A Widespread Weekend Adventure

To celebrate our anniversary, Matt and I attended two concerts last weekend--one in Montana and one in Colorado.   This post is an opportunity to document our trip and correct the record on two points.  Once again my blog is evidence of just how much I change my mind about things.  :)

The sun sets over the mountains near Pine Creek Lodge. 6/22/2024

Back in February, we bought tickets to see Widespread Panic on Sunday, June 23rd for the final day of their run at Red Rocks.  We hadn't seen Panic in eleven years and felt it was well overdue.  They don't really tour through Montana anymore, so we would have to go to them.  Red Rocks is a gorgeous venue and we always have a lot of fun visiting Denver.  We figured we'd make a weekend of it.

Lights on the rocks at Red Rocks during the Widespread Panic show.  6/23/2024

Shortly thereafter, Melvin Seals and JGB announced a show up the road from us at the Pine Creek Lodge near Livingston on Saturday, June 22nd.  We were so bummed about that timing.   I mean, Melvin was coming to us and we weren't going to be there?!?!  What a drag!  There was a brief discussion about doing both, but it was a ten-hour drive and we knew it was just too much for one weekend.  We used this disappointment as part of the justification for flying to Arkansas for Jerryberry.  We would get to see two Melvin Seals and JGB concerts there instead of the one at Pine Creek.  

Melvin Seals at his organ on the stage at Pine Creek Lodge. 6/22/2024 

Or so we thought.  So we planned.

Matt plays The Simpon's pinball at the 1-Up Arcade while an oversized Homer oversees the proceedings.  We enjoyed The adjacent Big Lebowski pinball, too.  Matt really likes pinball.  6/24/2024

Buuuuuuuuuuuut, it turns out that we really, really wanted to see Melvin again.  Those Arkansas sets just whet our appetite for more rather than being a consolation prize alternate.   

Melvin Seals and JGB at Pine Creek Lodge. 6/22/2024

We'd accrued some flight vouchers from United because of the delays on our return flight from Jerryberry.  Matt looked up flights and soon a new plan, involving Pine Creek, was forming.

A tasty pair of aviation cocktails--gin, maraschino liqueur, crème de violette and lemon juice--at Watercourse.  6/24/2024

We could drive to the Paradise Valley, enjoy a soak at Yellowstone Hot Springs, head to Pine Creek Lodge for the Melvin Seals show, camp overnight on-site, get up ungodly early, drive back home, and then to the airport to catch an 8am flight to Denver for the Panic show.  We could have the whole day in Denver, plus almost all of the next day before flying home again.  We could skip the looooooooooooooong drive across Wyoming entirely!  

It was a fabulous afternoon at Yellowstone Hot Springs.  6/22/2024

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd that's what we did.  It worked perfectly.  It was like a dream.  We got to have our cake and eat it, too!

A delicious Watercourse milkshake.  6/24/2024

It was a beautiful drive from our home to the mountains.  It was a warm and sunny afternoon at the hot spring.  The water felt heavenly.  Osprey and a pair of Redtail Hawks were flying overhead.  We had a picnic lunch before heading to our final destination for the evening--the Pine Creek Lodge.  We set up the JamJar for sleeping and then hung out on the grass with a rotating assortment of friends.  Melvin and JGB put on a swell show.  There was plenty of dancing room and it was a beautiful night.  The sunset over the mountains was glorious.  

The last of the sunset from Pine Creek Lodge. 6/22/2024

We had a very short night of sleep and then the alarm was going off saying it was time to road trip back to our local airport.  We breezed through security and got to the gate with plenty of time.  Just an hour on the plane and, bingo-bango, we were in Colorado.

A funny sign at the 1-Up Arcade.

From the Denver airport, we drove immediately to our beloved Watercourse Foods for lunch.  It was Pride Parade weekend in downtown Denver and it was slamming with colorful, happy folks.  Matt got a Philly cheesesteak-style sandwich.  I got the Denver hot chxn sandwich.  I'm keen to try all the different types of hot chxn as possible.  Matt sampled a local IPA.  We ordered some seitan buffalo wings to-go for a midnight snack.  

