To Montana

Hello all, hope you are well. Yes, Bonnaroo has come and passed already, always so quickly... Tim, Zack and Peter got into St. Louis late Saturday the 9th. I had made enchiladas to feast upon as a sumptuous beginning to our week together, though McDonald's stole that design from me while my mates were hungry on the road. Damn accessible, cheap and easy victuals. No problem though, we went to the nearby hang-out bar: Barney's, had a few, shot pool and returned to dine. We hung out in STL till Monday. Went to the Zoo one day and the city museum another - my two favorite destinations in the city of blues.

Monday night through Wednesday night we camped. Tuesday we had fantastic luck, finding an empty and isolated beach/campsite early in the day which we enjoyed to ourselves throughout the night, perhaps in part thanks to our peculiar appearance. It was a lovely time for us. Thursday we rolled into Bonnaroo around 3:30 p.m., having spent around 3 hours in line to get in. The wait wasn't bad since we could play frisbee in the ditch and people watch - one of my favorite enjoyments at Bonnaroo. Highlights: dancing at the discoteque friday night, STS9, Manu Chau, Ween, the Flaming Lips show, DJ Sasha, guy dressed as a Mechwarrior, our neighbor Marcos and Tool. The Flaming Lips put on the best show I've ever seen. Wayne, the leader singer, emerged from a space ship on stage in a plastic bubble and rolled into the audience where upon the delighted fans pushed him around the crowd. Earlier in the show and to the puzzlement of the crowd, thousands of lazer pens had been distributed. The purpose became clear later on when the audience was prompted to shine their pens at Wayne who cleverly shielded himself behind a giant mirror, deflecting the beams back through the fog into the audience. An imaginative, theatrical endeavor. He also gave very impassioned speeches throughout the show about social change, politics and the Bonnaroo community.

This Sunday I leave for Montana until the end of July. Our 18 person crew will be building trail, possibly fighting fire and doing some various forest restoration projects.