The drive from Ft. Collins to Mountainview, Arkansas is about 17 hours or so...with lots of waving wheat fields, smiling sunflowers, inky black sky studded with diamond stars, flint hills, granite bluffs, Branson road construction and the rich greenhills of the Ozarks in Missouri and Arkansas.
This was my first time to teach at Mountainview (Advanced Hammered Dulcimer) and performing in the Wednesday night concert was like playing the Grand Old Opry of the Ozarks--a real hoot!
Teaching with talented colleagues Victoria Johnson and David Moran is also an opportunity to treasure! It was typically hot and humid, but delightful none-the-less. A stop to see Jim and Betty Woods and Lawrence Chapman at the Dulcimer Shoppe, some tasty BBQ and ribs at Tommy's and adding my Ben Seymour Galax dulcimer to the pickin' on the courthouse square are all highlights.
I stayed an extra day to poke around in the archives (what a treasure-trove! typically underfunded, but dutifully cared for by Trish.
Then a short (6-hour!) jaunt up to Lee's Summit for a pack-the-house concert at JP Coffee Company beside Longview Community College. Thanks to Mike, Kay and Devon Connelly for their hospitality and for setting this up!
Audio books and some cd releases of old 70s music made the driving more enjoyable...and duct tape helped the plastic dragging piece under my bumper!
I do enjoy mountains of all kinds, but when I cross the Colorado border my heart starts to quicken as my eyes strain to see the first blue shadows of the front range. They sit, majestically waiting, welcoming me back and pointing me to where my family and pup are at home.
I love going out and sharing the music, but it sure is great to be home again!