My labor day weekend celebration...
So this weekend was another gathering, semi festival. I get there on thursday after working half the day, then driving 5hrs into the hills.
Then the first full day our cook has to leave for the rest of the gathering... something about stopping her meds cold turkey.. anyways you know me, I end up being the cook for EVERYONE for the remainder of the fest.
It was just scary, the last time I got sleep was for about 2 hrs sunday morning.
I couldnt get the nap I needed sunday night. I dont know.. I was talking to a whole bunch of people. Teaching and counceling.. then I tried to sleep, but I just ended up laying there. So I went to go and sit next to the fire that we all gather at to go to the ritual site.
I looked over my shoulder as I was sitting there and saw that over the trees by the ritual circle, you could see a fire. I remember discussing with the fire team that that nights fire needed to be smaller than normal. So I got up to see why they had made it so big. Then I see the flames licking over the tops of the trees.. and I start running towards it. One of the other girls is running towards me saying that the brush caught on fire! I ran to ring the gathering bell, started shouting "FIRE!!" getting people up.. Grabbed all the buckets that we could find, pasta pots, coolers.. were getting them filled with water and had gotten people to get there cars to load them into. As I went running back towards it, letting the others continue to fill the buckets... I was fearing that the ritual space was on fire. The space was made completely out of wood, in the trees, with dried peat to walk on, all our drums were down there, tents, everything.. everything flamable..
And the space is about a half a mile away... But I was running my little ass off to get there.. As I turned the last corner I saw that first: the ritual space was safe and untouched (HUGE sigh of relief) and second: the portapottie was no more.. What we gather happened was the tiki torch next to the porta fell and caught the brush.. which lead to the fuel reserves stored a little ways away.. that was the first blow that I saw.. Then the flames caught the porta.. and you can imagine what happened then.
We were able to stop the fire about 10ft from the ritual site. After calming everyone down, we did still end up doing the ritual. Mostly to gather everyone together and get there focus off the events of the evening. The ritual went until dawn like normal. Then it was back to the kitchen for making breakfast and preparing for lunch. Taking down tents and the drive back home. Arriving at around 9:30 PM.
So needless to say I havent slept in quite a while.
