The end of the summer came and went, then the end of the year, then came a new job and here we are. I have a few backlogged posts of things we’ve seen and experienced, and I’ll be sharing them here over the next week or so.
Each summer Matt and I try to dedicate at least one weekend to a State Bridge getaway. Camping in State Bridge is different from our normal camping weekends where we try to find remote, quiet places to relax. Instead, we find ourselves in a mini tent city in a valley cut in two by the Colorado River and train tracks.
State Bridge is a small, scenic amphitheater, but during the day campers & concert-goers spend their time paddle boarding down the river and participating in yoga classes provided by the venue. It’s a guaranteed fantastic time if you can brave the crowds and chalk it up to a week of community – and it’s an especially good time if you catch a weekend with clear, dry skies.
And the drive to State Bridge, in Bond, Colorado, is pretty spectacular in itself.
Welcome to the commune. It’s party time, but don’t be a litter pig, friends.
This year, we wrapped up our summer in State Bridge at an Infamous Stringdusters show. Looking forward to this year’s lineup and more time in the State Bridge sanctuary.
Feeling St. Louis homesick? I recently found that channeling your inner Offsets and partaking in a little cliff jumping can satisfy the craving (and also cause slight gluteal bruising). A couple of weeks ago I headed just outside Silverthorne to Green Mountain Reservoir – we’d recently gotten a ton of rain and were hoping that post-torrential downpour, the reservoir would be swollen with water and ready for some swimmers. After the mega heat and dry weather this summer, we were met with a very low reservoir and several hesitations about whether or not cliff jumping was the best idea.
This is where someone 10 years younger than me would write something like, “#yolo!!!” – However, I’m an old lady and it took nearly an hour of deliberation and the visual of several more youthful, braver souls jumping in to convince me I wasn’t going to break my spine diving in.
The challenge: while the Offsets has a handy steps and ladders system to boost you from the waters grasp, Green Mountain Reservoir isn’t necessarily built to attract jumpers. So, after plunging in from 30 feet (the water was way too low to convince me to go any higher), you have to swim a zillion miles over to a hikeable area and climb your way back to the top. (Side story: after a few days of rain leading to loose rocks and damp ground, I may or may not have been caught in a rock slide and nearly taken out by a boulder on one of my ascents…).
Anywho, the day was short lived after one jump led to what can only be described as a full on swimsuit-induced enema. Ouch. Regardless, swimming in crystal blue water in the middle of the mountains is a heck of a good time and highly recommended.
The drive down 70 carried on until we reached Bond, Colorado for the evening’s events. So, basically, if you’re driving toward Kremmling, pop west on the Colorado River Headwaters Scenic Byway and follow the river through the mountains until you get to State Bridge – a strange and awesome little campground and music venue in the middle of nowhere. We were there to meet up with some folks and catch Day 2 of a weekend-long mini music festival – Boombox headlining. Along the way the rain picked up again, causing our supposed “campground” to turn into Mud City.
We zipped up rain jackets and prepared to take on the wet. Fortunately, about two beverages into the afternoon, the rain let up and the sun joined us. The rest of the weekend was simply spectacular. Opening for Boombox was Human Agency (as seen at Westword Artopia) and the incredibly surprising ishi – a band I’ve not stopped listening to since I saw them. Any lead singer that wears a full Indian headdress and a long red cape has my undivided attention. Dancing was had.
Eaten the Moon 