Flash King

As we all know too well, the economy is down a little. Grand Lake is not doing too bad but not as good as usual for Winter. A person can watch the news on TV or the Internet or read about it in the paper(if one still exists). For me, the sure sign that things were not so good was seeing Bobby King tending bar at his own restaurant instead of hanging out at 'The Mango Deck' in Cabo and fishing with "Captain Rob"! Most winters, he spends his time in Mexico, but not this year. He's bar tending at Pancho & Lefty's under his new name..."FLASH"!
The speed at which he makes drinks is 'lightning fast'. It's like "Quick Draw Magraw" with a bottle and a slice of lime. I haven't seen him move so fast since his last 'lap dance' went bad.
So next time you're in Grand Lake, stop into P & L's and have a margarita from "FLASH KING"! Just don't blink your eyes or you might miss it.

St. Valentine's Day Massacre 2009

Skip's annual St. Valentine's Day Massacre pool tournament is today at noon at the Lariat. This year's trophies are great as usual! It's limited to people who don't shoot much pool and started years ago from a challenge by the band(Walter, Scotty and me) to Barky Lew and has grown into a fun afternoon on an otherwise dreary February day. I'll try and get pictures and do more blogging later.

Slow Down!

Who's dog is this? Not mine(I don't even have homework for one to eat). But obviously, someone is taking things a little too fast. My weekend advice is to slow down, smell the roses(or if you're a canine, some one's bum) and enjoy!! Come on up to 8369 and frolic in the snow or just hang out in the bars. We're open for business and anything else at this time of year.
PS. Happy birthday wishes to my good friend Penny!!

A Little Bird Told Me

A little bird told me that "The Brothers Foot" book is getting closer to being available. It should probably be out sometime in March. If you go to the web site and look under related sites, you'll find ronnie roo's nothernfront site and the Authorhouse site which gives some more details.

On the Authorhouse site, just type in The Brothers Foot at the top of the page under Title, hit search and it will give you more details. Also if you click on the picture of the cover, it will give even more info on the book. Check it out!

www.northernfront.net/Ronnieroo/artwall9.htm

www.authorhouse.com/Bookstore/Bookhome.aspx

In A Meadow Of Columbine

I suppose I've been painting a bleak picture lately, what with Winter in full swing, so I thought I should remind myself of another season. This picture was taken in my own front yard last July 1.
Just a reminder of what might be waiting underneath all that snow!

Trying To Reason With The Winter Season

Snow is a good thing most of the time. We need it for the skiers and snowmobilers that help our Winter economy. We need it for the snow pack that fills the reservoirs and puts moisture in the ground, but sometimes it gets in the way. For instance, when one wants to go down to Denver for a day or two and the wind and snow make driving difficult and sometimes dangerous. When high winds or an avalanche close the pass and spoil your travel plans. It's all part of the joys of living up here at 8369. The weather can be beautiful in the Winter but it always seems that the few times I want to get down to the 'flat lands', it decides to snow and blow. Of course this weekend, when I have to work, it will probably be nice and the roads will be clear and dry. Oh well, maybe next time I'll get lucky.

My Snowy Valentine

I hope the snowplow driver's don't have big plans for Valentine's Day! When it rains hard, they say it's raining like cats and dogs. So when it snows hard, is it snowing like penguins and polar bears? Right now it is coming down heavy and if this keeps up it might be very interesting getting to work tonight in my little Ford Focus. This picture doesn't quite capture the intensity of snow that's falling but I bet Karla Booth is out there with her camera capturing the flakes as they make their way to earth. This looks like one of those storms that could really dump and I hope it doesn't screw up people's Valentine's festivities. Up here the snow is always welcome but personally, I'd rather be somewhere with a beach!

It Was Just One Of Those Days...

