The Dave Matthews Band Caravan at the Gorge Amphitheater, September 1-5, 2011   Phish at the Gorge Amphitheater, August 5-6, 2011   Jack Johnson at the Gorge Amphitheater, October 2, 2010 Dave Matthews Band at the Gorge Amphitheater, September 3-5, 2010 Dave Matthews Band, Yonder Mountain String Band, & G. Love & Special Sauce at the Gorge Amphitheater, September 3-6, 2009 Phish at the Gorge Amphitheater, August 7th & 8th, 2009 The Dead, The Allman Brothers, & The Doobie Brothers at the Gorge Amphitheater, May 16, 2009 John is excited for his first Dead show! The amphitheater from our campsite. We were one of the first to arrive on Friday afternoon, and for some reason, they parked us at the far back edge of the campground. Kathleen, John and Karin relax in the shade at our campsite. John plays catch with... ...dad! Because we were at the edge of the campground, we had tons of room to play. John shows off his catch. Practicing fly balls. Practicing ground balls. Checking out the scene from the top of the truck. Not many here yet - but just wait! Windmills on the horizon. Kathleen checks in with civilization. Fairy and Butterfly discuss business plans. Powerline tower on top of the hill. Grandma Karin takes pictures, too! John introduces himself to our next door neighbors - Adessa and her daddy. John and Adessa have fun playing in Adessa's boat. Our camp, seen Friday evening. The campground fills in. It was nice to be literally above the fray. Our section was filled with many families with young kids - perfect! Friday night's sunset. Karin, Kathleen and John watch the human and natural scenery go by. Helicopter buzzes the campground Saturday morning. The helicopter flies in front of the wind turbines. Patches of snow in the hills to the west, across the river. We guessed this helicopter was re-stocking lakes with fish. John falls down on the job while pulling Adessa around in her wagon. A stern glance from Adessa gets John back on track. Scenes from around the campground. Walking around the campground on Saturday morning. More scenes around the campground. Empty section awaiting arriving campers. John leads the exploration of the campground. Vendors get ready for business. Back at camp, John and Adessa decide to go boating. The campground is filling in! Captain John takes Adessa, her mom and dad, and her uncle for a cruise around the campsite. John asks Adessa if she wants a ticket to the show. I think she does! I think she's very appreciative! The Doobie Brothers start the music. It's a perfect day at the Gorge! Somewhere out there is our camp site. The Allman Brothers continue the party! Karin, Kathleen, John and Doug enjoy the great music! Sunset at The Gorge. John and Kathleen work on the glow sticks. The Dead starts their first set right after sunset. Everyone is having fun, waiting for The Dead! Everyone pitches in making glow stick bracelets. John enjoys his first Dead show!   Dave Matthews Band at the Gorge Amphitheater 2008 John captures our campsite at Gingko-Wanapum State Park, along the Columbia River a couple of miles south of Vantage. Kathleen enjoys a cool drink after setting up camp. Our sprawling complex for the next four nights. The view from our campsite. Kathleen and John check out the beach. John leaves his mark on the beach. Grant County as seen from Kittitas County. Wanapum Dam blocks the Columbia River a few miles south of our camp. Kathleen and John walk back up to camp. Kathleen takes a breather from unpacking stuff into the tents. John and Grandma Karin read in the grass. Camp at sunset on Thursday evening. Friday at the Gorge is clear and breezy. Tailgatin' at the amphitheater parking lot before Friday night's show. John runs around the parking lot. Van spotted in the parking lot before Friday night's show. Waitin' for the show to start! The view from our seats. John attacks Grandma Karin while waiting for the music to begin. Hangin' out with dad at the Gorge. Kathleen finds her identical twin! DMB takes the stage. The next morning we wake up to discover new campers at our camp! Saturday morning as viewed from camp. There's a new truck - and a new tent - at our site! Olivia, John and Cole watch Tom fish a glow-stick out of the tree. Once a fisherman, always a fisherman. Cole, Olivia and John play around our campsite. Lunchtime! Hangin' out in the shade on a warm and breezy Saturday afternoon. Kathleen enjoys some relaxation and a frosty beverage. The trail down to the beach was right next to our camp site. Whitecaps on the river. Jen, Tom and Kathleen hunker down in the wind. John is ready to ride his bike some more! He and Cole are off to explore more of the campground. Now it's time for some two and three-year-old down-time. John and Cole relax and entertain each other at camp. While John runs off to find something else to play with, Cole clowns for the camera. Back at the Gorge for Saturday night's show! Here Grandma and John play around while we have a little party in the parking lot before the show. More running around the parking lot. Not normally a good thing, but here at the Gorge... Back at camp Sunday morning, I spy a goofbucket! John and dad have silly shoes. John tries to fill the Stream Machine from the river. Katie-dog leaves a wake in her path as she retrieves a tennis ball. Olivia and Cole charge into the water. They charged back out when they discovered the water is only 68 degrees! At John's direction, Tom squirts Katie with the Stream Machine. Kathleen and John play in the river. John throws a big rock into the water while Cole and Olivia play in the sand. John tries throwing the ball for Katie. Cole plays in the sand. Olivia, John and Cole play along the beach. Tom does a lovely dance. Now we're back at the parking lot at the Gorge, pre-functioning before the Sunday night show. Grandma Karin dances with John, Olivia and Cole. The kids play in the back of Tom's truck. Olivia clowns for the camera. Jen and Kathleen keep their distance from the silliness. Time for more running around the parking lot! Tom decides to become a human jungle gym for the kids. We figured Tom was carrying about 110 lbs. of children at this point. When the rains came, Katheen and Doug hid in the back of the truck. Waiting out the rain squall in our travelling bar. Once the rain stopped, we went inside and found our spot. John takes his friends to a Dave show!