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Any other webmasters heading out this year?
I know there's a User Group that will be there and be wired to the web... figured there must be a webmaster or two in that group too.
Syzygy
Be back when I get back, if I get back.
Ta.
Guess who just got back from a great vacation!
and discovered my sticky spam too :)
Syzygy
Of course there was drumming. From dark to daylight was when you could find the biggest fires and the best drummers. There was a small meadow that could hold about 500 people and this was the central attraction most nights. There were also fire dancers and more than a few glow-things. There is a large contigent of Hare Krishnas in West Virginia, and they set up camp in one corner of the large, upper meadow. They love to sing and dance, and did so in large numbers around the site, visiting most of the camps. One night they came to the central meadow, and made their way right to the center of the circle of drummers. So for about 15 minutes we all pretty much chanted and drummed really loudly while the girls danced around the fire in their saris.
Each camp also had a central fire where visitors would gather. Some were waiting to eat, other were entertaining while others just visited with one another. It was around those fires that some of the best entertainment could be found. Much of it was impromptu, and you simply had to be in the right place at the right time. (This, of course, encourages you visit a lot of different camps.) One evening I sat in with a keyboard, sax, vocals and 2 drums. We performed what we called 'Appalachian Reggae Blue Jazz', while the nearby kitchen served homemade hot soup and fresh baked bread to anyone who wandered by.
There was a large (30ft x 10ft) two story theatre built in front a of hillside that would seat about 200 people. On top of the hill a friend of mine set up her teahouse (Aphrodite's Tea). In the early evenings we were treated to the Dating Game, the Gong Show, the Talent Show and the No-Talent Show. Each night was a different show. At the end, I helped pull all the nails and staples out of the theater, then we scattered the wood back into the environment. During the day some of the older kids would entertain themselves by requesting cartwheels from anyone walking down the trail in front of the theater.
The main event on the 4th of July begins with silence throughout the site at dawn, and then the formation of a giant circle on the large upper meadow at noon. For many this is probably a spiritual moment as well, although it not a religious ceremony. There is an attempt to get the entire circle to sound an OM, but it doesn't always happen. Following that is a Children's Parade into the center, followed by much celebration.
This site was located at an old slate quarry, and the hillsides we both steep and covered with slate. What wasn't covered with slate was soft ground, made softer by a few hours of rain. Some of the trails became sloppy mud holes in places. On others people laid out logs or slate to help get over the wetter areas. There were bridges already built over the major creek crossings. A couple of the camps tried to use the slate to build steps up the hills. To my knowledge no one did a very good job of it.. I don't know a lot about identifying flora or fauna, but I can recognize an abundant variety when I see it. I was told that one tree variety grew only in this particular area. There was also a cranberry glade on the site - which was kept off limits. Every night the glade and the forest would light up with thousands of fireflys.
Anyway, after eating all that food, playing my drum every day, and walking around the Yew Mountain range, I'm really just about exhausted and ready to sit down and type for a while :) And, if get any of the numerous pictures I was promised I'll post them on the previous link in this thread.
