It's Thursday morning at Falcon Ridge. Yesterday I woke to the alarm at 3:30 am, packed the ice and drinks into the cooler, remembered almost everything else I needed, got the RV on the road, and got to the festival at 5:30 am. I was in the second line of vehicles, third from the front. The first line was mostly made up of people who arrived on Tuesday. Music for the official festival performances doesn't start until Friday, but for people who have waited a year to get back, setting up camp as early as…

I slept in Illinois last night, tonight I'm in Ohio east of Cleveland, and plan on making it to WMass tomorrow night. Three days of driving 1,424 miles. Tomorrow's drive will take 8 1/2 hours, mostly in NY, according to Google Maps. That's the concrete reality of how big New York State is: 330 miles long and 283 miles wide. It would be better for me if I don't obsess about it tonight, so instead I will look on it as songwriting time. Today I finally started writing, which I have not been doing on this…

I untethered the RV from the campsite water and electric, put everything in its travel place, and headed for downtown Lincoln to play at the open mic at the Crescent Moon Coffeehouse at 816 P Street. I called ahead to make sure it was on, left in plenty of time to make it there for the 6:30 sign-up. Parking spaces were full, but I managed to find several angle spaces I could park across a couple of blocks from the address listed on OpenMikes.org. I got to the address, there was a coffeehouse, but it wasn't…

Yesterday I drove 625 miles. The day started at 3am when I decided that sleep was outside the bounds of the possible, and I should be driving instead. I ate a bowl of granola, drank a large cup of coffee, and was on my way out of Casper at 3:40. My next destination was Guernsey, WY to see the ruts carved into soft sandstone by the wheels of Conestoga wagons on the Oregon Trail. I-25 was empty and the sky was dark. The RV and I were suspended in a world in between night and day, silent and open to…

I went to Pinky G's in Jackson last night for their open mic. Jackson's streets were full of tourists, even though the day was winding down at 8:30pm. I was toting a guitar and showing my tattoos because the day was hot enough to go sleeveless. The journey had been on the cool side through Montana and Oregon, but Jackson's temperature was in the 90's. I stepped to the bar to ask about the open mic, and was immediately engaged in conversation with a guy at the bar, a drummer. We discussed open mics and…

I am spending Saturday and Sunday night at a small RV place near Heyburn, Idaho. I was going to leave Saturday morning and head to Guernsey, Wyoming to see ruts in sandstone worn by the wheels of the wagons on the Oregon Trail. Instead I decided that I would stay put for a day, do laundry, practice guitar, and then head to Jackson, Wyoming for an open mic on Monday night, and sample the craziness of an upscale tourist town. One of the problems with upscale tourist towns is the cost. I phoned in a…

Mel helped me dump the tanks this morning, and Ruth gave me raspberries. The two girls, Libby and Lena came by to talk. Their father Dave came over to wish me well on my trip east. Ruth's good friend Nancy had come for an overnight visit the day before, so she saw me off as well. I left Pleasant Hill with food (blueberries in my little freezer, strawberries in the refrigerator, and the raspberries), hugs, and a promise to return. The first stop was at Costco for $3.43/gallon gas, and then I headed east. I…

On Wednesday night we went to Dexter Lake Club in Dexter, Oregon. Amy (my step-cousin) came along with Ruth and Mel, while Dave stayed home with the kids. DLC was used in the movie Animal House, but sat empty for a long time until the new owners bought it and brought it back to life. Gregg, the owner, is also a musician, and the sound for the Wednesday Songwriters Open Mic was super - good balance and tone, clear vocals, and I could hear myself in the monitor. There weren't many people in the place, and…

My aunt and uncle have been coming along with me to the open mics in Eugene, an adventure for all of us. On Monday night we went to the Wandering Goat, and interesting little coffee and beer place down by the tracks on Madison Street. The coffee was outstandingly good. For my cup of decaf, the barista started with beans, ground them, and brewed my individual perfect cup of coffee. It was the best cup of decaf coffee I have ever had. The open mic was only for songwriters playing original music. We got…

Ruth and I started out just before 9:00. The day was grey, but I do not pine for days of sunny weather - I prefer the days as they will be. Grey clouds and misty days have their own beauty. While I certainly wouldn't complain if the sun came out, from my point of view there was no reason to postpone the trip until a "better" day. It wasn't up to me to judge the worth of a cloudy day as somehow of lesser value than a sunny one. We wandered north and west until we got to the continent's edge in Newport…