The Hold Steady nearly killed me!

It has been awhile since I have had the opportunity to sit down in front of a computer. (I have been in northern Wisconsin for the last week). So I am a little late on a posting an entry about the Hold Steady show that took place on Tuesday night at First Avenue.

I am glad that I took the time to drive down here see the show! It was great! I thought that it was a better show then when they played at the State Theater this past fall. They played past and present songs and kept the First Avenue rocking for almost two hours.

As I was listening and watching them perform...there songs seem to remind me of my past and bring up experiences I have lived through. Everytime I hear them I feel like doing something carefree and strugging off life's responsibilty to do something fun.

That brings me to why I think what makes the Hold Steady, in my eyes, a great band. Is that Craig Finn is a modern day storyteller and a good one at that. He is able to "name drop" places, have returning characters in his songs, and make the songs relateable to people. In addition to the storytelling...he is entertaining to watch, he and the rest of the band truly enjoy what they are doing.

Thanks Hold Steady for making great music!!

Colorado.

As I think back about the last few weeks, I have pleasant memories of my trip to Colorado. All told I was gone for 17 days, drove a little over 2800 miles, and saw many different aspects of Colorado. Instead of having a play by play account of my trip, I am going to compile a list of things I was able to do as well as include a few pictures….

• Go on one Hell of a Road Trip funded by the US Government (thanks for the economy stimulus rebate check!)
• Spend time in Denver, Breckenridge, Fresco, Vail, and Gunnison areas
• Attend a Rockies game at Coors Stadium
• Watched a car accident occur (shouldn’t “text and drive”….ouch!!!)
• Climb four “14ers” (Bierstadt, Evans, La Plata, Huron)
• Backpack thru unbelievable serene wilderness
• Hike and camp in winter like conditions
• Run on beautiful trails in the Leadville, Gunnison, Crested Butte areas
• Hike to the bottom of the Black Gunnison Canyon
• Experience a powerful, middle of the night, thunderstorm in Nebraska
• Reconnect and establish better relationships with some great people (Kerry, Lauren, Michael, and Nicole, as well as many others.
• Spend time with Tracy and show her the great state of Colorado.

Almost Time for Colorado

It's almost time for me to join Derek in Colorado for a little vacation, and I couldn't be more excited and ready to get away for a few days. Ever since he left last Monday, I've been counting down the days and getting more and more anxious for this trip to arrive. Almost time!

Since Derek left for Colorado, I've done the following: clean, clean clean. I found the domestic sliver of my being and was able to accomplish some major cleaning this weekend. Not exciting or glamorous, but notable for me, at least. I also caught a Twins game with some good friends -- or, should I say, caught up with some friends I haven't seen in a while while a Twins game happened to be going on in front of us. Not too surprising that I did more talking than game-watching, but I did notice the home run Mauer hit, so that should count for something.

Derek called this afternoon from Leadville to say it was beautiful out and he was looking at some breathtaking sights (that one's for you, Kurt "Leadville 100" Decker, from Derek). I imagined him sitting on a mountain (albeit one with good reception) , breathing in the cool, dry air with his legs leisurely stretched out in front of him. I can hear the carefree lifestyle of summer vacation in his voice, and it feels good to think that I'll be there soon, too (and hopefully not too sick from the altitude -- yikes!).