I had a wonderful day yesterday at Pickin' in the Pines in Flagstaff.  Even though I left home later than I had planned, and traffic was extremely heavy heading north, I didn't miss too much since I arrived shortly after the first group had started.  I was a tad surprised by the price of admission; it certainly wasn't that much the other years I've attended.  But the caliber of musicians was excellent...

The weather was much nicer than I expected, sunny and quite warm.  Temps climbed higher than predicted, up to 71 by mid-afternoon.  I was sorry I was in jeans and a heavy tee since I would have been much more comfy in shorts and a tank top.  And speaking of clothes, of course a lot of people were sporting tees from bluegrass festivals.  The guy sitting in front of us was wearing one from the 2014 Four Corners Festival, held in Pagosa Springs, and one of the bands listed (Elephant Revival) is a favorite of Neil & Terry's.  This woman, Moira, was wearing a shirt that I just had to ask about, and it turned out to be the name of a "smash grass" band from Minnesota.

Of course I looked them up when I got home, and this is what Wikipedia had to say:

Trampled By Turtles is an American bluegrass/folk-rock band from Duluth, Minnesota. The band members have mentioned as inspirations Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, Nirvana, and Ralph Stanley. They have released eight full albums, three of which have reached US Billboard chart number one spots. Their fifth release, Palomino, maintained a position in the Top 10 on the bluegrass charts for 52 straight weeks. Their latest album, Wild Animals, was released on July 15, 2014. They have played internationally and at many popular music festivals in the US, and as of July 29, 2015, have played live in every state except Hawaii.

Tami and Allan and I thoroughly enjoyed our day together, and plan to make it an annual 'thing' each September.  Tami and I also firmed up plans for the upcoming quilt show in Havasu the first weekend in November, so I'll see them long before next September. 

She had forgotten to bring me some of her homemade chocolate, and I had forgotten to bring the ornament she purchased but left in my car the last time I was there.  Hopefully we can 'exchange' those items in November.

Yesterday I also picked up fliers for several other upcoming bluegrass festivals, one next month 'just up the road' at Arcosanti.

We had dinner at a Greek restaurant they liked - and I can see why. 

Our meals were delicious, and we left stuffed.

My accommodations at Mary & Jack's place were wonderful.  Her lovely quilts were everywhere, and I slept under a beautiful flying geese one.  But for some reason, not sure why, I seemed to wake up every hour and glance at the clock.  Never did have to turn on the heat, though it was a tad 'brisk' when I got up this morning.

I decided to head back home this morning, for (at least) 4 reasons: Tami and Allan would be heading home and not be there today, Sundays are often a lot of gospel music, the tickets are pricey, and (possibly most important) I expect to fade early today and figured driving home late in the afternoon with all the weekend traffic might not be much fun.  

During my drive home, I played the CD by Peter's new group, The Colton House Trio.  Since I had loved their set, it isn't surprising that I really enjoyed all the songs on the CD.  They were all about the Southwest, and many about rafting the rivers.  Didn't get to see him at the booth when I bought the CD, but as Tami, Allan and I were walking to the car yesterday we ran into him - so I got the chance after all to tell him how much I'd enjoyed their playing.  

I'm WAY behind on my Evidence class assignments, but since there are no classes this week I HOPE to use my time wisely and get caught up! So that's how I plan to be productive the rest of this afternoon.