The time had come… for Caitlin and I to rendezvous in a fabulous location as we all promised each other we would continue after our tramping rendezvous in the Copland Valley. So I travelled with Ben and his good friend Tobias to Priceless camp out, set in Belden town, among the stunning Sierra mountains, on the banks of the Feather River. So there I was, wandering around a campsite of 600-odd people (def 600 ODD people), and this tiny voice says “Tarsh?” followed by excessive giggles - Priceless indeed.
What followed were three fantastic days spent floating on the river listening to great music, meeting people, and having the very best catch up. We named ourselves Camp Comfy, and each had monikers to match. Ben was Captain Comfy, and let me tell you, that man is VERY serious about his fun. His costuming was also second to none (think red cowboy hat, red suspenders, and red tartan pants), and his tarot card reading surprisingly accurate ;) Caitlin was Comfy Calamity, and was Ben’s biggest challenger for best dressed, wearing fairy lights wrapped around her outfit, very cool. At one point I watched a man stood transfixed watching her hula hooping. I was the Comfy Crusader, fighting for the cause of comfort, and then there was Tobias, aka Comfy King, a warm caring gentle man who I am honoured to know. Together we talked so much rubbish, ate ridiculous amounts of almonds, and daaaanced the nights away. Much of the Priceless family was made up of the Bay Area Burning Man people, so the vibe was fun, offbeat and eccentric. Next to the dancefloor was a giant monkey bar set which by night became a seething mass of bodies deftly moving up, down and around the bars, erasing any doubt that humans are related to monkeys! It was quite the sight. I even overcame my fear of heights and scaled it alongside a crazy Australian. There were several art installations, my favourite of which was a bunch of motion sensitive LED flowers, which were amazing on their own, and mind blowing when looked at through 3D glasses! At another site, a woman was doing close up photos of people’s eyes, which were so incredibly beautiful. I never realised how many colours I have going on in my eye!! On the Saturday morning they put on a huge delicious brunch for everybody, which Cait and I were lucky enough to serve up in our role as volunteers. Suggested payment was a compliment or a hug, so we had the best job in the world!! Too many great moments to do justice to really, everyone was super welcoming and friendly, the music was great – I discovered a new genre which is really popular here, called Trap, essentially rap lyrics put to electronic music. We thrashed around to it until the wee hours of the morning. However I most enjoyed Oakland-based bilingual hip hop duo Los Rakas, dancing on the beach in my bikini, oooh yea!! Check them out on Bandcamp :)
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I am a conservation field worker in New Zealand. I love mountains, sunrises, river swims, barefeet, cold beer, campfires, live music and whiskey. Archives
December 2014
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