We were treated to a spectacular sunset over the Colorado River and the bookcliffs on our first night.

Denali got the zoomies as soon as he saw the river.

And rode over to the distillery on the other her side of the river. You can see the RV park on the ridge in the background.

And the winery is dog friendly!

We enjoyed relaxing on their patio out of the wind.

We had crazy skies and wind pretty much all evening.

The black eyes are fading….

Great little place by one of the ponds to relax and watch the sunset.

And let the husky roam.

We even had huge swans in the pond. Denali took care of that of course!

Camping dinner - caprese and toast with sautéed chanterelles

Denali has been super lovey and snuggly. I wonder if he knows he’s going to the kennel for a few days while we’re at the festival.

East Nash Grass

Lyle Lovett and his large band

Trying to stay in the shade. It was hot.

The Wallflowers

This lineup is nuts

East Nash Grass

Lyle Lovett

The Wallflowers

At the Diplomatico booth

The crowd is growing, and it’s only Thursday. We heard they sold 380k tickets.

Matchbook Twenty

Rob Thomas still has it!

New find - Ole 60

Koe Wetzel

Back at “camp” with our friends Andy and Lisa. We basically have four parking spaces. But at least we’re onsite.

Molly Tuttle and the Golden Highway

These guys are one of our favorite bluegrass bands.

Charles Wesley Godwin

The Head and the Heart

Red Clay Strays

Chris Isaak

Meanwhile, Denali looks to be having the time of his life at the nearby kennel.

He even got to solve a puzzle. For treats of course.

Molly Tuttle

Charles Wesley Godwin

The Head and the Heart

Jerry Douglass

Chris Isaak

Whiskey Meyers

Cody Jinks

Zach Bryan

Shane Smith

One view of 100,000 people

Churchill Downs

Mint Juleps!

The five fastest winners of the Kentucky Derby

We had this soup for lunch

Out at the track

We even caught a race

Nikko Moon

One of our favorites - Shane Smith & the Saints

Whiskey Myers!!!

Zach Bryan… and the 100k people who showed up

Can you find us?

Willet Bourbon tasting at the festival speakeasy

The Brothers Comatose

The National

We finally found the Willett speakeasy!

Have to go in through the “secret” door

Super fancy - they heat stamp the ice cubes!

Beach Boys! With some new players, but they still have it!

Mt Joy

Gourmet popsicles in bourbon!

The Brothers Comatose. We don’t want no IPAs! 😂

Makers Mark was old school screen printing towels

The War on Drugs

The National

They had various artist album art around the grounds. This Tyler Childers one had a huge line all day. WTH?

Festy hat!

Tyler Childers closed out the festival and killed it.

Our campsite tonight at Boundary Oak Distillery. Just parked out back with lots of room for Denali to run.

Our first stop at Willet in Bardstown KY. We tasted 9 bourbons and bought a couple bottles to take home.

Denali is happy to have his pack back.

At Willett Distillery

And we have pur happy husky back. He was so happy to see us when we picked him up from the kennel he was singing and dancing in circles.

Happy but very tired. 😂

Spent the night at Boundary Oak distillery

We made camp in their parking lot.

They bought this old school and have been restoring all the buildings. This one houses their three story still.

Their first release was a 13-year bourbon that won several awards.

They took that 13-year bourbon and re-barreled it twice, once in white oak and once in French oak, aging it to 17-years. Only 410 bottles were released.

Steve bought #110.

We got a shady spot right by their pond.

Having lunch on their deck. The wines were just okay, but our salads were yummy!

Denali is convinced he can catch up with one of the cats on the property. He’s watching diligently!

Complete with duck pond.

Denali just loves laying in the field and watching the world.

The night race was still going when we got back to the track with Denali, so we broke out the ski and party hat!

Wandering the NASCAR experience

Watching the Xfinity race - amazing ending with Amerola coming from behind three times to win.

My parents joined us - their first NASCAR anything

Meanwhile, Denali is looking for someone to play with him in daycare

These two little girls were rockstars in the water.

And Denali had a puppy party.

The puppy party lasted all evening

This is his “cousin” Bentley

Little thing figured out one of Denali’s favorite games - bite my face

We almost weren’t able to get here - we need 14-feet of clearance.

Luckily the warnings were referring to a low clearance bridge reight after our campground.

Of course Denali had to test the water.

Which wiped him out!

Complete with crazy stores.

Another great lineup!

Fruition

The camp turns into a glow park after dark

The Infamous Stringdusters

We’re guessing this visual artist is with the venue, not the Stringdusters. He was mixing liquids and holding them up to a light and camera to make the psychedelic show on the side screens.

Great place to paddleboard!

Back in camp listening to the main stage.

I think we wore him out!

Lindsay Lou with Emma Rose!

Arkansauce

Hippy art!

Denali loves this place too! Guess what he’s happy about.

The original grandfather still - commissioned by the federal government for their welcome center when Land Between the Lakes park was created.

