PARTY ON McCLURE PASS: 04/02/08

I began the drive up to the Aspen area immediately after work, the beginning of my end of season blow-out ski trip. Turned out to be a odd road trip as proven by its very beginning.

What the hell is wrong with Colorado drivers? I trailed behind another vehicle in the passing lane on the highway through Vail when all of a sudden a truck in the slow lane swerves over and cuts him off, forcing everyone to break hard. But then it all happened in slow motion: the truck keeps on going, enters the snowy median, hits a pile of snow, launches into the air, rolls a couple times and comes to rest in the east bound lanes on its side, a total wreck. WOW! The guy must have fallen asleep because he never once hit the breaks. A few more seconds and he might have instead hit the guy in front of me, forcing evasive action to avoid two out of control vehicles. It was a sobering experience.

Truck swerves across lanes

Swift rollovers dusty wreck

Pass roadside crosses

Snow receds from road

Shaggy furred carcass exposed

Winters dead revealed

All so serious

With inflated importance

Nothing in the end

I stopped at Penny hot spring along the Crystal River near Redstone. Six guys crammed into a small area of the pool where it was warm (elsewhere it was either scalding hot or too cold because of the river). Loud and drunk. They soon departed, only to be replaced by another group of five people, everyone lamenting that no one had any weed. I packed up the same time they left the riverside pool, restoring peace and quiet to the valley.

Tonight's concert was "VAN HALEN LIVE: Right here, right now", recorded on May 14 and 15, 1992 at Selland Arena in Fresno, CA. Parked at the end of a snowy road below McClure pass, I cranked up the stereo, poured the tequila and lit the cigar for nearly 2 hours of rockin' music. Once again, this concert punched it for me when it comes to Sammy Hagar: I am now a firm believer that he had a positive influence on their music, bringing new life to the VH sound. And I loved every minute of it!

Cathedral's guitar
Might as well have been a harp
Eddie makes me cry

Era once dismissed
Blinded by his ignorance
Wakes to Sammy's light