Bluegrass, But No Blue Sky

The smoke in the air drove me to be sluggish about working outside. I did manage to get to Sam's Club and Warbelow's to deliver a table for a friend, but the rest of Friday morning was spent inside, cleaning the kitchen and working on the computer.

I drove in the smoky, twilight afternoon to Anderson, 71 miles south for the 22nd annual Bluegrass Festival. $20 gave me all weekend including camping, even though I was only spending one night. I was advised that the parties were down by the river and the quiet family section was down on the end, but I compromised by finding a quiet spot on the edge of the woods to pitch my tent.
The whole park was campsites, complete with running generators and barking dogs. The only thing missing was the campfires.

The music started at 2 and played until the wee hours of the morning. I vaguely remember the loud music that was playing about midnight and it sounded more like rock than bluegrass, but judging from the raucous laughter, no one cared. Shout-out to Valerie and Daniel- it was great to see you there!
White Twang from Kodiak sounded great!


I ate my pb&j and banana for supper then bought a strawberry/sour cream crepe for dessert from the vendors. Most are going to be at the Fair next week hawking cheesecake on a stick, corn on the cob, salmon crepes, pulled pork, and Navaho tacos. The Lions Club was selling beer and from the looks of the dancers, they made lots of money. The high winds kept the smoke and bugs at bay, but sent everyone scrambling for warmer clothes. Carhardt jackets and boots replaced the shorts and sandals with a big blast of 40 degree air.
Vendors had to batten down the hatches in the wind.
This was my first camping trip (albeit car camping) since I hiked the AT with Paul ending the 28th of June. It felt really roomy, but lonely in the 1 1/2 person tent we carried for 950 miles, but I was totally comfortable. It is ironic that it has been hot and dry since I've been home the last month, but the minute I pitched the tent, it turned windy and cold and we even had a short rain during the night.

I got up about 8 and took a walkabout down to the river where the beer cans and chips bags were in mounds around clusters of tents. I'm not sure about the river crowd, but I heard the f-word so many times during the night that I thought I was back teaching school. The music was scheduled to start at noon, but I headed home and back into the smoke. The constant smoke is making my eyes red, dry and itchy.

I picked berries today- both raspberries and blueberries- yep- two different places. After cleaning them and enjoying a dinner of a baked potato, I'm hunkered down for a quiet Saturday night under the midnight sun....a book and music. Life is good.