All I can do is gush about the weekend Bluegrass Festival. I arrived a night early and camped in a forest service campground just up the canyon from the venue. After warm temps in Red Rocks Canyon, the night was extremely cold. Go figure, I was at 7,000 feet again. Hard to believe that Las Vegas was 30 minutes away. This Ponderosa pine, forested canyon was quite a surprise find considering the surrounding desert. I was reminded of Mt. Lemmon, outside Tucson.

The bluegrass festival was set up at the amphitheater at the Spring Mountain Recreation Center Visitor Gateway. This was a large complex with a visitor center, education building, and the amphitheater.

I paid in advance for dry camping in the parking lot next to the amphitheater. This may sound odd but it was awesome. I was in the thick of things and met the other campers. It was a great time. There were less than 10 of us there so it was easy to meet everyone. Later in the season, I will be meeting up with my new BFFs Norma and Rose (mother/daughter) who live and Bullhead City and love bluegrass. They are RVers as well and invited me to stay with them when I am in the area.

Bands played Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. On Friday night they were mostly local members of the Southern Nevada Bluegrass Society. Regional bands, mostly from California, played the rest of the time. The bluegrass ranged from traditional to very edgy and innovative. The latter were my faves. I talked to some of the band members from these groups and tried to be as encouraging as possible, considering I am just an old person!

Below, Phil Salazer and the Kin Folk

Below, me and the band!

I also signed up to volunteer for a few hours each day. My job: directing traffic as they pulled in. Folks had to go to the vendor/band parking lot, the regular lot, the RV lot, or the overflow across the street when it got crowded. I got some sun and again, met lots of people.

This Viva Las Vegas festival is one of many in the southwest over the winter. The others that I know about are:

• Wickenburg, AZ November
  Blythe, CA January
  Bullhead City, AZ February
  Lake Havasu City, AZ March

Right now I am signed up to attend and volunteer at the Blythe and Lake Havasu Festivals. The lineups are each different and I am looking forward to this new adventure. The first one was super!

Below, the amphitheater where bands played!