The Ultimate Guide to Festival Camping

 Lawson Hill Campgrounds, Telluride

This past weekend I attended my first real music festival - i.e., multi-day camping and coin showers. As a festival rookie, I had a difficult time making a packing list. I wanted to make sure I had all the necessities, being careful not to cross the high-maintenance threshold. You see, this was the first trip I had taken with my boyfriend and I didn't want to be, "that girl" - the Cher amongst the hippies -"as if..." I packed my sleeping bag, sunscreen, water and the other basics, making calculated efforts to abbreviate our list.

Once we arrived in Telluride, we hauled our minimal belongings to the camping area and scouted out the perfect spot to set up camp. Having arrived on Thursday, before most other festival goers, we had our choice of prime property plots. Naturally, we decided on a grassy area next door to a cannabis entrepreneur and his wife who happened to have the largest, most defined tent in the camp. I thought of their tent as a landmark, our North Star that would lead us back to our tent at night. Our two-person tent practically set itself up, so with little time and effort our camp was done and dusted.

We headed off to the concert for the rest of the day only to return to a highly urbanized city. Our campground had gone from rural village to sprawling metropolitan in a matter of hours. Five-person tents equip with luxurious foyers had built themselves into one another. Having had a beer or six at the concert, we struggled to find our one bed, one bath studio apartment amidst the high-rises that had popped up all around us.  We stumbled through alleys, tripping over random tent stakes and eventually stumbled upon our very humble abode with the help of our neighbor's flashing lights.

The next morning, we took a stroll around the campground, looking at all the new developments. I quickly learned that festival camping and true mountain camping are two very different things. Mountain camping requires the abbreviated list I had prepared with, while festival camping and glamping are easily synonymous. These festivarians took camping to a whole new level. They brought air mattresses, meal-prep tables, lounge chairs, decorative lights, and most importantly, shade tents.

Needless to say, this trip taught me a lesson or two about the art of packing... and what is a lesson learned if not shared with others? So here is my ultimate guide to festival camping. Enjoy!

Telluride Blue Grass Festival 2015

The Ultimate Festival Camping Packing List:

• Tent - Preferably one with standing room. No need to so shimmy into fresh undies each morning.
• Sleeping Bag 
• Sleeping Pad or Air Mattress - It's not about practicality, its about luxury and comfort.
• Lantern or Head Lamps - Great for finding your way back home at night.
• Camp Chairs
• Sun Tent - Especially important as our campground had not trees, thus no shade. Place over tent or use as a lobby that feeds into your chic camp residence. Perfect for relaxing, cooking and pre-gaming.
• Cooler - If you are one of the lucky few who are able to spend $300+ on a cooler, invest in a Yeti. We packed our old Colman with ice and ice packs, but it had no chance against our sun tent-less camp and the 90 degree weather. Our food went bad after the first day. You can only imagine how that smelled...
• Trash Bags
• Water Bottle 
• Paper Towels
• Wet Wipes - We opted against showering in general as I'm a firm believer in the foulness of community showers. Wet wipes come in handy for multiple reasons if your catching my stanky drift...
• Batteries - Back up for all electronics. Remember festival camping isn't about roughing it. All real-world accessories are welcome.
• Portable Phone Charger
• Utensils
• Pots & Pans
• First Aid Kit - You never know...
• Lighter
• Plates
• Stove - I'd recommend getting your hands on a Jetboil
• Music Player
• Table - Great for food prep; a huge necessity if you choose to get fancier than a bag of Ramen. 
• Hand Sanitizer 
• Biodegradable Soap
• Ice - and a lot of it
• Water
• Sunscreen
• Sunglasses
• Bug Spray
• Toothbrush/Toothpaste
• Deodorant
• Facial Wipes
• Chapstick
• Swim Suite
• Tickets to the Concert
• Beer & Liquor
• Fanny Pack/Bag
• ID 
• Cash/Card
• Blanket - Preferably a Tarpestry
• Games
• Hat

Feel free to add to the list in the comments section...

Holiday Photo Sessions ... pass it on

Denver Restaurant Review: Olive and Finch

Olive and Finch is a European inspired eatery, bakery and market located in the heart of Uptown. With a focus on local, hand-crafted, and convenient eats, Chef Mary Nguyen serves up fast yet healthy dishes. You can expect to see everything from fresh baked pastries and all-natural sandwiches to fresh-pressed juices and restaurant style entrees. With first class food and a community-style environment Olive and Finch successfully brings together quality food within a casual atmosphere. Food can either be taken to-go, bought at the market, or enjoyed in the restaurant alongside a good book, computer or friend. The informal environment and big community table for twelve, make Olive and Finch the perfect neighborhood destination. Stop in for breakfast, lunch or dinner and Olive and Finch will surely blow your mind (see full menu here).

We started out with some wine. Each table is given a letter on an Olive and Finch block so that your order can find it's way to your table.

