Reggae On The River 2004.

        The sounds of rocks being walked on echoed thru the valley riverbed. Tents pop up on new settlements like spring blossoms in a field of flowers. Occasionally a holler will erupt on one side of the camp and ripple to the other end.
        The caps and chocolate chip animal cookies became my entrance to this swirling mindset. One interesting effect of a psychedelic drug is color orientation. Greens and blues appear much more vivid than under normal perception.
I am surrounded by all types of people tripping in their own solitude. Our mission #582 of the day included a stroll out of the festi and into the 76 station for some ice cream. Talk about struggling to keep it together! Shauna bit deeply into her bottom lip at her attempts to contain herself. As for me, the crazy trippin' fellow talking to himself made me explode with the giggles. Cloves and water are the two purchases we escaped with.
        Walking out and gazing at each other over our tripper quest in the mini market, we simultaneously said, "That was crazy!"

Then we continued on with our next mission, find the parents and our other buddy, get them in and transport all of their belonging and the food for the weekend to our area deep in the midst of tents aka "The Campsite."
Now I thought to myself should a person of my current mind capabilities be in charge of such a situation? Definitely not! Yet that is what made it so fun. Surprisingly I handled it and rounded up 5 people to help unload. If only there had been a video camera available to capture Shauna and me pacing back and forth in an attempt to round up ATV's or something that would make it easier. But after all the shrooms subsided, I headed up to the venue to capture some pics of the wonderful musicians that would be enticing my ear drums with pure magic. Friday night Luciano jumped around, Mikey General hyped, and Bunny Wailer preached. Never has the hardness of rocks felt as good as it did when my head hit the pillow the next early a.m. morning.
It all started all over again the following days, half naked hippies and people from all walks of life lying in the river cooling their warm bodies from the hot days while enjoying the sounds which could be tuned in by radio and echoed from the stage above.

Text & Photos : Kimberly Parker (August 2004)
(Please do not reproduce without permission).