being a ricks: day four

day four: wakarusa

i would say this was one of our most memorable experiences to date. there's not a lot that can be said about wakarusa except music music music.

while most of our friends made it up to the mountain on wednesday, we couldn't take the time off work so we waited until after we got off on thursday to make the trek up to ozark. we took about a two hour detour (don't type "mulberry mountain" into google maps if you are looking for mulberry mountain, fyi) and finally parked the car at about 10:30. we got a camping pass for west woods, which is about a fifteen minute trek to the main stage. the rest of our friends were camping right next to the main stage, so they were kind enough to take our tent and cases of water for us. they set our tent up for us to stake out our spot until we could get up there to join the fun. all we had to do was hike the fifteen minutes with our packs and bam! we'd be there.

see! this is all we had to carry! isn't that easy?

1. it was not a fifteen minute trek.

2. i am not a hiker.

3. my pack was heavier than i thought.

4. it was pitch black.

5. i trip a lot.

6. it was almost 11:00pm and i had cleaned teeth for eight hours that day.

7. there are a lot of hippies there.

8. they smell funny.

9. the main camping area is enormous.

10. there is no cell phone reception on mulberry mountain.

if you have not been to a festival before, there is no way to prepare yourself for the first time you see it lit up at night. it was the coolest, craziest thing i had ever seen before and i think there's a pretty good chance i might have enjoyed it if i weren't practically weeping at that point. (i'm a pansy. there. i said it.) we stumbled through the field, looking for our campsite with nothing but a disjointed text containing location clues such as "take a right at the port-a-potties after the big curve" and "look for the big bus" like we weren't in the land of portable toilets and hippie vans. we walked and walked and walked, passing down shakedown street and through plenty of happy strangers' homes. and then, we came upon it: our giant green bus covered in LED globe lights and some inflatable critter (i forget the species). 'twas home sweet home.

a lot easier to identify during the day

we dropped off our belongings, said hello to our friends, and made our way down to mainstage to dance to pretty lights. the rest of the weekend was pretty much exactly that: making our way to one stage or another to see a show. there were five stages that were almost constantly playing shows, from noon to five or six in the morning: mainstage, revival tent, backwoods, satellite, and outpost tent.

satellite stage

they were just spread out enough to make you walk about 5,927 miles each day, which was perfect for us (we lost a collective nine pounds that weekend...). the entire area is about 650 acres, so there was plenty of roaming and exploring to do when you weren't watching a show.

aerial shot taken by a helicopter during waka (sadly, photo cred not mine)

the weather was absolutely beautiful for the most part. the days were warm but the nights cooled off significantly. there were some afternoon rains that were unpleasant at first but ending up providing some pretty good napping weather (you don't get a lot of sleep out there). oh, and there was the whole we-have-to-shut-the-stages-down-take-cover-run-for-your-lives tornado warning bit, but we obviously survived that.

sunny day

the best part was that we saw some incredible bands that weekend. daytime shows were always fun, but it was the nights at waka that were really spectacular. not only were the best shows slotted at night, but the place just transformed into a sort of wonderland. i have tried to describe it to people, and i don't think it's as cool if you weren't there. i won't gab on about it, but here's a quick video i took just to survey the surroundings. you will see flame dancers, hula hoopers, lots of glowsticks, a ferris wheel, and mainstage. (not pictured: dirty hippies, patchouli)

i am about out of things to say about this one, so i think i will shower you with pictures instead. it's ironic that i chose the word shower here, because there was none of that going on at waka. you know how much you love someone when you sleep with them in a two-man tent for four days in the hot june sun without choking them out. just sayin'.