I love summer in Cheyenne! It might be a small town, but we cram all the fun we can into our short season. And this year, everyone’s more than ready for the action to begin.

Last night kicked off the weekly music mania at the Depot Plaza with a free concerty by Boogie Machine, a seventies-style disco band. The city put in the plaza as a space for public events a few years ago. It’s made our beautiful, historic train depot a living part of the city again, and last night it was absolutely jammed with music lovers, from little kids to grandmas to motorcycle dudes.

The concerty series continues throughout the summer, with lots of great bands. If you’re a local, here’s the website with the schedule.

After the depot event, we went over to Sanford’s Grub & Pub to see our friend and favorite local musician, Todd Dereemer. Todd is the musician featured in Cowboy Fever – he’s playing in the bar when Jodi mees the polo players. I’m so glad Todd’s recovering from  his shoulder injury and is back to strumming and singing. He and his band sounded better than ever. And he played Rodeo Queen – my favorite Todd song. You can find the lyrics in Cowboy Fever, or listen to it here.

Today we made a run down to Fort Collins to pick up my friend’s daughter Samantha, a top-level Taekwondo competitor who trains in Littleton with Brian Gallagher. Samantha was the basis for the character Sam in One Fine Cowboy, She’s grown up to be a remarkable young lady with a Taekwondo black belt hidden under her sweet personality.

And then we went to the NAACP dinner and listened to author Robert Greer talk about how the movers and shakers of today ride on the shoulders of giants. It was a great talk, and a great crowd. The Laramie County Dems had their own table, so I got to chat with old friends and meet some new ones.

Then we headed over to Cheyenne’s martini bar, Suite 1901, to continue the fun. The Suite adds a touch of class to downtown with its deco decor and delicious drinks. How’s that for alliteration?

This was also the last weekend for our local comedy troupe’s “Best of the Best” show. Ozymandian Theater does both improv and sketch shows, and they’re brilliant. This show included skits on everything from Santa’s reindeer (that Blitzen is a crack-up) to our local newscaster Bob Geha. We went last weekend, and laughed ourselves silly. Or were we silly to start with?

There you go – a whole weekend in Cheyenne. If I keep this up, I’ll never get Once a Cowboy finished, so I’d better knuckle down and get to work today.