In Becky's Words: Road Trip 2023: The Rock 'N Roll Part

Monday, July 03, 2023

Road Trip 2023: The Rock 'N Roll Part

I've spent the last couple of blog posts detailing our summer road trip, including our visits to a few National Parks and a scary drive that was, of course, my husband's idea.

We ended our journey at Schellraiser, a DIY-type music festival in the middle of nowhere, in the Nevada desert. Think Treefort, with some of the same bands (Dinosaur Jr.!), but on an even smaller scale.

There were no metal detectors. The people barely checked our tickets. It was way more chill, with way more (legal, it was Nevada, not prudish Idaho) weed. The shuttle to and from the festival was called "The Cannabus," and it was run by one of the local dispensaries.

On the way to Schellraiser, my husband, Dan, and I made a pit stop at Cathedral Gorge State Park, where we ate lunch and checked out the slot canyons.

Then we headed to Schellraiser.

Blitzen Trapper

The Vandoliers

The Paranoyds

Blonde Redhead

The Joy Formidable

On the second night of the festival, I ordered dinner at one of the food trucks, and they guy asked for my food ticket.

Then he saw my credit card and said, "Oh, you're paying. I thought you were in one of the bands."

Okay, that was the most amazing thing I heard during the entire trip. My Sleater-Kinney shirt did, in fact, smell like weed by then (from the environment, not from partaking).

Three-day festival vibes

Dinosaur Jr. headlined the final night, and just as they were starting to sound check, the power to the entire festival went out. I think everyone assumed it was the eight Marshall amps Dinosaur Jr. had on stage.

Then we heard someone say, "They're bringing in some diesel."

"Diesel? Why would that matter?' I wondered.

It turned out the power to the festival was being run on a generator, and they had run out of diesel. Dinosaur Jr. was only delayed by about thirty minutes, and they still played a full hour-and-a-half set.