Well, I have a lot of catching up to do.  When last I posted I had promised to post about the fabulous concert with Peter Frampton and BB King at Red Rocks Amphitheatre  in Denver, CO.

But before I can do that I need to share the last of our site seeing with you as well!

Sunday, August 18 we ventured to the top of Pikes Peak – did you know the road is paved all the way to the top now?  We watched a few of the marathon runners reach the top – wow!  Hubby visited with one of the paramedics that works at the top, he found that every employee at the top of the peak is a paramedic, they work 14 hours shifts and even they are affected by the altitude.  The first half of August had been a busy month for the paramedics already with numerous critical rescues.  The main reason is that visitors stay at the top too long and they they are unable to drive down, did you know your body uses up its fluid reserves very quickly when climbing – the paramedic said we can lose up to 1l on the way up the peak.  On the way down you are stopped at the “lodge” and they check the temperature of your brakes, ours were fine, having grown up in the mountains of Utah and climbing hills in jeeps hubby is very experienced in letting the vehicle gears do the work not the brakes.  We observed 1 group of “youngsters” have their brakes checked, they were 400 degrees, they were told to park it for a while and let those brakes cool off!

After more adventures in the area we headed to Evergreen, CO to spend a delightful evening with my niece her new beau!  I wish we lived closer as I always enjoy my visits with my niece – she is an amazing woman!

On Monday we visited Leadville, CO.  In the 1880’s my great-grandfather, Milton Fornia and family lived in Leadville.  One of my great aunts was married there, her name was Grace Fornia Davenport.  I don’t believe my grandmother, Cali Fornia lived there, she was born in AZ after they left CO.  It was fun to visit the Leadville Public Library and search through the Colorado Census that are not available online.  We also visited the Mines Museum in Leadville.  My husband had worked for Asarco early in his engineering career and it was interesting to ready about the contributions made to mining at the museum.  We also drove out to the former Asarco Leadville Facility, now closed.  And of course I found more “old” things to enjoy.

Tuesday we played in Golden, CO and drove around the mountains some more – soaking up the beautiful weather and views.  We visited the burial site for Buffalo Bill.  And of course a tour of the brewery – although taste testing at 10:00 am was not something I needed to do!

And then the CONCERT – this is the 3rd time we have seen Peter Frampton in the last 4 years and I am sure it won’t be the last.  We travelled to CO this time because the great BB King was touring with Peter for a few stops and this was one of them.  BB was brought on to stage on a golf cart, they had his chair ready for him up front and once he was settled, he held court!  Inspiring his band members and then calling Peter out to jam.  While BB is not able to strum too much anymore, it was truly some of the best entertainment!  As BB finished, he tossed souvenirs to several members of the audience, honoring those in wheel chairs and a couple of very young fans – I hope they know the greatness they witnessed.  As BB strode off stage to his golf cart, he stopped to shake hands with each crew member and take a moment to thank them – a true gentleman if ever there was.

I had posted on my Facebook page that we attended the concert, one of my Facebook acquaintances sent me this note and also gave me permission to share.  The long and short of this post – enjoy your passions, follow your passion and SHARE your passion.  How much do we not share with our children because we think it won’t be important to them.

From Deborah!

• But … let me tell you briefly an amazingly cool thing that happened.

  My youngest son (19 at the time) was in the Beaumont / Galveston area in Fall of 2008 doing hurricane cleanup from the huge hit of Hurricane Ike. He was sad because being there for a few months was taking him away from his newborn daughter (born in Sept a few days before the hurricane hit) and wife. He didn’t have the time off to even come home to see them nor the money to be going back and forth. He even missed Autumn’s first Halloween (not that she noticed – lol).

  One day he was sitting at a table by himself for lunch. An elderly man asked if he could sit with him. Of course. They sat there together visiting. Over the course of the lunch the man found out that Justin was away from home and family to do this work. Justin showed him photos of Heather and Autumn. They talked about family, told stories, and laughed. Finally Justin told the man he had to get going back to work and thanked him for the visit. The kind man thanked Justin for all he was doing and all he was sacrificing to help a community that wasn’t even his home and asked Justin if he could buy his lunch for him. How sweet!

  After Justin left, the men that he was working with were all around him asking him questions, but the gist of it was Wow! Don’t you know who that was? What did y’all talk about?

  Justin called me after work that day and asked me if I knew who B.B. King was. Yes, here is the point that I hang my head in shame. Parent fail. What? My own child doesn’t know who B.B. King is???

  Then he told me that he B.B. King bought him lunch that day and told me the story. He never told Justin that he was famous. Just introduced himself and enjoyed lunch with my son.

  How cool is that???  What a fabulous, humble, kind man.
• And my comment…
  WOW – I had to get out a tissue! On stage this is exactly how BB is too! Can I share your story on my blog? I this story really is a testament to who BB really is.

SO – Share your passions!