Little Bear Saloon in Evergreen, Colorado

Doesn't everyone enjoy live music? My husband and I, and a couple of good friends drove up to the mountain town of Evergreen to visit the Little Bear Saloon on Saturday, where two friends, Mike and Nick, were performing live music during the lunchtime hours. (All photos will enlarge when clicked on)

The rustic Little Bear Saloon is exactly what you would imagine an old-time western saloon to look like, with its all wooden facade, swinging double door entrance, brass cash register, wooden bar stools booths and tables carved graffiti of names and dates, and forty years worth of legendary music. Little Bear was formerly a church, a drugstore, the Red Ram Saloon and the Round-Up Dance Hall. During the 60's and 70's, the saloon was known as the Red Ram, and Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, the Glenn Miller Band all performed here. Around the middle 70's the name had changed to Little Bear, and the music changed to the sounds of  Bo Diddley, Rita Coolidge, George Thoroughgood and many others, including Willie Nelson who had a house in Evergreen at the time and used to come down to Little Bear to jam with other musicians.

We ordered a pitcher of beer to share and enjoyed some really tasty and juicy hamburgers from their menu selections and sat back to enjoy a wonderful few hours of R Michael Rhodes performing, accompanied by Nick. On his website, Mike describes his music as: "...lighthearted, 'easy listening' feel and with storytelling lyrics that give it an incredibly nostalgic quality that is hard not to like." Mike was influenced in his music by James Taylor, John Denver, The Eagles, and Garth Brooks and he often plays cover songs of their hits, as well as songs he has written--click here-- to learn more on his website and to listen to his original songs.



We loved Mike's beautiful rendition of John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High," as I've always a big John Denver fan--click here to see my blog post about the John Denver Sanctuary in Aspen, Colorado. You can watch a few minutes of the song in the video above from my Mille Fiori Facebook page.  Click here to listen to it on my facebook page if you can not see the video. I think you'll agree that Mike has a wonderfully soothing and melodic voice and that he and Nick are superb guitar players.  The Little Bear house was packed for his performance and everyone had a wonderful time!

Some more views of the wonderful old honky tonk Little Bear Saloon. People have sent in many car license plates from all over the world to adorn their walls, including one that was near our table that was from America Samoa!

There were also signed dollar bills on the walls, photos of past bands, music memorabilia, and yes, even women's bras hanging down from on the rafters over the stage. Sagging old wooden steps lead upstairs to both a viewing gallery and pool tables, and almost every inch of wood in the saloon had carvings from countless past customers to view.  The Little Bear was a colorful place full of nostalgia and with music history in every corner! It is definitely worth a visit!

Little Bear is located at 28075 Highway 74 in Evergreen, Colorado, and continues its over forty years tradition of live music. You can check its upcoming schedule at this link.

Evergreen is a beautiful town to visit, and a walk around Evergreen Lake on a 1.3-mile loop trail is another wonderful thing to do during the day, in addition to visiting all the shops and restaurants of the downtown area. Boats and paddleboards and other equipment can be rented to enjoy the lake on the water, and in winter the lake becomes a popular ice skating rink.

Evergreen is just 30 to 45 minutes west of Denver in the beautiful foothills of Jefferson County. The drive along CO 74, which includes Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive, is famous for its awe-inspiring granite cliffs, diverse vegetation, wildflowers, and meandering Bear Creek.

We really enjoyed our day out in Evergreen and the historic Little Bear Saloon, and we wish Mike continued success in living his dream of pursuing music as his second career!

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Lavender Festival at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield Farms

About five miles from where I live is a wonderful extension of the Denver Botanic Garden at the Denver Botanic Garden Chatfield Farm.  Chatfield Farm is a 700-acre native plant refuge and a native farm located along the banks of Deer Creek in Littleton, Colorado, at 8500 W. Deer Creek Canyon Road. Facilities include the Earl J. Sinnamon Visitor Center, the historical Hildebrand Ranch, a restored 1918 dairy barn and silo, the 1874 Deer Creek Schoolhouse, 2.5 miles of nature trails, the Deer Creek Discovery children’s play area, and numerous wildflower gardens.  Every mid-July it holds a Lavender Festival. The festival includes lavender demonstrations, live music, craft and food vendors, farm tours, and activities for children. (All photos will enlarge if clicked on)

Since 2015,  Denver Botanic Garden horticulturists have planted thousands of lavender plants at Chatfield Farms. Fourteen different varieties of lavender range from purple to blue to pink to white in color.

As this sign states, Lavender is a new commercial cash crop for the state of Colorado, especially on the Western Slope of Colorado. Lavender is traditionally grown in the mountainous regions of the Mediterranean and in Northern Africa, as it prefers a hot and dry climate with plenty of sunshine. It also does well in Colorado, as we get over 300 sunny days a year and certain areas have the sandy, well-draining soil that lavender loves to grow in.

It was wonderful to walk among the rows of lavender and smell their soothing scent!

Lavandula (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. If you would like to see a Botanic Garden PDF of the varieties and descriptions of the lavender planted at Chatfield Farms click this link.

Lavender has many uses--click on the photos above to read how it has been used throughout the ages and where the name lavender originated.  I grow lavender in my garden and have used the dry buds for culinary uses in cookies and cakes, I also use the buds to make lavender scented sachets for my linen.

We also enjoyed listening to a bluegrass band, browsing the crafts and lavender product booths, and enjoying some food at the festival.

 

Lavender bouquets were very popular items for sale, as well as products made with lavender such as essential oils, soaps, lotions, candles, and honey. There were also jewelry, clothing, pottery, artwork, and other items for sale. We purchased some locally sourced lavender honey. 

We also visited the working farm to see what crops were growing. Produce is sold as part of the Chatfield Farms CSA. The Community Supporting Agriculture program (CSA) is the cornerstone of the Gardens' Urban Food Initiatives, growing seven acres of vegetables, flowers, and fruit for subscribers (shareholders) and farm stands.

We also enjoyed seeing the many beautiful flower gardens throughout Chatfield Farms, including one section where specific flowers were grown to use to dye cloth and threads.

There were also quite a few "Plein air" artists painting the lavender fields and plants.

Beautiful lavender...

...beautiful scenery. 

It was the perfect way to spend a day enjoying the Lavender Festival!

 Judging from all the brand new lavender plants that were planted this year, it looks like the Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms Lavender Festival will continue to grow through the coming years!

Do you like lavender? Do you grow it in your garden? 

If so, what is your favorite way to use your lavender?

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