Reason #642 Why I Love Prescott

Starting at the bottom center is Tom Steele (he was sitting under a skylight, so it's not a good pic of him), Gadget is standing, Nate, Mike and Granny J.




Seated are Steven Ayres (he's got the pony tail!), John Kamin, and Georgene. Georgene is thinking about starting a blog - hope she does, 'cause she seemed like an interesting woman!


...'cause there are so many cool people living here! Saturday we had a "blogfest" for local bloggers at Raven Cafe, with eleven bloggers and several other friends and family members. First off, I gotta give a shout out to Granny J for coming up with the idea, and to the hubster for getting it (sort of) organized and inviting everyone. Without these two, the event wouldn't have happened.

We sat around, drank coffee (and other tasty beverages!) and talked a mile a minute. Andrew jumped on the idea to record some of the bloggers for his Prescott Arts Beat radio show (I think Tom was the one who came up with that suggestion). He didn't have time to get everyone, but hopefully we'll get those we missed on the next go 'round. I'll post when the podcast of the show is up, although the hubster is also considering breaking them up into shorter segments. We'll see what he decides.

So what do Prescott bloggers blog about? Hmm...well first up is the political brigade. Tom Steele calls it likes he sees it on just about anything, but especially when it comes to local politics in Prescott Valley. John Kamin runs the blog for our local paper, The Courier (you have to have a subscription to access his blog - I think that's changing at some point in the future, though). Aaaand in the other corner is Steven Ayres. His blog, Courier Watch casts an eagle eye on what's up with The Courier. So if you're into political stuff (okay, okay, mostly local politics, but it's still pretty interesting), you can check out any of these nifty blogs.

Next up are the (mainly) photo bloggers. I guess Mike B. and Nathan A. aren't technically bloggers, but their sites have awesome photos and do allow comments. So, y'know, bloger-esque. These two dudes are good friends and often go out to shoot together (photos, not guns as far as I know). Their styles are different, but I think they are both quite good (and were a lot of fun to talk to). And the queen (in my opinion, anyway) of local pics, is the fab Granny J.. I love her blog, and have for quite a while. She takes great pics, mainly of Prescott, and her background in journalism shines through in both her photos and her text. Very cool lady, great fun to chat with.

On the more eclectic side is Gadget's Airstream Chronicles. He is a super interesting dude who has currently pulled up his airstream here in Prescott. Definitely check out his blog - he's very techno-savvy (hence the moniker) and has some great photos of Prescott and the surrounding wilds. Seriously, I really dig his blog.

Sadira and Dina are more in the "anything goes" category of blogging. Two super nice ladies with way cool blogs that cover pretty much whatever strikes their fancy. I'm putting them on my regular a.m. blog rotation now. Dina also brought along her niece, who blogs as Little Miss Pink Tink (yes, as in Tinkerbell). LMPT recently moved back to Prescott and her blog is...well, pink. She's actually a really decent writer and I'm totally jealous that she's doing such an awesome job at a relatively young age.

Whew! That's a lot of local bloggers, huh?! The thing is, there were a number of other folks who wanted to come but weren't able to make it. We all had such a good time that we're going to try and make this a regular dealio, so hopefully I'll have a chance to meet even more at the next Prescott Blogfest. I really, really love this town. I get irritated with stuff sometimes, but for the most part, I just love Prescott!