It is so hard to say goodbye. This whole past week was like stepping onto a magic carpet. Jason Strange (of the legendary Steaknite in Waring, TX) picked me up and we drove to Dallas to meet the Celebrity Coach, with Blake and Angie Olson and the intrepid Music Foggers who drove to meet the bus from DC to Tupelo. Eddie was the steadying hand on the wheel.
We were whisked off through the flatlands to start the climb up the Rocky Mountains. Pit stopping in Denver overnight gave us all a chance to catch our breath. Next stop Steamboat, and the bus was put in position as the green room for the MusicFest tent. We got a shuttle to our condo, and dug in.
The first night, we attended the Musician Welcome party, and saw lots of friends, promoter John Dickson among them. The rest of the time was both a blur, and somewhat well documented, thank goodness. We tried to overcome altitude sickness with the recommended water, but switched to the somewhat more effective booze...or at least, we didn't seem to care that much about it after the alcohol content was ramped up. Artists came and went, we cooked, we drank, we wrote, we went on forays. And we had an amazing time.
We met the bus right after filming the Gondola Concert Series™ with Brandon Jenkins, and we pulled out for the overnight drive to Dallas, where Jason and I drove south to Austin, after noting that it was exactly a week to the hour.
Thanks to all: John and Robin Dickson and the great crew of folks they assemble for MusicFest at Steamboat Springs. Thanks to the Steamboat Resort people. A huge thanks to the artists, and a heartfelt thanks to Blake Olson and Celebrity Coaches for letting us tag along, hijack the back suite for our production, and especially for believing in us.
-Jessie