Matt fixing to tuck into his Watercourse cheezsteak sandwich.  6/23/2024

While waiting for our food, Matt wondered about how and when we discovered Watercourse Foods.  Because of my blog, I was able to tell him.  It was in 2013.  Back when I didn't "even like seitan much."  Apparently.  Ha!!  That quote made me laugh.  These days I loooooooooooooooove seitan.  I swoon for it.  I adore it.  I ate some for lunch today.  Matt made a fresh batch last night.  It is a household staple.

The Denver Hot Chxn sandwich at Watercourse lived up to its name with firey perfection.  6/23/2024

After lunch, we drove to Bear Creek Lake Park, located our campsite, and set up the tent.  It was 90 degrees and sunny and the lake was thronged with people.  It was nice and quiet in the campground though.  We made ourselves some shade since the sun was directly overhead.  The local beers tasted even better because of the heat.  We could see both Ship Rock and Creation Rock--the huge stone features that bookend Red Rocks Amphitheater--from our campsite.  That was pretty cool.  We knew we were camping close to Red Rocks, but didn't realize it was that close.

Matt and our DIY shade.  The campground at Bear Creek Lake leaves a little to be desired in the shade department.  6/23/2024

We set out for Red Rocks in the late afternoon.  We enjoyed the lot scene for an hour and then headed up and into the venue.  It was nuts.  A little mindboggling.  From a concert in Paradise Valley on Saturday to watching the sunset over Denver from between those giant red monoliths the very next night at the second concert.  It was another "pinch me" type moment.  

Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre is a very striking landscape.  6/23/2024

Widespread Panic was just as good as I remembered.  The sound could have been a little louder, but it was amazing music.  The second set in particular sent me to a very happy place.  I was especially ecstatic that they played Blue Indian and Coconut.  After returning to camp, we stayed up reflecting on the show and the sublime perfection of our trip around the campfire before crawling into the sleeping bag for the night.  We ate the delicious seitan buffalo wings and felt terribly clever for planning that part in advance.

Widespread Panic on stage at Red Rocks.  6/23/2024

The next morning we had coffee and enjoyed the natural scenery of the park smack dab in the middle of the city.  We saw a Bullock's Oriole that looked brilliantly orange in the sunshine.  We slowly packed things up in our suitcases.  Camping while flying always makes for interesting packing.  We loaded up and went to the beach.  The crowds from the day before were gone this early on a Monday.  We watched water birds and folks on their kayaks and stand-up paddleboards.  We saw a guy do a headstand while floating on his paddleboard!  As someone who loves headstands, I was deeply impressed.

Our site--home away from home--at Bear Creek Lake Park.  6/23/2024

We went back to Watercourse for lunch the next day.  Of course, we did!  This time we put together a wonderful spread to share.  We tucked into a stuffed quesadilla, seitan buffalo wings, macaroni and cheese, a chocolate peanut butter milkshake, and Aviation cocktails.

A Watercourse Foods sampler spread!  The buffalo wings are especially great.  We ordered them both times we were there.  6/24/2024

With happy bellies full of vegan deliciousness we set off for the 1-Up Arcade.  We'd been to their Colfax location, but it didn't open until 3pm so we tried out Greenwood Village this time.  We had a total blast playing games all afternoon.  They had both of my favorite arcade games--Taito's Ice Cold Beer and Bally Midway's Tapper.  Plus, skeebal--another of my favorites.  They had a great selection of pinball machines and cabinet arcade games.  

My favorite game!  It is all about small, controlled motions and balance.  6/24/2024

Our flight home was delayed by three hours which was a bummer finale to the otherwise flawless trip.  But, they have (vegan) Voodoo Doughnuts at the airport now and we were both able to take a much-needed nap curled up in a giant chair at the gate.  Plus, we ended up with more United vouchers.  I'm sure Matt will develop another crazy travel scheme soon enough.  I look forward to finding out what it will be.  :)  

I opted for a classic Maplestick doughnut, but Matt got Voodoo's Old Dirty Bastard.  6/24/2024 

It was really a perfect way to celebrate us.  So fitting.  I'm tremendously grateful that we pulled it off.