Parker, CO

As mentioned in Doug’s post, the uncertainty of how long we’d be waiting for RV repair was unnerving. Sitting day after day in a dimly lit hotel room with only a bed and 2 chairs at the Quality Inn behind the Mercedes repair center would get old fast. And although we were surrounded by shopping malls with a huge choice of chain restaurants, the prospect of visiting those twice a day for more than a couple of days had limited appeal. We needed a change of attitude, a plan B. After all, people fly into Denver for vacation all the time without RVs. What do they do? What could we do without our RV?

Our original plan (the one we had when we left home) was to spend 6 weeks in Colorado visiting mostly areas we’d not explored before. We’d hike and play music, ending up in Parker, CO (just south of Denver) in time for this fall’s BGU guitar jam on October 5th.

Well, we could rent a car and still head to the mountains, maybe find a short-term rental and do some hiking. We’d be limited to areas near Denver (most of which we’ve already been to) because we might need to get to the service repair center on short notice depending on how the repair progressed. Also, we have 3 musician friends in the greater Denver area that we know from previous jams and visits – we could get together with them and play music. Maybe we could even do both, if our friends’ schedules matched up with ours. And while we were in the Front Range, we could get our short-term rental nearest where our friends live. Doug sent them an email.

Within half an hour, Bobby responded:

Well, get your awesome selves to mi la casa in Parker, CO!!!

I have PLENTY of rooms, a coupla soaps & towels, and tons of amps and percussive stuff to bang!!!

Stay with me here – if you are ok with a loving Bernedoodle and great views to the mountains!

Seriously!!!

A day later, we were in Parker with our music essentials, freezer/fridge stuff, and a couple of weeks’ worth of clothes. (Oh, and toothbrushes – Bobby’s a retired dentist, after all…) We were introduced to Bobby’s son Benji and pooch Mashka. Within 24 hours, at Bobby’s instigation and with mutual support, encouragement and active participation from all three of us, we converted Bobby’s living room into a music studio complete with piano, drums, guitars, amps, microphones, speakers, and lots of wires. Really, a lot…

Giddy from the opportunity to play music, and with 5 weeks to go before the BGU jam (which, by the way, Bobby is organizing and hosting…), we played music almost all day, almost every day. We were set up so that all 3 of us could practice individually with headphones – Bobby in his usual office and studio, Doug and I on guitar and piano, respectively, in the new living room studio. (Um, no way to practice drums individually – with an acoustic kit, it’s all or nothing…) We’d practice in the morning and jam in the afternoon and evening – often scheduling sessions around Bobby’s golf outings, focusing on improving the songs we planned to include in the October jam. For the jams, I was on the drums. Doug and Bobby swapped playing guitar and bass. Errands and chores got done (and Mashka got her W – A – L – K’s) during our breaks.

On the weekends, Chris D came down to join us on guitar and occasionally bass. Chris G, a friend and former bandmate of Bobby’s who will be the hired drummer at the BGU jam, also joined us for these sessions. Having Chris G with us on drums also gave me the opportunity to try some of my newly learned songs on piano.

And as for the rest of the team… Bobby’s teenaged son Benji is a delight. He’s passionate about maturing into the high school wrestling team. He’s also passionate about cooking. A future chef or cuisinier? Could be… He recently started working at one of his dad’s favorite restaurants as a dishwasher, which provides him also the benefit of observing and learning about all of the action in a professional kitchen. He’s loving it! Possibly more surprising, though, is that he’s also a fan of the blues and classic rock! An old soul? Inspired by Dad? However this came about, he loves our music!

Mashka truly is a loving Bernedoodle! We became best friends about 4 minutes after joining the household. She adores long walks with humans, 45-minute chest and chin rubs, hugs and her favorite toy – Mr Bill, aka ‘your baby.’ Most mornings, she leaves one or another of these treasured items right outside our bedroom door, usually Mr Bill, sometimes Nate the Lion, otherwise a bone. Her tail-wagging goes into overdrive as we descend in the morning to get coffee. She’s also our biggest fan, settling into the living room studio whenever we’re playing. She is proving to be a champion photo bomber.

A couple of weeks ago, we were surprised and excited to hear that our RV was ready to be picked up, though also a little wistful at the prospect of the end of our residency at the Parker Living Room Studio. With some mixed feelings, we went up to retrieve the rig, drove it back to Bobby’s, started reloading our stuff back and running a few errands when, after fewer than 50 miles, the engine failed again. All the details are in Doug’s post (just previous to this one). Bobby just grinned and said:

Guess you’re staying! Stay as long as you need.

So we moved back into the house.

Three and a half weeks into our stay, Bobby was heading to Dublin for the first-ever, regular-season NFL game to be held in Ireland, where his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers would face the Minnesota Vikings (update: Steelers won, 24-21. YES!). And yes, international NFL events are becoming a thing. When Bob planned the trip he’d been thinking about getting a house/dog sitter while he was away. When he mentioned that, of course we volunteered.

We’re in awe of and totally appreciative of Bobby’s kindness and generosity. Over the past month, we’ve gotten to know each other a lot better – pretty well, in fact. That’s been easy! And although we don’t share the passion for golf and pro sports, we do share a love of music, the blues, skiing, cycling (Bobby was a long-time competitive triathlete and elite-level coach), and, maybe most of all, a deep respect for living a lifestyle driven by our passions.

We can’t wrap up the story just yet, because it’s not over… The most optimistic estimate of when the RV will be ready is still a few days away, and the BGU jam starts in about 1 week. Although we lost the opportunity to explore more of Colorado and do some high-peak hiking on this trip (it’s snowing up there, now!), we did get ourselves into the mountains for a day trip. Expecting to spend some time in and around Frisco, just before our initial breakdown we had arranged for a mail drop there. So right after we arrived at Bobby’s we ran up there to pick up the mail and have a look around. And we did get to hike a bit at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, which was a hoot and will be the subject of the next post. The trade-off has had a powerful upside. The musical experience between the three of us (also the two Chris’s) has been invaluable, and the new depth of our friendship is a gift.

For anyone who’s interested, more Parker, Frisco pix…

EPILOGUE (10/10/2025) Well, the RV was finally repaired with just a day to spare before the BGU jam, which was amazing (see the post above this one, coming soon here). The following morning, exhausted and still giddy from the event, we found a little more time to spend with Bobby (and Mashka!). Bobby had sent us a text in which he said, ‘I am so glad your RV broke down!!! Serendipity!!!’ Doug replied, ‘LOL, same here, my friend.’ I don’t think they’re literally glad we broke down, but I can’t think of a better situation while being stranded. It’s like a consolation prize, silver lining and the world’s best lemonade all rolled into one!

And we’re once again heading west.