs. About 60 people were at the event, a bit fewer than prior years, but still pretty well attended. Even the construction workers building a new wetlands within the Sanctuary silenced their equipment while we sang our songs.

Our next stop was the Maroon Belles. Who could resist going there on such a beautiful day? When we arrived the wind was calm and you could see a full reflection of the mountains in Maroon Lake. We walked around to the other side of Maroon Lake. It was so warm we took our coats off.

Tonight we have the Mollie Weaver concert at 8:00. She has a beautiful voice and will be accompanied by Bob Sirois. Should be a great way to wrap up this day.

Arriving at Aspen

We had a beautiful drive to Aspen today. Sunny, clear and un-hurried with no traffic to speak of and no construction backups. Being back in the mountains felt great! I'm not sure what it is, but I can feel the tension drain away during a drive like this. Here are 2 of the many pictures we took along the way. After passing through the Eisenhower Tunnel we took the Independence Pass route through Leadville where we enjoyed a nice lunch at the Golden Burro cafe. Leadville was a very quaint town with lots of stores and a classic western downtown just like you would expect to see.
The drive up the pass was very pleasant and beautiful. When we got to Independence Pass, we saw our first snow of the season. We did not stay out and walk around too much because the paths were snow covered and it was about 35 degrees with a blowing wind. The lakes at the summit were frozen over as you can see just to the left of Mary in this picture.

This evening we headed out to our first concert with Chris Collins and Paul Swanton performing many familiar songs as well as a few new ones. It was a nice kick off concert, but we missed the other members of the Friends With You Band. It was nice to see many JD friends from the past.

Our Trip Begins

We launched our Aspen 2011 adventure yesterday by flying to Denver where we stayed overnight. Today we have plenty of time for sightseeing and a leisurely drive to Aspen.
We flew on Southwest instead of Delta - sure like that extra legroom! No travel issues and we had our rental car and were at our motel in under an hour from landing.
We had a very pleasant surprise at breakfast this morning. I saw two waffle makers and two dispensers so I drew one cup of batter from each. Only then did I notice that one batter was darker and turned into a blueberry waffle! This was in addition to a very nice breakfast setup with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, etc. So we each had half of each waffle for our second course and are well fortified for the day ahead. So far Independence Pass is open so we're planning to take that route to Aspen. Once we get settled in at the Limelight we'll do our grocery shopping and get ready for the Chris Collins concert tonight.
On to Aspen!!!