The market is full of local and international products. Nguyen plans for Olive and Finch to become a market destination for the neighborhood and those who are a bit further away. 

Looking for a gift? Check out the gift baskets that can be put together for every taste and every budget (check it out here)

Olive and Fitch makes their baked goods fresh each morning. With an offering of Tarts, Cakes, Pumpkin Loafs, Banana Walnut Loafs, Alfajores, Cookies and more everyone can find something to satisfy their sweet tooth. 

Looking for the perfect desert for you and your guests? Call 48 hours in advance to order your custom 

pastry, cake, or cookie. 

With phenomenal food, great service, and a coffee-shop-type atmosphere Olive and Finch is a Denver must try.

Make sure to sign up for Olive and Finch's loyalty program (here)

Colorado Sunny Season Activities

As the weather gets warmer, I've found myself thinking about all the things Denver has to offer throughout the spring and summer months. Just in case you need help planing your adventures, here is a list of things I'm most excited about below:

All images via Pinterest

-Rockies Home Opening Game- I'm not much of a baseball fan, but nothing says Spring like a cold beer and Coors Field. Don't miss the opening game as the Rockies square up against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 4th.

-Farmers Markets - Denver's Farmer's Markets are full of fresh produce, local business, and great activities. Usually beginning in May, find a market closest to you.

-SnowBall Music Festival- Four stages with over 65 performers, ice sculptures, after parties and more. Sports Authority Field April 4 - 6.

-First Friday Art Walks: Walk the streets of Denver while appreciating all the art this city has to offer, every third Friday in multiple locations.

- Camping - Colorado has so many camping, backpacking, and hiking options to explore in the sunny seasons.

-Denver Chalk Art Festival - A two day street painting festival in the heart of Larimer Square is one of my favorite Denver activities. May 31 - June 1, walk the chalk museum streets.

-Telluride Bluegrass Festival - June 19 - 22 make your way up to the San Juan Mountains for camping, bluegrass, and fun. What better way to celebrate the summer solstice than in the high country of Colorado?

-Old South Pearl Street Concerts - BrewGrass June 14 and Blues and Brews on August 9th are two of my favorite Summer activities.

-Red Rocks Concerts- Nothing says Colorado like an outdoor concert. John Butler Trio, The Avett Brothers, Railroad Earth, Trampled by Turtles, and so much more.

-The Taste of Colorado - Celebrate the end of summer with a food and music festival in Civic Center Park, August 29 - September 1.

What are you most excited for?

A Harrowing Tale....

With a thick blanket of snow outside, I decided to stay in last Saturday night. Thick socks, an oversized teeshirt, and few old Frantz family videos quickly became my version of a Saturday night "rager."

Deciding to take a trip down memory lane, I popped in the most recent addition to our family video collection. You see, my dad has two alter egos. He either pretends to be the activity director of "Resort Frantz"(aka our house) or the Steven Spielberg of home videos. This means that when my dad gets his bi-monthly bug for adventure, he not only plans it and treats us like tourists, but proceeds to capture every inch of our trip as if he were a modern day Rick Steves. No matter how detailed the plans at Resort Frantz may be, without fail, something always goes wrong. So just like any torturous event, we need some time to recover before re-living our last adventure.

Since its now been a few months since our last family outing, it seemed about as good a time as ever to watch and share the harrowing tale of our four-wheeling adventure...

Towards the end of the summer the director of Resort Frantz got an itch that just had to be scratched. It'd been a while since our last family adventure, and my dad was revving to go four-wheeling. After a week of planning and walking around our house talking like Indiana Jones, he loaded up our Rav-4 with lofty plans for "fun filled" day in Vail. His plan was to four-wheel it up to the base of a trail where we would hike a loop and four-wheel back down.

I imagined my family strapped inside a Jeep or straddled over the seat of an ATV, giggling as we bounced over bumps. Little did I know that my father's idea of four-wheel driving involved a shoddy map and our very own Rav-4...

Just like ski runs, four-wheeling trails are marked similarly - easy, medium, and hard. No matter how many times my dad has done something he always has to "warm up," so we took a green of four-wheeling to the head of our hiking trail. Other than the fact that we were driving a street car up a mountain, the day was panning out true to what I had imagined. Both me and my brother, Albert, took turns behind the wheel, laughing the whole way up.

After returning form our hike, my dad sprung the question, "wanna try a more difficult trail for the ride home?" Per usual, mom threw a fit. She only signs up for these adventures if we stick to the plan. Being the brats that we are, my brother and I egged our dad on. We find some sick enjoyment in pushing our mom close to the edge.

The verdict: three to one, so we began our adventure down the hill. Albert and I shared the wheel as mom sat in the back, butt cheeks clenched together. A few miles in, we learned why it was labeled difficult. Dad took full control, sending me to the back to weather mom's storm.

