Girdwood and The Magic School Bus

So, as I mentioned before, the Girdwood Forest Fair is a music festival that takes place in the woods of a small ski town (who knew they had skiing in Alaska!). The festival in known for its craziness—especially in the area of drugs, specifically hallucinogens. We were more excited about the live music and festival food, but when people consistently responded to our plans to go to Girdwood with, “Hahaha. Have fun, it’s CRAZY!!” we started getting nervous, and then excited to watch all the crazy drugged out people try to dance.

We arrived early afternoon, when it was mostly a family affair. There were endless paths of craft booths weaving through the forest. Beautiful pottery, hand sewn clothes, wooden trinkets—all the things Alaskans had spent the winter months creating to stay sane. After a few hours of browsing and listening to music we started thinking, what’s the big deal? Everyone seemed totally docile and sober. We were about to call it quits when we ran into our fishing buddy, Zack. He convinced us to stay, assuring us that a fantastic bluegrass rock band was about to come on.

He was right! We finally got some jigging in (I would like to note here that we totally started the dance party. Correction, I totally started the dance party). The music was hopping and pretty soon we were covered in dust and sweat. Sophia and Rachel decided to get a beer and we headed to the “Beer Garden”. This was a roped off area that beer was sold and minors were not allowed. We tried to convince the bouncer, Paul Todd, that I should be allowed in because A.) we were being responsible by having a designated driver and B.) they were my only friends there, what was I supposed to do, stand alone and wait? He refused and told me that I could wait with him. Rachel and Sophia happily agreed and off they went. So I was stuck with Paul Todd.

Paul Todd is a 60 something originally from Nebraska. He has been volunteering at Girdwood for years. Although he was possibly the most boring person I’ve encountered thus far (Seriously, I had to constantly remind myself to pay attention so I could nod at the right moments), he at least told me a little Girdwood history.

Girdwood started about 34 years ago. It began as a small festival with no organization or rules. Then it grew. First the bluegrass crowd arrived bringing with them pot and dancing. Then the mushroom and acid users came, camping all over town in a chaotic crazy sort of way. And finally, Paul said, the meth users came and with them came not only chaos but also violence (terrifying!). They had to cancel it last year because the town was so mad. So, this year it was supposed to be a more low key event. No wonder Paul was so adamant about not letting me in the beer garden.

Not nearly quick enough, Rachel and Sophia returned. I said goodbye to Paul and we headed back to the music. Although in theory Girdwood was a no longer drug friendly, it was clear that some drugs made there way in. The final band was a mix of reggae and native music that also included a lot bird noises. It was a fantastic band for dancing, but a few people pulled out some bird moves that simply could not be done without being under the influence.

The music and festival ended relatively early, but not to worry, the entire group simply moved to a different forest in town. Although I was psyched that I could participate, it was a little too weird for me. Sophia and I soon tired of it and decided to call it a night and head up to the bus.

Oh yeah, the bus! So, our friend Zack, who has become sort of like our Alaskan brother, lives in a bus. A big yellow school bus. It is amazing. He has removed most of the seats and added cabinets, bunk beds, and a large futon. Why would we break out Sir Tentalot when we could spend one last night inside? Zack handed us the keys (why he trusted us I’m not sure. Sophia and I seriously considered driving off with it. Leave Rachel, gain a school bus? A fair trade I think) and for the first time in my life I slept on a school bus.