Winfield Pix

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Winfield -- Love it, hate it, take it, leave it, I'm going to mildly vent.

We did the entire Winfield experience for the first time this year. Multiple trips to Winfield are required: pre line rush, line rush, land rush, all just to get a decent camping spot at the festival. Some people are resigned to it, others think it’s part of the Winfield charm. I think it’s utter nonsense, greed, and stupidity. I knew what we were getting into and all I can say is that Trish made me do it.

The problem is that there isn’t enough decent camping to go around. The festival site is a not spacious flat plane where all sites are created equal. Rather the festival site is cramped between the river and the fairgrounds' buildings, a lot of it is sloped with lots of hillets and valleylets, carved up by snaky little roads. Campsites wind up being anywhere and everywhere, chaotically stretching up and down the river, under bridges, through the woods, etc. To a certain extent, every campsite is unique, and some are a whole lot more desirable than others. So much so that people are willing to stand in line to get the campsite they want. And the Winfield Association of Leeches and Bloodsuckers (WALBs) in charge of the festival is happy to charge them royally for that privilege. Hence the origin of pre line rush, line rush, and land rush. There are so many better ways the camping problem could be handled, but the mission of the WALBs seems to be to maximize the expense and inconvenience of going to Winfield.

<<I'm always amazed at how small it looks before all the trailers arrive.

Pre line rush: Starting at midnight on the designated day, people start laying down tarps to reserve a place in line to get in line. >>

<<All tarps must be staked down and identified.

A week or so later back we come to pull up the tarp and put our vehicles in line to get into another line.>>

<<Line rush morning, raring to go.

Line rush is over, we now have our official spot in line for land rush. Trish documenting the event.>>

The whole point of pre line rush and line rush is to get everybody neatly lined up in a big staging area so that land rush proceeds in a somewhat "orderly" manner. At 7:00AM on land rush day, they allow people, in order, into the campgrounds to grab their favorite camping site. Most people try to claim the same spot year after year. There are border disputes, claim jumpers, sooners, and many heated arguments. It can get chaotic, and it's utter nonsense.

<<We're all in line for land rush. Can you spot us?

Finally -- all the pre-festival nonsense is over and we're all settled in. Can you find us?>>

The highlight of this year's Winfield, by far, was Lucy's 60s party!!

<<Me in my custom made (by Trish) fringed faux leather vest.

Yes -- that's Trish! >>


	<<What a couple!>>

<<I think I heard "What a hunk." mentioned a few times ;-)

General campground picking.>>

Please remember to sign our guestbook before you leave. Thanks.