It was a beautiful day here at 8369. The sun was shining, the sky was "Colorado Blue" and I swear I saw Sky and Penny flying up above in the 'Song Bird'. After a new fallen snow, all is right with the world. Forget CNN and all that other stuff! Go outside, take a deep breath of "fresh air" ( Quicksilver Messinger Service) and just open your eyes(sunglasses recommended). Lucky Charms, Lucky Day, Lucky Country...all those things apply on a day like this! And by the way....
Happy Birthday...brother 'Real'!!!

Audio-Visual Night

April and Ken Hilton have re-opened the Circle H Lodge on Hwy. 34. They are having an Audio-Visual night on Thursdays to feature local fine artists and local musicians. Last Thursday featured April's blown glass art and Peggy Mann's music. This Thursday, I'll play my music and Nona & Janzy Crane will show their jewelry(just in time for Valentine's Day). There is a small cover charge but there is also a great view, a bar and an extended wine list. Come out and enjoy, it should be a good time!

Yo Oh, Oh and a Bottle of Fun

Winter Carnival was this past weekend and a big success! There were events such as 'teapot curling', human bowling, flag football in the snow, a parade, the crowning of a King and Queen and of course, the bed races. This years theme was pirates of the Caribbean and nobody better to participate than our own "Grand Lake Pirates". They are all good friends who have been coming to GL for years and have always supported me and my music. They really got into the spirit of Winter Carnival and Jeff and Kim(who live here full time now) were even crowned King and Queen for 2009. Thanks to everyone who helped out this year and made this year's festivities a great time! And thanks to "Mrs. P" for understanding that I didn't want to dress up as Sylvester the Cat again and lead the parade while freezing my fingers off as I play 'When The Saints Go Marching In" on the banjo. 6 years was quite enough.

Is Bigger Really Better?

This is not a poke at one of my all time heroes...John Prine. But I have noticed the similarities in our waistlines this century. When you are approaching 60, is it OK to expand musically as well as physically? I wonder if I'm just kidding myself by still wearing Hawaiian shirts(Jimmy Buffett style) or if I should just accept the fact that I am no longer the skinny rhythm guitar player who all the girls ran up to on breaks to ask .... "can you introduce me to the bass player?"(that would be Joe).
The last time I saw John Prine, he was wearing a black suit(like Johnny Cash) and seemed to be considerably larger than the last time I had seen him in concert. Of course, he sounded better than ever and seemed to be at peace and enjoying life! (me too!)
So maybe it's time to think about a change....either start doing a bunch of crunches and sit-ups or take the easy road and wear a big black suit and 'get a real big guitar'!!!

Music & Art In The High Country

It's been a busy last few days here at 8369. Thursday night was an evening of music and art at the Circle H, which is open again. Ken and April Hilton are hosting an 'audio-visual' night on Thursdays. This was the first week with Peggy Mann providing the music and April featured her incredible glass works(not little humming birds), these are beautiful pieces of blown glass!

Friday night at Caroline's Cuisine featured the 'real snowflake photography' of Karla Booth and music from Brad Pregeant. Both events were well attended and everyone had a great time while enjoying both music and fine art. I will be playing at Circle H next Thursday from 5-7. I don't know who the artist will be yet but I will post it here on the blob when I know. It's great to see such a great appreciation for all the arts here in our little community and I'm proud to be a part of it. Here are links to Circle H and Karla's website.....

http://www.circlehretreat.com/

http://www.realsnowflakephotography.com/

Marmot Day

It's February 2nd, aka. Ground Hog Day. Here at 8369 we have our own version...Marmot Day! Marmots are the high altitude kin to ground hogs. Just a short walk from my house I can often see some of these little critters hanging out by the pumping plant on Lake Granby. I didn't see any today but even if it had been sunny and they saw their shadows, what happens then? We know in Grand Lake we're going to have not just six more weeks of Winter but most likely six more months of it! I saw where London had six inches of snow and it shut down the whole city. Up here we call that a dusting of snow. The best thing about February is that it's not January anymore. Happy Marmot Day!!