Denver Colorado - Week Thirty Seven

Wow what a week.

It has been a phenomenal first visit for me to this part of the country. I have fallen head over heels for The Rocky Mountains. They will never have the solemn singular grace that the volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest do, but they have their desert enormity which is a first for me. I can't believe I am leaving. I could stay here for months and months EASILY. There is so much to do and see. I don't think I even scratched the surface. It is rare for me to actually be sad that i am leaving a city. Most of the time it doesn't matter how long the stay. Could be a week, could be a month, but when load out weekend comes, somehow I am always ready to move on. I think it is just my brain gearing up for the move. So far the only places that seem to have me resisting the change are Oregon and Colorado.

The week started out with another BBQ. This one was hosted by Cuz in the sound department, and his wife Maggie. They live here in town.
I was a little surprised, actually. I always thought of Cuz as a mountainy kinda guy. Their house is adorable with a ginormous backyard - which we took over. Maggie cooked her face off, and Cuz was content to cook up the burgers and some trout on his very fancy brick grill. He told me the reason he bought this house was for that grill. That's funny...boys and their grills.
It was a smaller party than Elaine and Steve's, but the people that showed up had a great time. Cuz made some kick ass margharitas by the bucket...what were they called... Oh Yes. Knock Them Naked Margharitas. While I didn't see anyone disrobe, they were very good and completely deceiving in their potency. I had three and needed a seat. I don't even know what the hell was in it. I wanna say there was beer as well as tequila, but maybe I made that up. As good as they were, I had to leave the party early to go see THE BEST BASEBALL GAME I HAVE EVER SEEN (live)

Those of you who know me well, know I am not a sports fanatic. I am still pretty passionate about men's tennis, but other than that, not so much. However, over the years, I have grown really fond of baseball. I still don't really watch it on TV, unless it is with Kricka, but I just love going to games at the stadiums. Usually, it is in Row X at Yankee stadium (Let's here it for Row X Kricka!) but I have attended a few of the games out here on the road, and have just had the best time. It all pales in comparison to last Monday's game between The Rockies and The Padres. This game was so exciting from beginning to end. To start off with, it was an historic match up. There have only been 7 one off tie breakers in the history of the game. (do not fact check me that info came from highly reliable sources and for all I know they were talking out their butts, but I seriously doubt it) The Rockies took off with an early lead, but then the damn Padres fought back in one stinkin inning. Back and forth this went. There were lousy calls which brought 45,000 people screaming BOOOOOOOOOO. There were home runs that made us jump up and scream and yell. It went into high anxiety extra innings. Then the Padres scored two runs. So sad. (except for the two Padres fans in the place) This air of doom hung over the whole stadium. People started leaving. (oh that burns me up. YOU NEVER LEAVE...NEEEEEEEEEEVER) I bet those people are kicking themselves that they left -as well they should. The Rockies won with a questionable call over a slide into home plate. The place went INSANE. You couldn't help but be caught up in it! I was screaming and jumping up and down. I peed myself a little (with a fleeting thought of concern over how often that happens as I get older) My voice was blown out the next day. It wasn't my team that was even involved, but it just didn't matter. I had the best time. Truly spectacular.

It's a good thing I spent the next day on a journey alone, because I could barely speak on Tuesday. I hopped in the car and drove down to Colorado Springs. I had a whole day of it planned. I was going to go to The Garden of the Gods, then drive down to see the world's highest suspension bridge, and then hit Pike's Peak. Well that all went out the window when I arrived at the Garden of the Gods. Some of you who came out to visit me eons ago, when I Iived in Vegas, should remember The Valley of Fire. This place was very similar to it. These giant red rocks, seemingly dropped out of nowhere, standing tall and beautiful. The difference between here and Vegas is that the Valley of Fire is much much much bigger, BUT it is also in true dusty desert. Nothing living but lizards and tumbleweeds. (hmmm are tumbleweeds alive even?) The Garden of the Gods is nestled in the lush green foothills near Pike's Peak. So instead of stark red in beige dusty sand (still incredible), this place is made more dramatic against the dark greens of the trees surrounding the rocks. Wow. As soon as I got out of the car and started walking around, I threw the rest of my day out the window. I spent four hours there just walking around, sitting quietly in the sun, just me and my thoughts. I am so glad I went alone. It is one of those places that seems solitary and brings peace to an otherwise anxiety ridden brain. Another one of those spots where you take the lens off your camera and suddenly you are Ansel Adams. Loved it. Try and make it down there if you can, if you are ever in the area.

