We packed up the MINI and hit the road last Thursday afternoon. After a quick stop at the Axel’s Bonfire in Eagan to eat some free birthday Bull Bites, we drove to Lincoln, Nebraska (420 miles). Holiday Inn Express was our hotel of choice this trip, thanks to their decent breakfast food and relatively low prices.

On Friday, we drove from Lincoln to Littleton, Colorado (500 miles) and checked in earlier than planned at the hotel. I totally forgot about the time change, so we had an extra hour before the concert started. We hit the local King Soopers grocery store to check on discounted lift tickets (not a great deal – skipped it) and had dinner at a surprise Chick-Fil-A (totally forgot they are in Colorado). I don’t care what anybody says – that food is damn tasty!

The concert was scheduled to start at 7:30, but I wanted to hike around Red Rocks before the sun went down. We had about 45 minutes of daylight, which turned out to be just about perfect. Since we were so early, we also got an awesome parking spot in the VIP area immediately below the main exit. We hung out in the car until gates opened at 6:30 and made a beeline to the merch table, which unfortunately was at the very top of the amphitheater. Many stairs later, the kid got what she wanted and we hiked back down to row ten to watch the show (it was general admission, so we took what we could get).

The bill consisted of Get Cryphy, Grieves and Budo, Common and headliner Atmosphere. Get Cryphy was playing as soon as the gates opened, which was nice. The set by Grieves and Budo was brief, but entertaining. Technical difficulties delayed the start of the Common set by about 30 minutes – I felt bad for his band (two keyboardists, a drummer and an MC), who just sat there in the cold the whole time.

I’ve listened to most of the Atmosphere albums, but there are still a lot of songs I just don’t know. This was not a problem for the kid, though, who sang along to everything. I do know that God Loves Ugly was the opening song and Brother Ali finally came out for the very last song (which wasn’t really an encore, as all the performers went off stage for only a minute or two at the end). The crowd was a little rowdy, but the close quarters and movement helped keep it warmer. A few snowflakes added character, along with lots of “special” smoke in the air, too…

The show ended around 11:45 and we were able to beat the worst of the traffic, thanks to our great parking spot. We made it back to the hotel around 12:30 and were back on the road by 8:30. I decided to skip Beaver Creek this time, opting to take the Loveland Pass over to Arapahoe Basin. I-70 looked good on the traffic cams at 7AM, but all three lanes were bumper-to-bumper about five miles up the grade. We finally made it to the Loveland Pass exit and I white-knuckled it up and over the treacherous two-lane road with no guard rails. Even driving my own car with snow tires, I wasn’t comfortable at all and will probably skip that option in the future.

A-Basin was just perfect. I had been there once before in high school and not much had changed. I take that back – they had a great new high-speed detachable lift right in front of the base chalet and a nice mid-mountain restaurant called the Black Mountain Lodge, where we had lunch. Rentals were quick and easy for the kid and I loved the pricing, which was cheaper than what we paid in Minnesota. Since they consider teens to be kids and not adults, her lift ticket and rental was only $59. Add in my $74 adult ticket and you had quite the Colorado bargain.

We took most of our runs off of that high-speed quad, with the “green” run Sundance being her favorite. Parts of that run are steeper than most “blacks” in Minnesota, so I didn’t mind skiing it like a mid-length cruiser. I was also quite fond of High Noon and took a few runs from the top of the mountain too. I would’ve done more up there, but the wind really picked up as the day went on. We managed around ten runs total before stopping around 3PM.

The rest of the trip was basically a big highway blur: Arapahoe to North Platte, Nebraska (320 miles), overnight one last time at the Holiday Inn Express, followed by 640 miles back to Minnesota on Sunday. We stopped for a steak lunch in Omaha at the lovely Upstream Brewing Company in the Old Market part of town and had some boring Wendy’s in Clear Lake, Iowa, for dinner.

Great trip, but oh so short. First vacation in three years, though, so I’ll take whatever I can get.

Now to figure out how to finally become a ski bum…

Doughty and his Band Fantastic were recording the show for eventual release, but they suffered through several technical and performance issues as the night progressed. Thankfully sound quality wasn’t an issue most of the time at this show (unlike the Paul Simon concert I saw there last). We had a great spot directly behind the soundboard, so that probably helped too.

To the disappointment of some in the crowd, Mr. Doughty said he had buried the old Soul Coughing songs and wouldn’t be playing any of them (but said you can still keep them on your iPod). He actively encouraged people all night to steal his new album Yes and Also Yes online, saying he just wants people to listen to it.

I didn’t get a set list photo, so I’ll have to watch to see if anyone posts one and update this entry later (I counted roughly 19 songs in all). A few of our favorites included Na Na Nothing and Rational Man from the new album, Busting Up A Starbucks, Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well and Tremendous Brunettes from Haughty Melodic and 27 Jennifers from Rockity Roll.

Visit #1 was to run the State Fair Milk Run 5K, which I’ve done with kid one the past several years. This year the rest of the family decided to sign up and walk it too, which was cool. Kid one decided she didn’t want to run with me, so I was free to attempt a PR. The course winds through the hills of Saint Anthony Park and those said hills kicked my butt a little. I ran the first mile in 6:52, but slowed to a 7:24 in the second (really hilly) mile. I ran a 6:48 third mile, though, and was able to finish in 21:42 (6:59 overall pace). That beat my old 5K PR by about a minute and a half and was good enough for 7th in my age group and 69th overall (in a field of about 1400).

My dad had purchased Twins single game tickets at the beginning of the baseball season and happened to pick Milk Run day as the game to take me to for my first visit to Target Field (which I liked more than I thought I would). It was an afternoon game, so we spent a few hours at the fair after the race, then he picked us up on Como for the drive to Minneapolis. We decided to return to the fair after the game, which worked out well – plus it was a rare August 2011 Twins win too.

Visit #2 was unplanned – my mom had tickets to see Garrison Keillor perform his Prairie Home Companion show at the grandstand, but didn’t feel up to going. My dad and sister had the other two tickets, so I met them there. The seats were amazing (third row center) and the show had the added benefit of four songs by the Jayhawks (Closer to Your Side, She Walks in So Many Ways, Blue and Over My Shoulder). Sara Watkins was really good and I enjoy seeing all the regular cast members as well (Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Tom Keith, etc.). Also got to visit with an old high school friend for a bit before the show (and saw an old co-worker who plays in a band near the beer garden afterwards).

Last night we all went back as a family to see Weezer at the grandstand. Since we missed machinery hill the first day, we decided to get there around 1:30 and cover that half of the fairgrounds. It was crowded everywhere, but the afternoon went by quickly and a cold westerly wind kicked up. By the time the opening act started to play (Motion City Soundtrack), I was really wishing I had worn something other than shorts and a T-shirt. Weezer was very entertaining (Star Tribune review) and fireworks both nights seemed better than usual. Here’s the Weezer set list:

• Surf Wax America (Blue Album)
• We Are All on Drugs (Make Believe)
• Troublemaker (Red Album)
• El Scorcho (Pinkerton)
• Say It Ain’t So (Blue Album)
• Hash Pipe (Green Album)
• My Name Is Jonas (Blue Album)
• Dope Nose (Maladroit)
• Pumped Up Kicks (Foster the People cover)
• Island in the Sun (Green Album)
• Perfect Situation (Make Believe)
• (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To (Raditude)
• Undone (The Sweater Song) (Blue Album)
• Pork and Beans (Red Album)
• Beverly Hills (Make Believe)
• ENCORE:
• Paranoid Android (Radiohead cover)
• Buddy Holly (Blue Album)

Contrary to my normal eating pattern, I actually tried two new foods this year: pretzel dogs (hot dog on a stick, wrapped by a large soft pretzel) and sweet corn ice cream. The former was located in a booth near the horse barn and came with optional butter and a side of melted cheese for dipping. Aside from the pretzel slipping off of the hot dog, it was really good. As for the sweet corn ice cream, I don’t think I’ll be needing to order that again. $5 lesson learned, I guess.

Kid one gets to return with her aunt tomorrow to see Train and Maroon 5. She will also be old enough to work at the corn roast booth next year, so we all have that to look forward to. Mark your calendars now: August 23 – September 3, 2012!