Seeing the Rocky Mountains
After prepping RB for the journey, we set off from Denver. Intrigued by what I read about the Rocky Mountain National Park, we made the first of what I suspect will be several changes in routes on this excursion. Boy, was it worth it!! Started raining as we left Denver, but it was a clear and beautiful afternoon by the time we reached the park entrance. Momma purchased a senior pass, which gives her (and her guests) access to the park system for life. In addition to having lunch up there, we made many stops to take pictures and just to enjoy God’s creation. A co-worker at the college had recommended I drive using low gear. That really helped with the braking around some serious hairpin turns. When we reached the highest point of the route, the temps got quite rather chilly, and we actually had to stop a one…
Denver Goes to the Spirituals
Missed most of Friday’s conference. Really wanted to catch the afternoon presentations, but events prevented that from happening. C’est la vie… Saturday, though, was stupendous. As usual, waited until the last moment to put together my Powerpoint presentation, even added two slides less than an hour before the session started. Still, gave the presentation on singing dialect twice to enthusiastic audiences. Mainly talked about why dialect should be considered in performance of spiritual art songs and resources–especially recordings–where its use can be studied. The lecture included musical excerpts performed by historical and contemporary singers such as Marian Anderson, Roland Hayes, Robert McFerrin and Jessye Norman. I was even daring enough to compare the incomparable Donnie Ray Albert’s recording of the Hale Smith setting of “I’m Going to Die Easy,” which he sang without dialect, with mine–which is pretty heavily spiced with dialect. For the recital part of my lecture-recital, I…
Greetings from Denver!!
Got into Denver about 9:15 p.m. MDT. Pushed to get in with enough time to get (for me) a full night’s sleep before attending tomorrow’s conference activities. Glad my mother’s flying in to meet me here rather than in Iowa because I made the drive with only one 15-minute stop once I left Des Moines–where the hair stylist did an herculean job of bringing my hair under control–and I wouldn’t have put her through that. The trip included an extremely heavy rain with winds strong enough that even I decided I needed to slow down. Just hope most of that rain took out the fires ravaging Colorado. Speaking of flying, RB and I were pleasantly surprised to see the speed limit from west of Omaha into the Denver suburbs rise to 75 mph. Except for the aforementioned rain and the many construction sites, we made very good time, shaving over…
Fire and Rain
Packing for early morning departure. Find myself looking at news about severe storms crossing Iowa. However, the system is heading east away from my planned route. The other news is about the fires in Colorado. THe map below shows the fire evacuation around Colorado Springs. No indication that Denver is involved. My prayers for those whose homes are in the paths of trouble.
Hot Stuff!!
One of the things about combining business and pleasure is that you have to pack for both. Professional and semi-formal dress for the conference part and comfortable travel stuff for the vacation part. Weather forecast in Denver is for mid- to upper-80’s (very comfortable for a southerner after a long winter in the Midwest). The Weather Channel website predicts that the rest of the trip is going to be–simply put–damned hot, with temps exceeding 100 degrees. Guess we’ll find out if dry heat really is more tolerable than humidity-rich heat. RB has been road-readied, and I’m confident she can handle both the mountain and desert driving to come.
R E A P Conference on Negro Spirituals-Denver, CO
Getting ready to attend a conference on Negro spirituals at the University of Denver. Scheduled to present a lecture-recital on using dialect in performance of spirituals. Information about the conference is at http://spiritualsproject.org/reap/. Planning to take advantage of the opportunity to see parts of the U.S. I’ve not seen up close before (flying over them doesn’t count). RB and I–with my mother along for the ride–are getting set to see the sites. I will post pictures and details as they become available.
Grotto of the Redemption (West Bend)
I drove RB the 182 miles to West Bend, Iowa, accompanied by my mother. We toured the Grotto of the Redemption. The weather was gorgeous, and because we’d stayed in the nearby motel the night before, we had no difficulty getting there in time for the earliest tour time, avoiding the heat of the day and the crowds. As suggested by the name, the Grotto of the Redemption portrays the life of Christ through various tableaux. The tour guide gave us extensive details about the priests who created the Grotto, the rocks and materials gathered from around the world and used to construct the site, and story told in each scene. Far more information about the Grotto is available at http://www.westbendgrotto.com/. Even as I took as many pictures of the Grotto as I could, I knew they would not come close to capturing the beauty and depth of detail. The complete…
Texas, Texas, Here I Come!
Left a couple of hours later than I’d planned, but made very good time driving my rented ride to Dallas. My roomie is Sarah, a former colleague from my days cataloging music at Florida State University. Not much going on since the conference doesn’t begin until Thursday morning. Going to see if I can get some sleep. More tomorrow.
A Day of “Rest”
So, I’ve got today to get caught up with the work left on my desk in my absence, pick up the car I’m renting for the trip (RB really doesn’t need the added wear and tear), update my GPS, re-edit my music playlists, do laundry and pack for the trip. This is how I’m defining my “rest day.” Mapquest routing of the drive to Dallas: http://www.mapquest.com/embed?hk=yZ0Dem Why drive rather than fly? I’ve never visited that part of the country except as layovers to somewhere else and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. Plus, I do enjoy driving while playing my music at an appreciable level. Gotta get at it. Happy Valentine’s Day!!
Headin’ Home
Left (mostly) sunny California early this morning and flew into Dallas–will be back in Dallas in two days, but that will be a new series of posts. Once again, my theory holds that the longer the layover, the closer the arrival and departure gates. In less than ten minutes, the airport skylift delivered me one gate away from my departure point, leaving me nearly three hours until my flight to Cedar Rapids. Upon arrival, it was clear that I would immediately need to put on the heavy winter coat I’d left in my car (along with my e-book reader, which I truly missed). Spent several minutes cleaning the freshly fallen snow off of the Red Barron. By then, it was getting dark, so I rode down the interstate at a leisurely 65 mph. Just as I approached my exit, I saw the flashing lights of the state police on the…