A word from the director ...

Mr. Fettig, waiting in the Denver airport, reflected back on the tour. He expressed how proud of the group he was and what a success their first Madrigal tour was. He was genuinely pleased with the entire experience.

A word from our sponsors ...

Drew, Julie, John, Jim, and Nikki had a blast traveling with this group. I would say that we had as much fun as the kids if not more. We would like to thank all the parents for sharing their kids with us for this special tour. They were very respectful and perfectly behaved. We couldn't have asked for a better group.

Thank you to our hosts

Thank you to Matt and Deborah for making this trip possible. They took great care of our group and made sure all the arrangements were made and things went smoothly. It was a wonderfrul experience.

I was able to catch up with a few of the kids on their way out the door to go skiing. A few of us elected not to go skiiing and I wound up shopping with Jayne Ann and Miranda. We found a great little shop that had hand-made cosmetics. We had a blast watching the bath balms, and trying out the solid body lotion.Those of us left behind boarded the bus at 11:00 when we checked out of the lodge. We went to Buttermilk ski area to meet up with the skiers. We all loaded onto the bus and left shortly after 1:00. We made it to Denver International Airport just after 5:30. PERFECT timing. We got checked in and began the wait at the gate for the plane.

These are a couple of shots looking up the ski slopes at Buttermilk.

Some Lighter Moments

One of the sponsors - we won't mention any names - took the opportunity for a power nap during the afternoon practice at Harris Hall and I couldn't resist snapping this picture.I'm not sure what was going on during Kalinka, but Ellen and Levi seemed to have the giggles!

It was nice to take a silly picture after all the seriousness of the concert. This was the sign that we saw as we went down the stairs leaving Boogie's Diner. The walls were covered with memorabilia.

Tuesday's Activities

As we approached Aspen it became more clear why school was cancelled. They don't appear to be able to handle the snow as well as we do in our neck of the woods. The roads were ice packed as you can see from the pictures, but the view was spectacular.

We checked into our new digs and explored them for a short time before heading out exploring and finding lunch in Aspen. We had a little time to shop before we got on the bus.

We arrived at Harris Hall at 3:00 for the afternoon rehearsal. It was a fabulous place for a concert. They also have a tent-top concert hall and both had great accoustics. The group sang one song under the tent just to hear what it sounded like even though it was cold. There was even a magpie that "laughed" at us. We were told they like to imitate people and of course, the kids were laughing.

We had a green room and dressing rooms so we all changed for the concert which began at 6:30. It was absolutely wonderful. It went by much too quickly for me as I love listening to their beautiful voices blend. After the concert we went downtown to Boogie's, a local favorite. We ate a big meal, enjoyed visiting with each other, and then headed back to the lodge for a much-needed night of sleep.

There's Snow in Them Thar Hills!

This was the view from our rooms when we woke up Tuesday morning. You will never believe this, but school was cancelled in Aspen so our schedule changed. Stay tuned for more information and enjoy the snow in Bemidji!