Ramble Post 1: My Grass is Blue

So my last post may have been cryptic, so here it is....my first stop on my ramble was the White Mountains Bluegrass Music Festival to see these guys.

Before heading out at 11pm on Friday to camp in the forest at 3am....I threw a ton of chlorine in the pool knowing full well what was pooping in it while I was gone.

Waking up at 6 in a forest surrounding I'd only seen in the dark 3 hours prior; I packed up my sleeping bag and iPod, threw them into the truck and drove to the festival grounds.  I thought about going back to sleep, but the squirrel activity was starting to concern my dogs too much.  Much of day one was spent lounging in a chair, listening to bluegrass and sipping some of grandfathers cough medicine.  I did manage a bike ride in the afternoon which turned out to be the best cure for a good time ever.....a 1.5 mile hill climb, in pea gravel, up to a cell tower, with 500vf gained on a lap of the climb, and no promise of singletrack.....hill repeats suck...especially when it's 93 degrees out at 7500ft.  I spent the rest of the day trying not to puke.  The final indignity came when I passed out during my brothers band's performance of "Black Eyed Suzie"....he called me out during the audience participation section, to which, apparently, my participation was drooling.

The next day, I tried a bit harder to get back into the spirit.....hanging out backstage, I shot some good action.

Daniel Foulks and Michael Morrison jamming backstage before their set..........

Michael is the fastest picker on guitar I've ever heard....it rivals mandolin players.......

Daniel...................

Longview of the bass-bomb...........

Kendall "Bass-man" Murphy.....

Some mando action...............

Once IIIrd Generation took the stage, I transitioned up front for some shots:

Mark "The General" Phillips is so in command of the show, he closes his eyes to let the world relax.......

It's always a joy to watch live music and the awe and respect some show for others on stage........

Transitioning backstage for some oblique shots, I spied 6-hands, 3 instruments & 1 sound...............

Daniel looking on at some awesome mando and banjo picking.......

Roder "Kenny Powers" Starnes owning it as the 12 time Texas State Champion banjo player.....I think he only got 4th national........but if someone asked you to name your 4 favorite beers.....could you REALLY rank which one was better than the other?????

Daniel and Kendall zoning out on the bluegrass.......

The Claw................

And if you're interested of the crappy video I shot, it's below....clearly.....I'm not a videographer since I could not even bother to have a clean lens or a tripod for the shot....my 3rd cofee on the day really challenged me on this.