Texas Eclipse Festival 2024
A journey down south!
The April 8, 2024 solar eclipse is a celestial event that captures the imagination of people worldwide. It's a moment when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, casting a shadow on our planet and creating a breathtaking display of nature's wonders. Observers in the path of totality experience a surreal darkness as the sun's corona is revealed in all its glory. It's a reminder of the beauty and grandeur of the universe we inhabit, and an opportunity for scientists and enthusiasts alike to study and marvel at the intricate workings of our solar system. This event is special this year, because not only does it pass through North America, but also Mexico and Canada.
We got up Wednesday morning. Our car was packed and we were on the road. We began our drive to places we have never driven before. The first leg of our trip was from Brookings, SD to Paul's Valley, Oklahoma. I've never been to Oklahoma or Texas so I was excited for this trip. Not only were we going to experience the Total Solar Eclipse, but we were able to squeeze in some extra activities on the way in Austin, Texas.
The drive was fairly easy even though Paul drove it all. I saw oil fields, which I've never seen before. The drive took us from about 5:00 a.m. Wednesday until 5:00 p.m. Wednesday night when we arrived in Paul's Valley. The toll roads were a definite bonus because even though you had to pay a little bit of money, it was open highway and not a lot of stops. We definitely will use toll roads in the future because the convenience made it worth it. Our friend had drove down on Monday, so he was already in Austin exploring and taking videos, waiting for us.
When we got to Paul's Valley, we decided to go to Walmart and pick up a few essentials, headed to the liquor store, and then checked into our hotel. Though the Roadway Inn may not be every person's first choice, but it was cheap and convenient and the room actually wasn't too bad. I challenged Paul to a game of cribbage after we got settled into our hotel room. We decided to go eat at Punkins BBQ and Catfish and that was a sure delight.
Paul had a catfish and rib dinner with sweet potato fries, while I had a three-piece catfish dinner with coleslaw and a sweet potato because sweet potatoes are my favorite. They also had this awesome pickle bar to where you could have one trip up to the pickle bar (We did see one guy up there, with a ziploc bag, filling it up--breaking the rules) and eat all the pickles you wanted. Should have taken a picture of that, but I didn't. But here are the pictures of Punkins. Oh, special note to the service. They were extra great and super sweet. We love southern hospitality!
Thursday morning we decided to get up and go and leave by 9:00am because I had showed this bar/grille to Paul from a co-worker…-Shout out Brenden had went for the Frisco tournament for SDSU football called Tight Ends. The bar is full of girls just in underwear or lingerie. Very skimpy but whatever, we decided to go. It was about a 2-hour drive from Paul's Valley so we packed up and said goodbye and went on our way.
We made it to Tight Ends about 11:30am and it did not disappoint. Yes, the women were dressed like we thought but the food was amazing. I had three tacos with tater tots and broccoli to where Paul had a burger and fries and even got this awesome little video. Shout out Murray. You're not with us but you're with us in spirit.
After that, we decided we were going to finish our trek to Austin. The Texas Solar Eclipse festival is actually based out of Burnet Texas, but we decided to make the most of our trip and head to Austin for one night and hit up some comedy. We were able to snag tickets to Brian Redban's, “Secret Show” which happens every Thursday and also make it to Brian Holtzman and friends at the new Comedy Mothership owned by Joe Rogan. How exciting!
The Secret Show started at 8pm. We had a lot of laughs and seen a fair amount of comedians that we recognized from Kill Tony. Redban was funny, and we got to see one of Paul’s favorites, name Kam Patterson, but also— Sara Weinshenk, Kim Congdon, Yonder, Enrique, Matt Edgar, and Adam Hood. Sadly, I got a little too drunk, and walked into a construction sign, after the show, because I was star struck from seeing Kam on the streets, but he was very nice and laughed at my goofiness—aka “drunkiness".
Next, we walked over to the Comedy Mothership. It was not that far away. We had balcony seating in the Fat Boy Showroom. The drinks were great and so was the comedy. After the show, Paul managed to get a picture with Hans Kim, another Kill Tony favorite. We then headed back to the hotel.