It gradually got worse as we bottomed out over boulders and lost control. Just like a cartoon, mom's eyes flew out of her head as she held on to the side of the door for dear life. She even slipped a few prayers out since we were, "all going to die!"

In hopes of calming mom down, dad whipped out his "trusty" map and found a way to get back on a green. Instead, we found ourselves on a black. The boulders became too big to clear and our breaks over-heated. With mom in a panic, we decided to stop and let the breaks cool. Both Albert and I had to remain calm, knowing that we were the only thing holding mom back from a full blown panic attack.

As the breaks cooled, Albert and I ran ahead to clear boulders from our path. Once we grew tired, we decided to sit on a rock and wait for them to reach us. As we waited, I showed Albert my armpits, sweaty with nervs. He said, "try sitting up front, I thought I was going to poop my pants!"

Our parents rounded the corner, as we both stood up to help direct their plummet down a vertical hill into a sea of boulders we couldn't move. As our little Rav-4 made it over the cliff, the two back tires got stuck on a boulder. It dangled there as a sacrifice to Resort Frantz. It shimmied its way down to the next boulder where our car balanced on two tires. It looked like a single gust of wind would have tipped the whole thing over. Innocent Albert looked at me with wide eyes as he mouthed, "Oh FUCK!"Both of us closed our eyes, unable to watch our parents plummet to their death.

When we finally opened our eyes, there was our trooper of a car, with dad in the front seat and mom wailing in the back.

Only a mile a way from the highway, we started to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Once we finally reached civilization, we realized our road was a dead end. Our hearts fell, thinking we'd have to drive up everything we had just come down.

In hopes of keeping our family together, dad whipped his map out again and found a sliver of hope, a small trail that lead to a main road. We drove towards it as the sun began to set, only to find that the road dead-ended into a filed of asbestos.

Albert and I couldn't pretend to be okay anymore, so we both started to panic. As predicted, mom went into a rage. With nothing else to do, dad looked to his map one last time and found the one trail we had yet to try.

We all sat silently, fingers crossed, as we made our way to the final road.

It worked!

Before heading home, we stopped for dinner and DRINKS in Vail village. As the hostess lead us to our table, she asked, "so, how was your day..."

Needless to say, none of us answered as this adventure made it's way into the Frantz family books....

Let's Shop Local This Holiday Season

Rather than braving the crowded malls or shopping online, why not support our local economy and head on down to Larimer Square for your holiday shopping?  Full of local shops and one of a kind gifts, Larimer Square is the perfect holiday destination for everyone on your list.

Larimer Square via Mark File

Here are a few ideas to help you cross some people off your list....

For Her:

Old Gringo boots for the true Colorado gal - Scarpaletto 

A simple yet stylish clutch for any occasion - Hailee Grace ($47)

A Sweater coat for the fashionista. Perfect for layering on those chilly winter days - Blush ($345)

A cozy cardigan for those lazy sundays - Blush ($220)

A rugged bootie for the city gal. Perfect with your favorite skinny jeans - Fluevog ($289)

For Him:

A wool fedora for the fashion forward men in your life- Goorin Bros. ($45)

A pair of fashionable boots that can be worn for almost any occasion -Fluevog ($319)

A custom, made-to-measure dress shirt - Moda Man (prices vary)

For more great great finds make sure to check out Apricot Lane and the other great stores Larimer Square has to offer. 

Denver Restaurant Review: Trillium

Last night we went to Trillium, an American and Scandinavian bistro located in Denver's Ballpark district. I was dying to try Trillium after stumbling upon an article about the restaurant in Colorado's 5280 last summer. My family traveled to Denmark many years ago, so I was excited to try their Scandinavian flare. The food was creative and fresh with outstanding service. They have a great variety, with smorgasbord plates for sharing or a tapas like feast.

I'd highly recommend it!

We had to try the hand-crafted Trillium cocktail and the wine from small wine producers. For an appetizer they brought us a cucumber, strawberry, and ginger salmon. YUM   

The beat salad with frozen goat cheese was my favorite. (yes, that ice cream on top is actually goat cheese!)

We cleansed our pallets with a prosecco pear sherbet. 

My second plate was smoked salmon with an amazing sauce and grilled rye bread.

Even their interior was great!

For desert (the most important part of every meal) we had a dark chocolate bread pudding and a cinnamon toast panna cotta.

First Friday - Santa Fe District

Last night was Denver's First Friday arts walk. I've talked about these events before, but it happens on the first friday of every month. The galleries open up their doors to everyone and sometimes even provide snacks and free spirits. I've gone to the past two First Fridays where we experienced the RiNo and Golden Triangle districts. Last night, we decided to explore the Art District on Santa Fe. More than 60 galleries and artist studios participated, which housed a vast variety of works. I like the other two walks better, but there was definitely some great artists on display.
For more information on Denver's First Friday visit this.

These trees were painted on stainless steal - the texture was so intriguing.

Some of the galleries seemed to go on for miles, this one had so many rooms and different floors.