The Gorge

James & I have lived our whole lives in Washington State yet neither one of us had ever been to the Gorge Amphitheater which opened in 1985. When we heard country music star Eric Church was performing two nights there for his Double Down tour, we decided to make a weekend adventure out of it!

We bought our four tickets & a camping pass for June 27-30, 2019. We had both heard good & bad things about the massive event camping, so we paid a little extra for the upgrade from General to the Premier.

We left work early on a Thursday afternoon to drive over Snoqualmie Pass from Western WA, followed the signs & found the venue easily. We were directed through a maze of various camping areas. Guides were positioned about every 100 feet, waving us through.

We wanted to stop & ask questions but they promptly moved us on our way to keep the traffic moving. Someone finally checked our ticket, wrote on our window, gave us a pass for the rearview mirror & bracelets for access into our area. We were then waved on again, without a chance to ask, “which premier camping did we paid for?” We purchased it many months ago & the receipt wasn’t clear.

I thought maybe I had purchased Premier Terrace camping but couldn’t remember. I had typed “Terrace” in my notes which I printed out with my receipt. We were being directed to park but James finally insisted, “I think we paid for Terrace camping, is that what our ticket says?”

“You paid for Premier 2 camping… Terrace camping is over $500” they replied. Thank goodness I didn’t pay for that… I think James would’ve freaked! So we backed up & parked where they told us. We popped up the camper, set up our awning, chairs, table, BBQ & then mixed ourselves a couple of Jack n Cokes. Our four day mini adventure was underway!

The weather was warm - high 70’s to the low 80’s, which was perfect as the camping grounds are basically open fields with no shade. We parked on a level spot… others were not so lucky but most people were able to use jacks to adjust their trailers & motorhomes. We were amazed to see so many had already arrived before us & there was a steady stream of traffic coming in right behind us. The total capacity is listed to be over 17,000 vehicles! This event didn’t reach capacity as it was competing with Spokane’s annual Hoopfest tournament, but it was the largest campout we had ever attended!

The atmosphere was fun filled as we walked down the rows of campers. Some people planned ahead & arrived with friends to camp as groups. You can’t hold spots so you must arrive together to camp together. Drinks were in hand, BBQ’s fired up for dinner & good country music was blasting from speakers everywhere! There were also all types of games people were playing, the most popular being corn hole. We couldn’t help but be a little jealous & confess after this event we immediately invested in our own corn hole game set!

I can’t speak for general camping but we had everything we needed in premier. There were plenty of honey bucket outhouses which were emptied each morning & we were also provided showering facilities. A store was on site stocked with just about anything you may have forgot or ran out of (ie BEER) & most important they sold ice!

CAMPGROUND RULES:

• NO FIREARMS ALLOWED

• OPEN FIRES NOT ALLOWED - propane fires okay!

• DRONES NOT ALLOWED

• ALCOHOL IS ALLOWED - if you are of age- but no kegs!

• NO PETS ALLOWED - service animals only!

• NO FIREWORKS ALLOWED

• QUIET TIME - 2:00am to 8:00am

Overall, we were extremely satisfied with the premier camping. Realizing we were there for an event, we didn’t expect peaceful nights & we live in the “green” state of Washington where canibus is legal so it was not shocking to smell it all weekend long. It was interesting to note for this particular event, all ages of fans were camping out. We fit right in & although we didn’t party all night with the 20-30 year olds we outlasted the 60-70 year olds!

Eric Church

This was our second time to see Eric Church but the first time was about eight years ago when he opened for Toby Keith at a casino. He has now released a total of five studio albums with eight #1 singles. We’ve been fans of his music since his very first album “Sinners Like Me”. We both love his country rock energy in his music, masterful story telling lyrics & his continual tributes made to our favorite outlaws Waylon, Cash & Haggard.

#1 HITS:

• Drink in my Hand - 2011

• Springsteen - 2012

• The Only Way I Know - 2012

• The Outsiders - 2013

• Give Me Back My Hometown - 2014

• Talladega - 2014

• Raise ‘Em Up - 2015

• Record Year - 2016

• Some Of It - 2019

As fans of all his music, we embraced this Double Down Tour where he performs two unique concerts in one weekend. He doesn’t have an opening act but instead plays two sets with an intermission in between, on both nights. We had to purchase separate tickets for both concerts & on Friday night we had great seats in the first section behind the pit. The Gorge is an outdoor Amphitheater venue with some seating sections as well as open lawn for general seating with blankets.

The stage is set against a spectacular view of the Columbia River twisting through the background. As first time visitors, it absolutely took our breath away! This little gem has been in our backyard for over 30 years & we had just discovered it… it was our first time there but it won’t be our last. If you haven’t been there, make it happen!

Eric Church did not disappoint! Friday night was super amped with high energy & an intense rock-n-roll feel to his set list for the night. The sun was setting as his voice filled the air with acoustical perfection. It was worth the wait as I must mention the show started a little late. That was irritating, but quickly forgotten once the music started! Turned out we never even used our seats while he was on stage, there wasn’t a moment during show that we wanted to sit down. We cheered, sang & danced to every single song for three hours!

Saturday night was even more thrilling as we had purchased pit tickets. Eric Church passionately fights ticket scalpers who use computer programs to scoop up tickets for resell at exuberant prices. He sells the best seats through his own website & yes, you have to create a user name with password to access the “Church Choir” membership, but the money you save for an affordable pit ticket is worth it! He also limits each member to just two tickets creating more opportunity to get into the pit before they sell out.

This was our second pit experience & it was so fun! (Last year I bought pit tickets at Kenny Chesney for James' 50th birthday) I have learned a few things I can share if you ever get the chance enjoy pit access.

• First - I have learned about concerts in general that “All Star” or “Star Experience” upgrades don’t really get you much besides maybe a dinner & a chance at a drawing for a meet & greet. We have spent a lot of extra money at past events but didn’t get any closer than whatever our original ticket purchased was for. I don’t suggest buying into any upgrades as they seem very expensive.

• Second - for general pit access, you want to get in line as early as possible to get into position right at the stage. It’s better if you are with one or more friends… you then sometimes have a chance at getting your spot back if you need to use the bathroom & get another beer.

• Third - to pick your spot at the stage, research the artist a little… do they play guitar? if so are they right handed? I learned at Eric Church we should have faced the right hand side of the stage for more picture opportunities due to the fact he played right handed. He couldn’t turn towards us on the left without stepping back away from the microphone. I still got some great pictures though!

Pit tickets are fun as long you don’t mind standing in crowds & you can handle annoying people. At the two “pit” events we attended, the women were more aggressive than the guys. I don’t get too upset myself but after asking one gal to put her boot back on & out of my face three times, I was tempted to grab & throw it out of the pit LOL I had to also laugh at one annoying girl who kept repeatedly whining over & over, “Oh my gaauuud… I looooove him!” After about the fifth time, one guy had enough & turned to her to said, “Please stop saying that - we ALL love him!”

Everyone there DID love Eric Church. Saturday night was just as great as Friday with a few repeat songs yet a completely different feel to the show. We ran into James’s cousin Ben True who was there with his family all of whom had a great time. We probably overindulged in alcohol but drank responsibly knowing we could crawl back to our camper LOL The first night we almost got lost so I recommend you pay close attention to where your campsite is! We plan to camp out at the Gorge again someday & we will definitely try to see Eric Church again! Thanks for reading our blog & remember there are many types of adventures out there. Life is short so be sure to have fun along the way. GO DO IT! #JACTventures

Click image below for YouTube video from our weekend: