Durango, Creede, Gunnison

Where to begin.... It seems like it's been forever since our last blog post. One day turns into three here, but I say that in the best way possible. It's like somehow we've been able to pause time and live in the moment as long as we choose.  I'm learning so much about myself, our world, the beauty that surrounds me... I'm taking it all in.  Some notable things that I don't want to forget - seeing dirt devils twirl around in the desert, falling in love with prairie dogs, just how big an elk really is, watching jack rabbits leap across the road at night, being scared to death to climb up a 12,000 ft mountain pass in the night only to reach the summit and watch shooting stars shimmer across the sky... Makes you forget what exactly you were afraid of in the first place. 

Now to take it back a little, Saturday night we played at the Balcony Bar in Durango. I'd say there were about 100 people or so throughout the night and as always, the folks there exceeded our expectations. We made some really lovely friends that night and look forward to keeping in touch with them after our travels. Most of the folks that came up the steps to join us said that our harmonies were ringing for blocks throughout the town and just had to come up and see what was going on. We had a bit of car trouble which resulted in us having to stay in the area until Monday morning. We celebrated Emily's birthday with an impromptu pool party at our hotel. 

Monday, we zipped on over to Creede, CO which is a sleepy little historic mining town. Johnny Depp's film, "The Lone Ranger" was filmed there, so if you have seen it you kind of have an idea about what the area looks like. Our show didn't begin until around 9:30 that night so we had the entire day to explore. However, the wind was whipping cold air through the mountains and most businesses closed at 4:30. We made the best of it though by rehearsing in the dugout at the local park and spending time at the visitors center learning about the history of the once booming silver mine town. Our show that night was at the Tommyknocker Tavern - the only place still open after 5:00 in town. Though the day was quite laid back, we knew within minutes of sitting down for dinner that our night was about to change! With a round of free shots and a fantastic saxophone rendition of Happy Birthday for Emily, we were about to start our best show of the tour yet! The folks in Creede were AWESOME. Energetic, appreciative, and so welcoming. I will never forget these people and how they made us feel.

Though it was made clear that we were more than welcome to stay over in Creede for the night, we decided to head on to Gunnison. The drive was long and scary and resulted in a severe lack of sleep but we made it safely and the show yesterday at IBar Ranch turned out to be another favorite of ours. The venue is relatively new but already has a strong following. The audience was attentive and lovely, the scenery was gorgeous, and the sound man, CJ, was on point! Couldn't ask for anything more. 

I write this as we are on the road to Frisco, CO where we will take stage at the Barkley Ballroom. I don't know what's about to happen but if history repeats itself, we are in for a real treat!

Miss you all,

Rachel