On the Road Again

Last weekend, we decided to do something a little out of my comfort zone. We took a road trip, of 1800 miles. That isn’t the part that was out of my comfort zone, although admittedly my body doesn’t enjoy long hours in the car much anymore.

A few years ago we came across an indie folk artist by the name of Holly Arrowsmith. She is a young woman from New Zealand. We enjoy her music, so when we found out she was touring the U.S. and would be in Wyoming, we decided to go see her.

The closest location for us was Lander, a cute little town located in central Wyoming. Approximately 900 miles, one way. We gazed at much of this beautiful landscape on our travels.

It was a house concert. Have you ever been to one of those? They are small, intimate affairs. And that was a little out of my comfort zone. Upon arrival, it had the feeling of walking up to someone’s house and saying, “Hi, mind if we sit in?”

The house, located up on some foothills, was amazing and had spectacular views. Here’s the view as I stepped out of the car.

We are above the town of Lander. You can’t see it in this picture, it’s just below that little rise in the foreground.

The hosts were a delightful, welcoming couple who had offered up their home for the concert. All told, about 35-40 people gathered on their deck to hear Holly and Zach Winters, another indie artist.

Zach and his wife sharing their music with us.

It was a relaxing evening, listening to great music while we watched the sun set below the mountains. Outside, no bugs, nice weather, friendly people, good music. It doesn’t get much better than that.

We were able to visit with Holly and her husband for a bit afterwards. Once we explained where we were from, she was a little amazed that we were drive as far as we did to come and see her. She is a quiet, humble person, who just wants to share her music. We enjoyed hearing her share her thoughts about her songs.

I didn’t take any stitching along on the trip. I thought about it, but because I was finishing up the sample pieces and getting them mailed, I didn’t make it a priority to bring anything along. I needed the break, and I wanted to spend time with my husband and daughter. I don’t think I could’ve concentrated on sewing if I’d wanted to.

I have today and tomorrow to get some stitching in before another busy weekend with more driving (shorter trip, this time). Since I’ve been in sight of the mountains, I think that today I will do some stitching on my Mt. Hood Nickel quilt. I need to get some more blocks done so you don’t have to keep seeing this picture!