15 States, 22 Cities, 10,000 Miles, 28 Days “Leaving Eden National Tour”

By Eden Parker
Contributing Writer

For the last week of the “Leaving Eden National Tour” Eden travels from Seattle to Hill City, South Dakota and blogs about his stops in between.

6/11/2011 Day 20: Seattle to Spokane
Pikes Market was swarming with people on a Saturday. Navigating our way through fish being thrown, more fresh flowers than you can imagine, and acoustic musicians roving around, we took in the sights. I had some delicious fresh sushi. Leaving Seattle was meant we were actually beginning the last leg of the tour and slowly heading towards home. The comforts of our own beds had taken a backseat to the thrill of meeting so many new and interesting people. I’m certainly going to miss this.

6/12/2011 Day 21: Spokane
I slept until noon. I needed it. Note to self: Don’t take Jell-O shots. Coffee! Coffee! Coffee! Hours later, Spokane Falls was quite impressive. You can feel the power and speed of the water right below you on the suspension bridge. So cool. The drive through the Rocky Mountains in Idaho was beautiful. In Coeur D’Alene, I tried to convince Beth to elope with me. She said no, because “My proposal wasn’t creative enough.” Jerk.

6/13/2011 – 6/14/2011 Day 22 & 23: Missoula
Things I learned about Missoula today: 1. everyone here owns Pugs. 2. Its flooding. 3. That scent everywhere downtown is not Oregano . 4. They have dollar sushi on Monday nights! Our show is at the Central Bar & Grill: a hipster hot-spot on Broadway. Great crowd response. After the show, I was told I had to try a ‘Flaming Blue Lamborghini.” I won’t tell you what’s in it. You’ll have to experience it for yourself. But I will say, if you don’t drink fast, your straw will melt.

6/15/2011 Day 24: Billings
Double Booked!! We’ve been confirmed for 3 months, and show up to find another band set up to play. Fortunately, this is why we do contracts. Unfortunately, we were left without a show in Billings. Very disappointing. Billings was one of my highest drawing cities on tour last summer. I won’t be working with that venue again.

6/16/2011 Day 25: Rapid City, SD
One of my favorite cities to play in. Great music and art scene. Beautiful scenery. What more could you ask for? Cheap drinks? Sure! Why not?! Any town that has $3 patron is going to wind up on my tour schedule time and time again. Our show was at the Staging Grounds: a cool new underground venue with movie theatre style seating, and excellent acoustics. Plus, every Thursday in Rapid City during the summer, they have a street fair. Delicious fried foods. Live music. Bouncy castles… I’m never leaving.

6/17/2011 Day 26: Hill City, SD
Just a few miles away from Mount Rushmore, in the heart of the black hills, lies the Silver Dollar Saloon. Howie (former Fargoan) runs an excellent venue. We had a fantastic time seeing some familiar faces on the tour and I daresay I have quite a way with cougars. Tomorrow is our last show on the road before our return to Fargo for the final book-end Tour date at the VFW downtown. 15 states. 22 cities. 10,000 miles. 28 days. It’s been an incredible journey, but all good things must come to an end. Fargo is calling us home and sleeping in my own bed sounds pretty amazing.

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