We love the story of this place. AJ, the owner and master distiller, is a fifth generation moonshiner. His ancestor is the inventor of the square still and got his name (Casey) because he sold his product by the case. During prohibition people would hail him when he was floating the river - and “hi Casey” meant bring me a case.

This is the working grandfather still. It’s square, unlike most stills. It allows the mash to be spread out over a larger surface area, so faster cooking. And the double wall of the cylinder enables faster cooling. It’s all about how fast you can get packed up and out of the woods! The staff claims this still could be packed up into a Model A in fifteen minutes by two men.

We had a little too much fun shopping here.

And it’s such a gorgeous property.

And super er dog friendly. Denali got to run free and play with the distillery dog, Copper.

We stopped at the other two on our way to Nashville.

Old Glory did some serious pours! We couldn’t finish the flight.

But we earned our whiskey staves! Midwest equivalent of a shotski?

And then we settled at another of our favorite places - Percy Priest Lake.

We discovered this RV park because one of our favorite artists (Jason Isbell) mentions this lake \240in a song we love. It is a beautiful place.

Kind of starting to feel like Vegas here.

And then back at the most iconic stage in the country - The Ryman

This place is just special, and you feel it walking into the auditorium

We’re here to see a tribute to John Prine, a prolific songwriter who died during Covid. Each of these artists came out and played one Prine tune, and the lineup was amazing. Patti Griffin kicked it off, then the guitar player from Red Clay Strays…

Fancy Haygood…

Jozi and the Bonnevilles…

Teresa Williams & Larry Campbell…

Bella Fleck & Abigail Washburn…

Old Crow Medicine Show…

Shawn Colvin…

Rosanne Cash…

Jackson Browne…

And many more, like Iron & Wine, Emmis Lee, Todd Synder, and several more.

What a treat. We attended a John Prine tribute at the Ryman and were treated to two hours of amazing singer/songwriters performing his tunes.

Jackson Browne, Patti Griffith, Shawn Colvin, Amos Lee, Rosanne Cash, Todd Snyder, Iron and Wine, Drew Nix, Leon Timbo, Fancy Haygood, \240Jozi and the Bonnevilles, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, Bella Fleck and Abegaile, SJ Goodman, Old Crow Medicine Show, Ron Pope, William Prince, Cathleen Edwards and Sarah Jarosz.

Wow!

Beautiful, warm evening and perfect for paddleboarding.

We paddled out to a little island.

Denali gets so excited when we’re playing in water!

Perfect evening on the water.

Aaand he’s wiped out!

Victoria Eady Butler is the master whiskey blender here and the great, great granddaughter of the slave Nearest Green, who taught Jack Daniel the Lincoln County method. It’s this method of filtering the spirits through charcoal that distinguishes a Tennessee whiskey. Victoria was the first black female master blender and won Master Blender of the year in 2021 and 2022. This is one of two walls of the awards this place has won.

Also stopped at Cascade Hollow.

Home of George Dickel. Not nearly as impressive as Nearest Green in any way.

And now we’re at Cavefest!

Our last big music thing of the trip, and we’re really looking forward to it.

Arkansauce in the Cavern

Back out at the amphitheater

Our hometown guys are here! Pixie and the Partygrass Boys

Amanda is on safari, so the fiddle player from Slay & Stinson filled in. Impressive that he learned Ben’s fiddle tune.

The new guitar player seems to fit right in. We hope the group keeps him.

Juniper made it to Tennessee! For those that don’t know the story, that little monkey went down the river with us and Partygrass our first year. She was a stand-in for Dan’s (a second year guest) kids, who couldn’t make the trip. She rode with everyone and became the trip mascot. Pixie often hangs her from the mic stand.

Can’t if you don’t!

Lindsay Lou joins Pixie.

One of our favorites… although we were missing Amanda’s solo.

Lindsay Lou!

And guess who joins Railroad Earth. Lindsay Lou is one of the two artists at large this weekend.

These Colorado girls are on our most watched list.

Friends join making four fiddles and two mandolins

And friends include “Dixie Normus” (formerly Benifer) - Ben Weiss from Partygrass in a dress.

He’s having way too much fun cross dressing!

Meanwhile, Denali seems to be having fun at Wags & Wiggles.

Back in the cavern

Uncle John’s Banjo

Clay Street Unit - we discovered them at a late night event at WinterWondergrass.

Of course, Lindsay Lou sang with them.

Taking a break from music for some cornhole.

Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn

We just heard these two play this John Prine song at the Ryman the other night!

Apparently Abigail is also a clogger!

We kept getting distracted by the scene next to us. This grandmother and granddaughters were having so mich fun dressing up in wings, tutus and glow lights.

Until the little girls got fussy. I’ve rarely seen such a great act of parenting when their mom stepped in.

The Travelin’ Mccourays

Love this Passenger cover

Late night Steve!

Denali is very happy to be back with us and the RV - and very tired. He must have played hard at that last kennel.

