two , the crowd would have thrown rotten vegetables if they had any . He droned a few more lines when the cry came from the top of the natural amphitheater “ gong ‘ em ”. The crowd roared its approval and a judge whacked the gong with a hammer .
The singer slunk off the stage . He was followed by a comedian , and then by a black man who did a Bobby McFerrin imitation . He was followed by Andrea Harsell , a professional singer who sang Janis Joplin ’ s “ Mercedes Benz ” a ’ Cappella . Her voice carried up to the last row and the audience started singing with her after the first line . She was followed by a teenage waif who sang a heart-breaking song she wrote . The restive crowd was polite and let her finish . Another “ hippie with a guitar ” knocked our collective socks off with an energetically performed song about something that seemed important to him . A white boy rapped out a poem he wrote , which was well received , while the next poet was booed off the stage . The audience could be merciless and was very vocal with their likes and dislikes . I left at midnight to find a fire to warm my still damp nylon biker jacket .
Near my tent was the Lovin ’ Oven camp where the family built earth and stone wood-fired ovens . They baked bread , buns , brownies and all sorts of dough-based delicacies . I had a piece of brownie , an unadulterated variety and was it was delicious at 2 a . m . The Lovin ’ Oven had a triple fire-ring community area under a very large tarp that was suspended from trees . The fire pit was ringed with stumps and log benches and on each one was a body toasting in the heat . The musicians stood in a bunch on the smokeless side of the fire and played popular rock music .
People sang along if they knew the songs and even if they did not . One shapely thirty-ish woman in a tight black dress danced near the fire . Her gown was sleeveless and low cut . She had amazingly bushy under-arm hair that accented her long black cranial tresses . After listening to male voices for an hour , some one asked her to sing . In a nearly operatic voice she sang three Janis Joplin songs , starting with “ Me and Bobby McGee ” and ending in “ Mercedes Benz ”. An interesting choice for people who say they eschew material goods .
In fact many people attending the event drove decent looking vehicles , from VW Westfalia campers , to current century pickup trucks and Subarus . I saw three other motorcycles in the parking lot , an old Honda dirt bike , a newer Harley and a large Japanese street bike . There were many converted school buses , lots of motor homes , and one 1950s Chevy bread truck with flowers painted on the side . I saw one car dead on the road leading into camp and plenty of 20th century cars that should have been traded in during the “ Cash for Clunkers ” program . A lot of Rainbows hitchhiked or walked to the gathering .
I finally entered my tent to sleep ; the bottle of wine now empty . I slept in my clothes because the sleeping bag was not warm enough . I fell asleep to the gentle pounding of the drums and an occasional cheer . I woke in the morning to the sounds of children talking . Other than that , the camp was silent – eerily so . After leaving my morning urine on a tree like a Boy Scout , I was reminded that we were asked to be silent and prayerful from dawn until noon , when the prayer circle for world peace would start .
It was early , I was bored , I hungry and needed to relieve my bowels . I was breaking camp when “ J ” came over with a whispered question “ Why are you leaving ?” I admitted that I was unprepared for another day there and had “ better things to do .” She said she had been there since Monday and had seen it all too . I believe she wanted to leave after the mid-day prayer . She also bridled at the “ unwritten rule ” that we had to be silent . I was reminded to be quiet several times , and I tried to respect their wishes and customs .
I rolled up the tent in the sleeping pad and packed my dry bag with all my stuff . I donated toilet paper and water and picked up a few stray pieces of trash and humped them up the hill . I was huffing and puffing all the way up and it was not even hot out yet . “ M ” wanted me to come down the hill again for the prayer , but once on top other concerns seemed more important .
With the help of Carlos , a black man from ‘ south of the Texas border ’ ( judging from his accent ) I pulled the bike out of the divot under the tree and got it on the road surface . I thanked him profusely , gave him a manly hug and loaded my gear high on the bike
I drove out , smiling at cops , Rainbows and whoever was on the road . The gate greeters , who allegedly were drunk all the time , did not acknowledge my exit . I had a brunch at Rosa ’ s Cantina , made several cell calls and texts saying I survived and rode to Wisdom . There I was gouged for gas ($ 4.26 per gallon for premium ), gave up my garbage and had a several minute conversation with a couple from South Carolina who wanted to drive up to the gathering in their Cadillac Escalade SUV . I warned him about the 20 mile round trip on gravel but they seemed to be determined to be tourists and see the hippies . A Rainbow sister was in the Jeep behind me patiently waiting to get to the pump .
Outside of Wisdom , I came upon a Highway Patrol car while exceeding the speed limit by 5MPH or more . He blinked his roof lights at me , I slowed , he slowed , I thought “ Oh crap ”, but then he doused the lights and sped on . I kept the BMW under 70 for much of the rest of my time in the Big Hole . My MP3 player ran out of battery and I had to ride without amplification all the way back to Missoula , singing “ Oh Lord , won ’ t you buy me a Mercedes Benz ? All my friends drive Beemers and I must make amends .”
“ Fun Facts ” about the Rainbow Gathering , gleaned from the internet and local newspapers and conversations : The Forest Service estimated that 9,700 people and 1,925 vehicles attended the gathering . The first people arrived several days after the gathering place was announced by the Rainbow Council in mid-June . It snowed on the early campers , driving away the young ravers and leaving camp construction to “ the adults .” The attendance numbers apparently were determined by aerial surveillance . I heard a small plane loiter over the camp on the morning of July 4 . Aerial photos were posted on the internet .
There is a 16 day limit for camping in one place on Forest Service land . That rule was mostly ignored by the FS law enforcement . The Missoula Independent reported that “ law enforcement ' s strong presence didn ' t detract from
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