Wednesday was a fun filled day with Wayne and Jovon. It was another big day of seeing the sights. I have to admit, I was starting to feel pressure to see as much as possible before I left. The first place we hit was Buffalo Bill's grave. For at least a week I was having a bit of a conundrum about this site. I could have sworn Buffalo Bill was buried at the Mt. Moriah cemetery in Deadwood South Dakota. Then while I was at this site, I saw a postcard and it became clear I was mixing up Buffalo Bill with Wild Bill Hickok. That was kinda stooopid, but whatev. Buffalo's Bill grave was cool...but if truth be told, I enjoyed Wild Bill's better. That cemetery in deadwood is just old and lovely. Did ya'll know that Buffalo Bill was a Freemason? It's true. That wacky triangle symbol was on his grave.
After that stop, we went on to the coolest one of the day. It wasn't even originally on the plan and it turned out to be the diamond of the day. The Shrine of Mother Cabrini is located about ten miles from my hotel.
She is the first American saint. (FUN FRAN FACT: Although her name is St. Francis Xavier...I am not named for her but St. Francis of Assisi.) It's a fun windy drive up the hills to get there. It is a sort of compound really, with a church, a convent, the shrine -with a small park connected, and a giant Jesus on the hill behind the shrine. Leading up to the giant Jesus are 400 stairs, with the Stations of the Cross placed about every 15 steps or so. Wayne was having none of the stairs, but Jovon and I climbed up as far as we could go. Apparently Jesus was struck by lightening in May of this year and suffered some damage, so the statue is covered in scaffolding. This knocked off about 25 stairs for us to crawl up. It was a gorgeous day with a beautiful view of the city laid out. After the walk down, we went into the shrine itself, which was really beautiful and tiny. Down a bit from the shrine, located in the park, is famous fountain you can drink from. Mother Cabrini, while she was bringing orphaned children to this place for some peaceful summer sun, hit some rocks with a cane or something and water came pouring out. Now you can drink from the fountain and gain some healing peace from the refreshing mountain water. They had a little metal donation collection box. Is it bad of me that I got the tinsiest pissy that all I had was a five to put in? I mean, I went ahead and gave the five bucks but really, five bucks for a sip of water? That's ten times worse than Poland Spring or Evian I drank some myself, and I am feeling a bit peaceful...