Dinner out on a patio. It’s colder here than we expected.

Denali was very happy to get out and run!

Silly beach dog!

He does look good on that bike.

Dinner at the Old Oyster Factory.

Finally warm enough to enjoy our outdoor area.

We cruised through the wetlands and oyster beds of Broad Creek.

We saw several dolphins

Blue herons

And lots of Pelicans. BTW, that house in the background is on the privately owned Buck Island. You can AirB&B it for just $10k per night.

My handsome guys!

Approaching the Atlanic and sunset.

There’s only a few of us here, but tons of camp spots.

Trying to wear Denali out without getting too close to gator areas.

We immediately unloaded the paddleboards and bikes. This place looks like too much fun if you like living outside.

Can you beat that view from a campsite?

Denali is loving this life.

And I got seriously spoiled for my 50th birthday. God, half a century!

There are docks for fishing and watching sunsets.

Complete with egrets to eat your fish!

And the sunsets are fantastic.

That’s our spot to the left. We have a great view out the front window!

We went out for a seafood dinner - conch, shrimp, lobster, hogfish, and mahi mahi.

And then had a very artistic sushi lunch.

Back at camp…

Enjoying cocktails in the front yard.

Denali is enjoying the sand.

We saw at least one manatee, which really perked up Denali!

And lots of sea birds.

Silly dog has to ride on both boards.

One more sunset here.

Our site at night.

We found this great little beach bar next door.

Denali was welcome to run loose and even made friends with a couple other pups.

Stopped for lunch at Kiki’s Sandbar. They had the best mahi mahi.

And a doggie menu!

This is our site at Bluewater Key.

Denali seems to approve.

We have our own tiki hut

And a private dock

And Denali has a great view from his bed.

This is as far south as we can go.

We needed a nap after a decadent brunch!

The Tuckers bought a painting earlier in the week and got us invitations to the gallery party.

Denali was amazing among the crowd.

We had a great spot in front of the gallery to watch some of the Fantasy Fest parade.

Festy dog!

The people watching was pretty fun.

The best dressed dog in town!

What a place to watch the NASCAR race!

The resort’s doggie park.

Camped in Marathon Key for our last two nights in the Keys, and there’s no one here!

They gave us buddy sites where we could have our porches facing each other.

We had a great little place on the end of the peninsula to watch sunsets.

The lizards here have curly tails like Denali!

Tried paddleboarding in the canal next to us, but the wind had created a hell of a current.

Denali was having fun and wasn’t quite done. I had to talk him off the board.

One last sunset in the Keys.

And a little cornhole.

This was a great little campsite.

Playing husky games.

There’s a kitty in the tasting room that Denali really wants to say hi to.

Their still.

They have a big property right on the Homosassa River.

The migrant manatees aren’t here yet, so we drove to their partner Crystal River store to see the resident ones.

Hurricane Helene destroyed most of the eel grass that they eat and chased many of the manatees off…

But we found a few!

We can tell that this is a resident manatee because she has algae clinging to her like hair.

The migrant manatee come into the river encrusted with barnacles, which c later fall off in the fresh water, leaving them spotted.

Now we’re looking for gators!

Found an osprey, but no gators.

Driving back to the RV, I saw this sign and thought it was advertising donuts. I got Steve all excited about donuts in the morning on our way out. It’s D’s nuts. 🙄

These beautiful beaches are empty. We have them to ourselves.

Right across from Carrabelle Beach.

Water is way cooler here than the Keys, but Denali doesn’t mind.

He swam till he was exhausted!

Terri thought she’d find Lt Dan!

Super cute little town with beach shops.

Notice the beads? Where did those come from?

Looks like festy dog is wearing a tiara!

Sunset over Carrabelle Beach - an hour earlier sadly.

Husky loves his daddy.

This is a barrier island, so the Gulf is way rougher out here.

One last ride on Carrabelle Beach.

But now we’re at our all time favorite RV resort in Orange Beach.

We have an amazing patio and private hot tub!

Decadent brunch at the Ruby Slipper.

So we can take a bike ride in Gulf State Park!

Trying out the Tucker’s pizza oven. It didn’t go so well since Terri forgot to heat the pizza stone first.

Beautiful night to be outside.

And we’re getting a brilliant sunset.

Denali just loves the sand.

No filters or edits. Guess this is how this beach got its name.

Look what came up on Pandora while driving to Gulf Shores! It’s their new album.

Last race day of the year. This is the first time in four years we haven’t been at the championship race in Phoenix.

Denali is only interested in Steve’s beef jerky.

Very interested.

Our resort have this beautiful lazy river

And it’s always empty

We rode a new path through Gulf State Park.

All the way to the beach.

And tried a new place for brunch - Coastal.

We haven’t had a bad meal here.

By the time we got back, Denali had run over seven miles round trip.

Very worn out puppy.

Denali makes a cute shark.

And an even cuter jester!

And Bourbon Street of course.

It was much tamer than the last time we were here.