Proof of RMAF ~ Billings

We had a glorious time at RMAF, and aside from booking jobs, we go there to share music with some seriously incredible musicians. John Dunnigan being one of them. I seriously tear up at the thoughts of leaving without getting a sufficient dose of Dunnigan :-) We have so many great friends and my favorite thing is getting to see them all again. Amanda and I went vintage clothes shopping at the BEST little shop in Billings and ran into RMAF's Patsy Cline and Trick Roper. (we all share great taste in clothes and music) We played and sang with some amazing people and watched some great showcases. It was hard to leave in the end. The travels to and from are always an adventure. I always get some pics of the road and Cal and I actually travel well together. I know, who would have thunk it. We came up on this van and I said, "Cal, that looks like a dead animal strapped to the top of the mini-van." Cal thought, no, just a piece of furniture, but alas when we drew close, we saw it was indeed someones fall kill. Ironic for the butcher and jerky girl to encounter this on our way to sing. We did NOT offer to process it for them.

Our Great Uncle Avard Linford on my fathers side designed and built a bridge somewhere in the Big Sky area of Montana and after checking out every bridge from here to there, we came upon the most likely one and took a picture. I need to do some digging around in the family history and see if this really is "his" bridge.

From Idaho to Montana, the landscape gets more rugged and the rocks and boulders litter the landscape. I love the feel of Montana, just as I do Idaho and Wyoming.

The area of Idaho we drove through was windswept and full of blue skys on the way there, and dirt blown brownouts on the way back.

Highlights from Missoula RMAF 2010

Well, we've almost recovered from our trip to Missoula Montana for the Rocky Mountain Association of Fairs Convention where we sing and talk and dance and get very little sleep or food as luck would have it. Good thing we stopped at the Calf-A on our way through Dell Montana where they serve up THE BEST food in Montana. Not even kidding. You can check out my posts from the past two years, it's so good that a three day old donut from that place was better than any meal we ate at convention. (Taco Salad without the meat. Or beans. Or anything else? Any takers? Didn't think so. ;-) Let's just say we don't go for the food, but we do go for . . . . . . Pickers like the Bad Larry's and cool little jam sessions between negotiations with potential fair buyers. Ed from the Larry's stopped by and we got in a much needed hour or two. I think our favorite thing about convention is playing with other great musicians. We just needed more moments like these. There were literally not enough hours in the day.

Del came along with us this year and it worked great to have him there to talk to people when Cal and I were singing. I think he'll be our un-official lady charmer and booker :-)

It would not have been a complete trip for us without a little John Dunnigan. We recorded one of his songs on our latest CD and got to watch him listen to it for the first time. What an awesome moment for us.

There will be more updates to come, so many great people and fun moments together. Singing with John's son Andy again (we met him in Coeur D 'Alene) and some of his band The Lil' Smokies was so cool. Their talent makes me want to either slit my wrists and give it up or turn back time and practice 8 hours a day from birth. I think that's what it would take for me. There's always room for inspiration and improvement. I'm feeling plenty inspired.

Introducing thelinfordband.com

Cal and I finally took the plunge and with the help of Scott from The Bad Larry's we created a website for our band. Check it out at http://www.thelinfordband.com/