Our Last Day in Colorado

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We actually had a bit of a conundrum ahead of us when it came to our last day in Colorado. You see, my niece still had softball games to play, but some of us had also gotten tickets to go to a concert on Saturday night.

We didn't know how long the softball games were going to go, but since the whole reason we drove out to Colorado was to watch her play, we were in agreement that if it came down to it we would not go to the concert.

We had actually heard that the concert was sold out and that tickets were going for three to four times what we paid for them on the secondary market, so skipping the concert even if we didn't have to was also on the table. Anything to make a buck right?

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It ended up being a non issue, as my nieces team eventually lost. The game was late enough that we didn't have much time to make our way to the concert. If it had been right in Denver we might have been okay, but instead it was about an hour to an hour and a half outside of Denver in a "little" town called Greeley.

We ran to the car and after my niece had changed out of her softball uniform the group of us spread across two cars barreled down the expressway to get to the Greeley Stampede.

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The skies looked pretty threatening on our way there, and since the concert was outdoors, we weren't sure if we were going to get rained on or not. Thank goodness we didn't and I will explain why in just a little bit. I mentioned that Greeley was a "small" town. It actually isn't now that I look at the map, but when we were driving the divide highway backroad to get there, it felt like we were heading to the middle of nowhere.

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Besides the concert, they also had a full fair happening at the Stampede complete with a beer tent and a midway full of rides and games. We were already running behind, so we didn't get a chance to check out the fair. Instead, we made a beeline straight for the concert venue.

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Obviously, I grabbed some shots along the way though.

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We missed the opening act of the concert, but we made it just in time for the headliner Old Dominion. Old Dominion has been on my bucket list for quite some time to see them in concert. Ever since their debut album I have really enjoyed the music they keep putting out. I still think their debut album is probably their best though.

We were supposed to see them a couple of years ago, but we ended up not being able to go because Covid cancelled the show. It was a pretty big bummer for me, so when we got the opportunity to see them here we jumped at the chance.

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The tickets we got were in the "chute" area which is a general admission section where they run the rodeo during other events. That meant we were basically standing on dirt with some random cow or horse poop throw in there. They tried to clean it up as best they could, but you could still see piles here and there and it smelled.

Remember that rain we thought might hit us? Well good thing it didn't otherwise it would have been a muddy mess!

While the people we were with made their way into the crowd, @mrsbozz and I stood against one of the walls and made friends with a nice older couple who were there with their kids.

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Although my wife and I attend our fair share of concerts, neither of us are too fond of crowds. We both get a bit of anxiety, so standing over against the wall with the exit in clear view was more comfortable for us. We noticed there was a lot of security around at the concert too. It's not that I would expect people to get out of hand at a show like this, but it was just reassuring to see them there.

The rest of our group managed to work their way through the crowd and later on they showed us photos indicating how close they were able to get to the stage. Maybe when I was younger, but these days, no thanks!

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They had these big screens on each side of the stage which were kind of nice, but the video was delayed, so the people's lips didn't match up with what they were singing. That made it nearly impossible to focus on the video screens.

My only other complaint was that about halfway through the show, the wind kicked up and given our proximity to the entrance, the air would rush through and kick up the dirt. That "fog" you see in the photos above isn't from a fog machine, it's actually the dirt from the ground being blown into our faces. It was like we were being sand blasted at times.

Add to that the fact that you know there had to be manure mixed in with the dirt and it was all kinds of ick!

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Despite the minor drawbacks, it was still a great time and I am really glad we got to go. It was an experience I might never get to have again and that made it more than worth it. Plus, I get to cross Old Dominion off my bucket list now!

We piled in our cars and made the long (it seemed that way) drive back to our rental house. We had to get up fairly early the next morning to be on our way home and the rest of our group had to get checked out of the house as they were moving along to a different area of Colorado.

Colorado left a very big impression on me and I can't wait to make our way back out west to explore more of the area one day. In my opinion, this was the perfect way to end our time in the Denver area!

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Sports Talk Social - @bozz.sports

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All pictures/screenshots taken by myself or @mrsbozz unless otherwise sourced