In my tenure in the classroom kids would often say “Mr. G you should do a rap song”. I would always reply that with so many killer teacher made raps out there, there was no room for me to move the medium forward. Case in point: check out this banger about Plate Tectonics. A huge sensation in da club.  [Click on the "watch on YouTube" button below to watch it.  Trust me.]

campfire beers

back porch coffee

Make the reference table cool again!

We dropped Katie off at school for her sophomore year at UVM. Obviously not as significant of a family event as last year(her freshmen year), but still a thing. It’s very satisfying to see her excited to get back to college and back into all the stuff college kids do. She’s a very happy kid, easy going and easy to please. Very much like Mrs. G..

This year she’s in Harris Hall which is above the Harris-Millis cafeteria, the site of Phish’s first ever public gig, back in 1983. Pretty cool.

My advice to my students has always been:  go away to college if you can swing it financially.  The school should be 3+ hrs away from home - being 45 mins from home sounds like a good thing to a high school kid for the security blanket part of it, but trust me, it's a negative.  You need to be out there on your own in the world.  Pick a school that you are drawn to, that feels right for you.  Don't worry about ratings or class size or any of that jive.  For this is the place where you will grow into an adult - the biggest period of maturation happens during these years.  Recognize that.

And if you don't know what you want to major in, that's normal.  Don't worry, no one knows what the hell they want to do with their lives at 18 yrs old.  Figuring that out is part of the process.  I wish someone told me that when I was 18.

site of Phish's first ever gig.  Looked different back then.

Made it to Frisco in time to skate the Frisco park.  A wild moonscape design that is unlike anywhere else I've ever been. It's engineering/artistic genius with a utilitarian goal - opportunity for unstructured fun. I've been here a few times over the years and it calls to me - one of the most fun places I've ever been to in my life.  Thank you Evergreen Skateparks!

I love it that Danny has grown to like this style of skating. He worked on this footplant for a while and finally landed it.

Our destination was  the legendary concert venue Red Rocks Amphitheater to see Futurebirds.

To say Red Rocks is amazing is an understatement.

dude...

I had a moment of bliss during Futurebirds set standing in the aisles among the trees on stage right.  It's that feeling when time seems to slow down to about .85 speed and you feel like you weigh about half as much you normal and it just washes over you*.  It's crazy the lengths we go to for these small moments.  Totally worth it.

* I wish that everyone finds that thing in their life that makes them feel this way, it's the essence of our human existence.

Killer scale model near the bathrooms.

I was first at Red Rocks in 1995 to see Phish 2 nights.  It was the height of the band's power and my interest in the band had been building intensely for a few years leading up to it  A magical experience, one that has served as an anchor point of sorts in my life.  Red Rocks is a bucket list place if there ever was one.

Years ago I started the tradition of designing T-shirts for our summer trips (complete with our "tour dates" listed on the back like the shirts that bands sell at concerts.)   We'd hand print them in the basement and the kids would get to print their own shirts.  I switched it up and for this trip I made these bookmarks modeled after Colorado's license plate and self-laminated with packing tape.  They came out pretty cool I think, definitely happy with them.

Inspiration

It's the little things - like watching this old train pull out of town.

Silverton is another cool old-time western town.  Like out of a movie - the train pulls right down the middle of street, there are some really old buildings that seem fake, gravel streets.  

The weather was crazy, we got caught in downpours 4 separate times that day.

Door of the old jail.  Wild that this still exists.

not my photo:  more jail

I love all the old mining stuff.

​Our main destination was the Ouray hot springs. Went during the day and then back again after dark. Pretty magical soaking in the hot water surrounded by shear mountains. Recommended.

Very cool vibes being in this hot water at night.

We had a really great weekend up in Burlington, VT visiting Katie at the University of Vermont.  It's her sophomore year and Katie seems really happy and is enjoying college.  Parenting is really hard - when kids are young it's an intense combination of extreme love and a grind of constant hard work.  But when that child grows up, there's a sense of sitting back and enjoying the results (not really "results" but you know what I mean.)  That's the stage we're in now.

My personal advice: If financial considerations do not hold you back, go away to college.  Preferably 3-4 hrs away from home.  I know being an hour from home sounds comforting as a high school kid, but it's too close.  You need to feel out of the immediate scope of your childhood life. and your parents  College is where you'll experience the highest rate of personal growth in your life and the independence that comes with being out there on your own is a big part of it.  

If you're headed to VT you gotta wear flannel.  I think it's a state law...

Love the drive up there.

Hammocking is a big thing at UVM.  So of course we had to take Katie's hammock for a spin.

Burlington has a pedestrian-only street called Church St.  It's the hub of downtown is a cool place to hang.

Dramatic views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mts from Mt. Philo.  (NOTE: it's Philo - with an "0", not Phila.  If it was Phila I would have run screaming the other direction (a little Phila burn right there...)

Mt. Philo views.

Great sunset over the lake rom the backyard of our Airbnb.  Wow.

What can make that sunset even better?  Listening to the radio call of the Mets come-from-behind playoff win against the Phillies. Let's Go Mets!

2nd floor breakfast in front of this gigantic window.

[Burlington Skate Park]  Not sure what this sticker is supposed to mean.

Katie said she wanted a ladder for her lofted bed. So I worked feverously last week building this - it came out pretty nice if I do say so myself. When we arrived I proudly carried it up to her room, leaned it against her bed and she immediately said “no thank you”. And she’s a very easy kid all around, so it’s not her being a pain in the ass. Maybe she was looking for a 90-degree straight up ladder? But here I was proud to have built this thing with all this love for my daughter and it was an instant flop. Frowny face. ​

I was excited when I saw this flyer for the Turnip Festival.  Mrs. G was less excited.