Gordon Lightfoot Forums - Meadow Brook Music Fest Photos

This Lightfoot concert was among the many highlights/experiences (and my friend and I have put this show on the top of our list!) during our week-long roadtrip/vacation...the 1st real vacation I've had in 3 years.

We started out on the road from Clinton, Connecticut during the early eve on the 12th, drove straight through (I did all the driving) and arrived in Michigan the next afternoon. We stayed in a cabin (unheated) in the County Park. Would have preferred a KOA kabin - (which are heated and cheaper)...but this park was only a 10 minute drive to Meadow Brook.

The next day we drove to Roscommon (just south of Grayling) at North Higgins Lake State Park to visit the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum -which is located in a replica CCC Camp barracks building. The site also includes an historic structure from an early forestry/tree nursery. This is also the site of the 1st dedicated CCC Worker Statue (if you don't count the 'Spirit of the CCC' aka "Iron Mike" -a 1935 WPA statue/sculpture in CA). There are now 40 of the modern CCC Worker statues to honor the CCC throughout the country and this is only the 2nd one that I've had a chance to visit.

After the site tour - we drove over to Traverse City and up the peninsula to the lighthouse site. Traverse City and Old Mission are very charming and I do hope to return someday. Drove to Saginaw Bay before back to the campground. Long day!

Saturday, in anticipation of that evening's performance...we couldn't come up with what to do in the meantime. We were so excited! We had been talking about and listening to Lightfoot from the time we planned this trip. A nice relaxing walk around the lake at the park - followed by a short nap before heading out to the show was perfect.

We bundled up and brought a fleece blanket along...but didn't notice the cold until 1/2 way through the performance. Gord and the band were EXCELLENT!! And, until Gord mentioned the cold...you wouldn't have known it was an issue as it certainly in no way affected his (or the bands') performance. Real pros!

I was able to get some decent photos but only towards the end of the show. I had let someone use my camera to take a photo of my friend and I before the show...and hadn't noticed that they had inadvertently pressed the focus on close up (for shooting objects from 3-18") and thus, all the early shots I took were no good at all. As upset as I was...at least I noticed this before the end of the show and was able to get some decent photos. No flash photography or professional cameras were allowed so I opted to use my 4+ year old digital camera - but am still pleased with how the photos came out.

We left the next day at 7:30am for the evening show at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, ILL. I thought we may not have time to rest up much - but this drive wasn't bad at all and was much less time than indicated in the internet directions. We stopped for breakfast (almost an hour) and gas and then stopped for an hour at Warren Dunes State Park (loved this) and arrived at the hotel in Aurora around 1:30 pm. The time zone change helped but even considering this...the drive took 2 1/2 hours less than our driving directions (even with our stops!). Nice!

We stayed in Aurora for the next day to tour the Aurora Regional Fire Museum (wonderful!) and left the following morning. Nice drive through Chicago and then headed to Niagra Falls (I had never been) before heading home. I drove straight from Chicago to the Falls -arriving at 4am and snoozed for a couple of hours before waking my friend and surprising him with having arrived. lol we had intended to stop in PA for the night - I tried to snooze at a rest stop in PA (my friend fell asleep in OH) but I couldn't sleep after having drank an Xtra caffeine coffee from Pilot). Right when he woke up I asked him if he could guess where we were...he thought PA until I asked him to listen...and hearing the Falls, he couldn't believe I had driven on (I once drove from Cheyenne to CT with no sleep [36 hours] so this was easy for me).

My 1st time seeing the Great Lakes and the Falls and the many side trips, etc., was a thrill. I fell in love with the Lakes and all of Michigan. We only had the mosrning to spend at the Falls (I only slept a couple of hours and wanted to get back home that night). My friend has boated the Lakes from CT a few times (once alone) and has been to the Falls many times, but he enjoyed the land experience immensely!

Wanted to share some details of our trip here and all we were able to do and still...my friend and I decided without a doubt that the Lightfoot show at Meadow Brook was the highlight! hehe

Pam