We arrived in Cheyenne the night before the show. Â It was a fairly easy drive from Boise but, one again, we hit some bad weather. Â A spring snowstorm blasted across Wyoming leaving more than 3 feet of snow in the higher elevations. Â We spent the night at the border in Evanston. Â Interstate 80 was closed between Rawlins and Cheyenne so there was no reason to keep going.
We checked into a local hotel and then walked across the street to Spencer’s Wyoming Grill – with a name like that, how can it be bad, right?
The next morning we were on our way to Cheyenne, the last few hours ahead of us. Â We arrived around 4:30pm and checked into the Plains Hotel downtown. Â This is an old restored hotel that has lots of charm and definitely from the west. Â We pulled in the front and unloaded our luggage. Â Keith checked us in while Ethan and Cindy got the luggage into the lobby. Â I had to pull the truck into a different parking lot big enough to hand the rig.
Once we were settled in the room, we explored a bit of downtown Cheyenne – searching for food and checking out the Depot. Â There are some amazing “cowboy boot” art pieces around the city, several of them located next to the hotel in the Depot Plaza. Â Cindy – the amazing photographer that she is – took several pics of me standing with the boots.
Monday morning started very early for me. Â I was up around 4:45am to get ready for an appearance on the MORNING SHOW on the local CBS affiliate – KGWN 5. Â Ann – the morning anchor – extended an invitation for me to appear on the show and promote the event one more time to the community. Â I was at the station around 6am and “live on the air” around 6:20am…but not before my first cup of coffee of the day at the Coffee Shop in the Hotel. Â Tyghe, the coffee dude, fixed me a great vanilla latte and I was on my way.
After the tv interview, I went back to the hotel and had a little breakfast. Â Dru, Director of the Civic Center, picked me up around 8:30am and we drove over to KRRR to do an in-studio interview with Cowboy Bob. This guy has tons of energy and that made for a lively, exciting interview! Â I would also have the chance to meet Karen Cotton from the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in the afternoon. Â She did a great article for us a week or so ago and would be bringing me a copy for our files.
Dru dropped me off at the hotel around 9:30am. Â My team gathered in the lobby and we walked over to the truck to head to the Civic Center. Â The show was to start at 7pm and that means an earlier-than-normal load in. Â I backed the truck to the loading dock to find a crew ready to get to work!
Dennis – the TD – was ready for us. Â We needed to shift a few soft goods around to make room for our scenery so he did all of that before we brought in the cases. Â Once everyone was speeched, badged, and signed into our non-disclosure agreement, we cracked the back of the trailer and started unloading.
The day moved along nicely. Â The crew worked very hard to make sure everything looked good. Â I was especially pleased with the way things were coming together for this show. Â Monday nights can be tough nights to get out an audience so I was hoping for a great crowd!
Once again, we had a home-cooked meal from “Mom,” a wonderful woman who prepared some amazing food for us. Â They set up the green room with tables, table clothes, and hot food. Â Two shows in a row, we’re going to get spoiled!
After dinner, we were running to do our final checks before the doors opened. Â We had a wonderful audience for the show – great crowd, volunteers who were ready to get on the stage, and terrific responses to the magic. Â One of our illusions – the Spikes of Doom – uses a young lady from the audience. Â We generally take a picture of her during the illusion and give it to her. Â We’ve now started posting those images on our website instead. Â You can find them on the homepage under SPIKES SURIVORS or HERE.
We had a few visitors who also came to the show. Â Dale and Tom, two great guys we met last summer on the train from Paris to Venice, drove up from Denver. Â And Darcy, a very cool lady we’ve know for years and years from our “student activities” days, drove in from Laramie with one of her friends. Â we visited after the show in the green room for a while and then had to say our goodbyes. Â I also had the chance to meet so many people in the lobby afterwards!
Yesterday, a review by Roy Barnes, appeared on line –Â Illusionists Known as the Spencers Entertain Hundreds with Magic at the Cheyenne Civic Center.
Everyone at the Cheyenne Civic Center was wonderful. Â This was such a memorable evening and I look forward to coming back here again!