Central City – September 6th to 16th, 2016

Living out of RV parks gives you a different perspective on life. There is always the transition of people moving in and out so you never quite know what to expect. Two examples of this from the days I spent in Central City.

The first day I got to Central City a trailer pulled in with a young talented singer songwriter guitarist in it. Her name was Zarah Strong and I knew this because of the large promotional stickers that were on her trailer.

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Went to her website to look up where she was playing and it said Monday and Tuesday night in Denver. But it didn’t give any addresses. I ended up sending her a message on Facebook to try and find out where she was playing. Got a message to drop by that she would just be playing outside this evening.

Found out that she was traveling with her mom and dad plus friend and manager Amber. They are just trying to find open mic nights as they criss crossed across the west. But listening to her sing I was blown away. She played a few covers as well as some original songs. Songs she had written about this trip across the US and also what it might be like to be famous like Taylor Swift.

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Just incredible raw talent. I hope that she finds a way to keep making music. She would be a great addition to The Voice. I asked if they were going to LA. Should have warned them about the traffic. Last year when I drove Route 66 it took 5 hours to drive the last 50 miles into Los Angeles. But it was a joy to meet them all and was something different at the KOA.

The second surprise happened the last two days before I was supposed to leave Central City. While driving up the Central City Expressway I had seen signs that said there was a Hot Rod Hill Climb happening the weekend of the 16th to the 18th. Well starting on Wednesday the Hot Rods and Rat Rods started showing up.

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I had Michel and her mom Jenett come visit me on Wednesday the 14th. We went down to Idaho Springs and ate Beau Jo’s pizza. To them just coming up this far into the mountains was a vacation. It was exciting to see the joy on their face to be doing something different.

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Then the next day Dave and Darlee came up to see the new home. They have been very supportive of me while I’ve been transitioning to this new life. I’m extremely lucky to have all the support that everyone has given me. I’ve not always felt the best to be able to show the appreciation for the support and encouragement I’ve gotten.

Darlee was also kind enough to invite me to a Rockies game last week. We left at the bottom of the 7th while the Giants were ahead 5 – 3. I got to listen to the rest of the game while I was driving home. They came back in the bottom of the 9th to win the game 6 – 5. I’ve reached this point where it’s more important to spend time with people than making sure I catch the end of a game.

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One of the joys I experienced this trip was getting to see the Aspens turn. I’ve seen them before but to drive past every day for a couple of weeks and see the slow changes was amazing.

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Views like this every morning make the stay in Central City worth it.

The reason I made this trek back to Colorado is for the fourth annual Alferd Packer Bacon Party. My brainchild when I was president of the Rotary club. I had the thought I should call this a pork belly in stomach play on words. (As opposed to tongue in cheek) I haven’t been involved in the planning this year because of life but felt I needed to be there to support the event any way I could. Which meant working on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Doing at least what I could.

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I’m thankful that the club followed me on this hair brained idea. It’s been a fun four years. Not sure what will happen in the future with it. Mainly because the crowd hasn’t grown over the past two years as we’d like. But on the positive side we’ve made money every single year. It is a fun event for the community.

Anyway, I’m thinking I’ll be back to Denver in November. Meanwhile, the adventure is truly beginning. The next trek will take me across Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, and then to Indiana.

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