After that brilliant stop we went to one of the meccas of any U2 fan. Red Rocks. I am sure that Wayne and Jovon weren't as awestruck as me, but they seemed to enjoy it. I, of course, was beside myself with visions of Sunday Bloody Sunday, and the entire Under A Blood Red Sky album. I was very very surprised at how small the stage was. It just this little postage stamp. Just a lil U2/Red Rocks Love from You Tube for you. In fact when the counter says 4:46 there is a shot that looks as if it was taken from the same location as my picture below.
It looks a lot bigger on the video. I grew up thinking of Red Rocks as THE place to see a band play. It is a unique and wicked cool venue. The seats are surrounded by the big sandstone rocks with that itty bitty stage down at the base. there is a small museum on the inside of the visitor's center giving the history of the place. It was originally called The Garden of the Angels. No doubt this was in relation to the Garden of The Gods. Even before they made it an official venue, there were people who recognixed it's amazing acoustics. They had a picture up on the wall in the museum, of one of the first bands to ever play there. The picture was dated 1910 and it was of an unfortunate looking couple singing. Red Rocks was purchased by the City of Denver in 1927, finished into an ampitheater because of it's perfect acoustics in 1941, and U2 played their famous performance there on June 5th 1983. I was 13. It has been on my list of things to see since then. (checks off on list.)
After a fantasic lunch there, we headed out to the dud of our journey. Now I want to say by this point in the day, I am gettin' tuckered. Being at Red Rocks was a thrill for me and there was no where to go but down. Down is really the wrong word. Dinosaur Ridge blows. I was originally so excited to see bones and foot prints of the dinosaurs that had roamed this area. I was picturing tusks of Wooly Mammoths, and a skeleton of a T-rex. Wayne by this time has exhausted himself and laid down in the back of the car to sleep. So Jovon and I got a map, and with Wayne snoring (lol) we headed out over the road around the ridge to the various stopping points. The first stop was of foot prints. Now, I am sure they painted the foot prints so that we could see them better, but it looked like a 5 year old in kindegarten art class had painted up their hands and randomly slapped them all over the side of the hill. I started to question the validity of the place, but remembered it was listed as a National Historic place. I don't even want to talk about it anymore, that is how much it sucked. Jovon thought if we had a guide it might not have stunk. I dunno. The company of Jovon was fun and even Wayne's snoring made me giggle, but the joint just irritated me.
The only other thing of note that happened during the week was that on Friday night at around 1:30am, I set the fire alarm off in my room while making popcorn. The front desk lady called up, freaking out - no doubt nothing ever happens on the night shift- and I explained to her that it was just popcorn, but she came up anyway to make sure I wasn't burning the place down. In the time that it took her to show up, if it had been a real fire, everyone in the hotel would have bought the farm. My room still smells like burnt popcorn. LOL.
I got a nice surprise on Saturday. Amber Issac, who I know from a bunch of shows in NYC, came down from her new
mountain home and we went out and had a really nice dinner. She had been hired to work Little Mermaid with Eddie while he was here. Like me, she has had enough of working in The City and sees a more quiet life for her future. Hanging out with Amber was like having just the littlest piece of home. It is always nice to spend time with someone who knows where you come from.
Heading into Load Out Weekend, I was sad I never made it up to Estes Park to explore the Northeastern side of Rocky Mountain National Park. I never got to see the Continental Divide or Pike's Peak. However, now that I have been here and love it so much I know I will be back. No way around it. I am hooked. I am really sad to say goodbye to these locals. Just a wonderful group of hard working people. Not a rotten egg in the bunch. No one to babysit, or worry about. On top of that they were a fun hang. This is a group of the crew hanging out in the Wardrobe room. Laura C, Callie, Julie, Leslie, and Laura P. I look forward to seeing them all when I pass through town on the next show.
The next stop is Seattle. Seattle and I have never actually met. I have been in the airport a few times, but that's it. Everyone I know, who has been to this city has said I will more than love it. A number of people see me living there. That's a tall order people. So Seattle had better be putting out.

xo
Fran


The Extra Pics

I was show shopping on Thursday, out in the burbs of Denver and I ran into Columbine High School. I mean, I knew it was in the town I was in, but I didn't expect to see it. It was kinda shocking. I remember watching that whole event unfold on the TV and the view from the helicopter made it look like a big school. It is really isn't all that big. Bunch of kids hanging out waiting for their parents to pick them up. Very normal.





A boy and his Grill...




Some of the ladies enjoying the eats.




The cutest Spamalot Dog. This is Rozie. I love this dog.



This the group of us that went to see the Rockies kick The Padres. That's Tony, Vera, and Jovon in the front, with Jeff and Michael in the back. What a good time that was.




The winning group hug. You can't see it in this photo but there were cops lining up and down the field in front of the dugouts to keep the crazy Rocky fans from rushing.





Somehow all those cops couldn't keep this one Rockies freakfest from dashing out onto the field in just his shorts. He was runing around and dodging them like a kindergarten kid on the play ground. They tackled him down seconds later.



This is my favorite rock at The Garden of The Gods. I think I sat right there for about 45 minutes.




Looking at Pike's Peak from one of the trails at The Garden of the Gods. Maybe next time I will get up there.






Awwwwwwww Bambi and his momma at The Garden of The Gods.




The city of Denver owns a herd of buffalo that live in a huge park near the Mother Cabrini shine. They were rollin all around kickin up the dust. Buffalo are funny lookin.





The big daddy of them all. still funny lookin...




This is the famous well at the shrine of Mother Cabrini. You know, the one that I was forced to give 5 bucks to. I guess 5 bucks isn't so much to pay for a lil peace...right?




I call this one "Vagina Rock"







WHAT THE HELL?????? IT'S OCTOBER FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY.
When I rule the world, there will be a law that says you CANNOT decorate for Christmas until after Halloween is over.