My good friend Nicole and I recently embarked on a journey to Joshua Tree to attend an event called Bhakti Fest. The event took place in the desert and showcased yoga and chanting, while camping out. It cost us each $200, which was a little expensive, for camping out, but it sounded like a great way to get in touch with one’s inner spirit, right?
Because we would be camping at the festival, preparations began early. The camping part required some extra planning. We had to figure out who we could borrow a tent from, where to get sleeping bags, folding chairs, flashlights, music, water, etc. Once we had everything in place, we got together and set up the tent in Nicole’s apartment for practice, just to make sure we knew what we were doing. All appeared to be under control, so we spent the rest of the evening talking about the event and how much fun we would have. The night before our trip I could hardly sleep; it had been forever since I had been camping and I was looking forward to being in nature and sharing a new bonding experience with my friend.
The trip began at 8:00 am Friday morning. We loaded my SUV with all of our gear and headed out for the Bhakti Fest. We listened to music and laughed for most of the two-hour car ride. When we got to Joshua Tree, I looked down at my temperature gauge; it was 104 degrees and it was only 10:00 am. "How were we going to camp in this heat?" We parked our car and went to the registration booth to get our wrist bands for the event. The volunteers told us where we could set up our camp site. We were shocked to find out we could park our car right next to our tent because as hot as it was, we would definitely need the AC. Actually at this point, camping out in the SUV sounded like a good alternative.
After registering, we hopped back in the car and headed for the campground. As we arrived and were pulling in, I started looking around; there were all these “mother earth” type of people walking around, there was chanting and music in the background. It was exciting to see the culture of these people with their tents, dreads, and funky clothes; maybe we could be a part of this! We chose a spot to set up our tent and then got to work pulling everything out of the car. We put together the tent, folding chairs, and umbrellas, in the blazing heat.
After setting up, it was only 11:30 and we were starving and sweaty, so we decided to head over to the outdoor food court. Not all the booths were set up yet, but as we looked at the menu, it was clear that this would be a vegan weekend. It was also clear we would be eating this meal in the sun, standing up, since there were no chairs or tables. What we wanted on the menu wasn’t available, so we both had a heaping plate of a salty kale salad and as I’m sure you can imagine, it didn’t exactly wet the taste buds. I could only eat a few bites of it before resigning to throw it out. Nicole is a little more persevering; she was able to finish off the salad. After lunch we headed over to the yoga building to check out the schedule and decided we would come back for a 2:00 pm class. We walked the rest of the grounds and then headed back over to our tent. As we walked towards our tent, I noticed both of our umbrellas had blown away; we rushed to find them and put them back up, to no avail. Even though no breeze could be felt, the umbrellas kept falling over. We were so hot, it was insane, we tried to listen to music in our tent, find ways to get more shade, but nothing was working. Looking at one another, dripping in sweat, we decided to get in the car and turn on the AC because it was just too unbearable!
Thoughts were running through my mind: “How were we going to do this?” “Was I crazy for thinking we could do this?” “Maybe we should get out of here.” “Are we being wimps?” “These other people seem okay in the heat?” “Will we look ridiculous if we pack up and leave?” “What is Nicole thinking?” “Does she want to stay?”
I didn’t want to give up. I knew friends and family would give me a hard time about not being able to make it in the great outdoors, but when I could see that Nicole was equally miserable, I mentioned leaving and she seemed all too happy to agree; we were on the same page.
Let’s get the %$#@ out of here...
Nicole called the Viceroy, Palm Springs and made us a reservation. What a relief! We packed up the car, tent, and everything else and made the twenty minute drive to Palm Springs. It was comical when we pulled up to the valet, with a car covered in dirt and full of camping gear. We both felt like we had already been roughing it for days and although it was still hot in Palm Springs, all the amenities were there. What a world of difference! I couldn’t wait to order a big fat burger. We stayed by the poolside for the weekend, sipping drinks and eating great food, and vowed to never camp in the desert again!
