Moonset between Kearsarge and Mt. Mary Austin
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Desert Party
Welcoming the Sunrise
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The guy who was tattooing Adam's arm was organizing a desert party / rave down in Fort Independence and suggested he go. I figured it might be interesting, and decided to go along. We were going to go Saturday night, but others were going to be by there on Friday, so they convinced us to meet up with them there Friday. We drove down in the evening and after a little searching found the place (our instructions were "a campground on the reservation"). We got there around 8, at the same time as the truck full of the sound equipment. Needless to say, nothing much was going on and Blake and Jesse never stopped on their way by. We got a fire going and stood around that as well as helping unload and set up some stuff. Then I took a nice long hot shower and we went on a food run. Then I went to sleep behind a bush on the ground. It was cold and windy, so I was all zipped up in my bag and the full moon didn't bother me.
I woke up to a growling sound that got pretty loud and then turned into the thump thump thump of electronic music. I also heard people talking and car doors. I sat up and it was about 3:30 am. Time to get up I guess. I got dressed, put in earplugs and went to see what was going on. First order of business for me was to help get the fire going in a burn barrel and stoke up all the fires. There were suprisingly many people and more pulling in at all times. I drank a can of X2 energy drink (lots of caffeine and various amino acids) and joined the bouncing people for a while. When the moon was setting I took the camera and tripod out for pics. Then back to the fires for some warmth before heading out again to get some sunrise photos. After the sun came up things slacked off a bit, with many people dispersing to their campsites, perhaps for breakfast and a nap before staying up all night that night.
I spun some poi once the sun came up, but the beat was a little faster than I was used to. One guy lit up a fire staff earlier, but they were paranoid about fires and put it out. I was hoping to see some poi experts and maybe get some new tricks, but no such luck. I did see a pretty impressive hula hoop display though. I was surprised at how many older people were there (30's and 40's). Definitely a different crowd from the pit, with some pretty interesting characters and outfits. Shaggy fake fur seemed pretty popular along with day-glo colors, black, and patches.
I took another shower in the morning (unfortunately I couldn't save them up for later) and we headed back around 8 am. I was a little discombobulated all day, and quite tired that night. Blake and Jesse stopped by on their way back Sunday Morning and said things were still going strong.
Pre-dawn crowd
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Colorful Dancer
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Mountain Reflections
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