Summer Tour Wrap Up

Our second trip around the US this year found us the beneficiaries of good timing and kind people. We ventured on a rough oval-shaped route through the country barely missing some of the key events of this year. We left the Northwest just as it was catching on fire in early August. We were in the path of totality, but left the area the week before the eclispe. We spent the night in Charlottesville, ten days after the Nazi rally. As we drove west, Hurricane Harvey swirled a couple hundred miles to the south. When we made it to Los Angeles, we rubbernecked our way down the 210 highway, gawking at the massive La Tuna wildfire burning in the foreground. The following night we played at Seven Bar in Santa Barbara and the next day, a water spout came in from the ocean and blasted their street, breaking trees in half. When we returned to Oregon, the gorge was on fire. Our van was our view point for a lot of these experiences. Vanna is a helluva partner. It's been an intense year and we were fortunate to experience it out on the road. 

Here was our path:

WA - OR - ID - UT - WY - CO - KS - MO - IL - IN - KY - OH - PA - NY - MA - NJ - DE - MD - DC - VA - WV - NC - TN - AR - OK - TX - NM - AZ - CA - OR - WA

We performed 21 times and participated in 1 wedding. We put about 10k miles on the odometer. We took one rock to the windshield. There were no flat tires but our brake rotors needed to be replaced (luckily we were back in the same town where we originally got them!) We camped often, sometimes surprisingly close to major cities. We saw new species of roadkill: wild boar and porcupine. There were no major injuries or illnesses to report.

It was a great time. A pleasure to see so many faces we knew. We made it a point to stop in our favorite cities and venues from the Spring tour. Merry and I deeply appreciate the opportunities we've had this year. The venues have been great partners and the local people we have met have been open, kind, and fun as hell. I spent a fair amount of time gushing on this subject while we were on the road. We are back home in Cathlamet, WA now, enjoying the approach of Autumn. We will be hunkered down in this region until early spring. For the rest of the country, we will see you soon. In the meantime, we will be performing in the Northwest and getting creative here on the farm. Time for new songs, for new times.