Friday morning, we woke up and ate a nice breakfast at the hotel before finishing the journey to Burnet. Filled with excitement, we drove the hour to Reville Peak Ranch in Burnet, Texas. Many people were already waiting in line, so we joined in. After making it through security, we were actually told we were in the wrong line, so had to turn around and go find the auxiliary parking. No one knew exactly where it was, but after a little bit of time, we found it. We loaded up our carts, and went and waited for the shuttle that would take us closer to camp.
The shuttle drove us about a half hour from our car. They dropped us off at the top of a very big hill, and stated the whole area was walk in camping. We walked around, and found a nice little spot right on the trail. We began to set up camp, and even had two people from the shuttle join us. Both totally awesome souls, that I was so happy were our neighbors
We decided to get another ride to our car and grab more stuff. At this point in time, it was very hot and I had to sit in the air and eat a sandwich. The terrain was rough… I mean ROUGH! Rocks and stickers, and cactus everywhere. Texas (that we were in) didn’t have a lot of dirt, mostly clay and desert. And the wind loved to blow.
We had to wait over 2 hours for the next shuttle to show up. We met another group of amazing girls, Erica and Jen, and they camped next to us, too. Paul and Chris decided to do one more trip while I made camp home. They didn’t return until 7pm because they got lost. I went to the general store and got us ice and some supper. We then made our way to the festival grounds. It was crazy to see how big the venue actually was. It felt like it never stopped. We really wanted to catch Skream’s dubstep set and it was amazing.
We headed back to camp and called it a night. Saturday, was a highly anticipated day for me. First, Chris cooked us all breakfast. It was delicious even though I really enjoy cooking. Shout out to our new neighbors, Gabe and G, who totally brought the vibe.
At 1pm, we went into the venue for some workshops. We made it to listen to Paul Stamets at the Consciousness Stage. I would highly suggest seeing him speak if you ever can. It was amazing!
*Paul Stamets
And after, though we didn’t stay, was the leader of M.A.P.S., Rick Doblin. We headed back to camp and took a shower. The sun and dust was a lot, so to feel clean and refreshed was totally worth it. We started the night with The Floozies and Big Gigantic on the Lonestar Stage. The Floozies play elctro funk to where Big Gigantic is funky too, and had a lot of house in their set. Never can get enough saxophone.
After seeing the festival in the day time, it was a lot easier to navigate through it. I missed Desert Dwellers at the Earth Stage, but Paul and I roamed around, until Ahee came on at 11pm at the Moon Stage. This was someone high up on Paul’s list of acts to see, and it did not disappoint either. Ahee is a mixture of remixes of popular songs, drum and bass, some house, and “bass” music in general or a.k.a. alien wubs. There was some awesome fire performers as well!
I love going to festivals and being able to look at everything they put into it. Honestly, this festival we did not get to see all of it, which is always a bummer. They have so many nooks and crannies, that finding all the wonder, sometimes is impossible. There were so many different cool things to look at like art installations, huge “sparklers”, an interactive Meow Wolf exhibit, and a dome made by whoever created the Sphere in Las Vegas. The Dome had music inside, but the same images inside, were outside. If ya’ll know Subtronics and his newest album, we even saw a tesseract!!!!!!! We explored the rest of the festival grounds taking in all its beauty.
After that, we decided to go back to camp and wrap up the night. The next morning, I actually walked into some yoga, not realizing the speaker I wanted to see was at 1pm. So, instead, I went and got us more ice for the cooler and went back to the camp. Paul joined me at 1pm, for the speaker on Grief, Grace and Gratitude. It was amazing to see so many people join in and just listen to what the speakers had to say. It was based off the Kintsugi method- Hope and Healing in Uncertain Times.
After, we walked around some more, and then decided to take another shower. I cooked us salmon and asparagus before heading back into the festival. If you didn’t know, salmon is an excellent source to replenish seratonin… Seratonin is a chemical we make naturally that promotes happiness.
Sunday was filled with awesome artists as well. Tipper was the first set we saw. A lot of people were there because this is Tipper’s farewell year before he retires. This was at the Eclipse Stage. Then we went back to the Lonestar Stage for the Disco Biscuits which had a lot of energy. One thing that made us laugh, is every time that the lasers came on, especially during sunset, everyone in the crowd would cheer, like they never SAW LASERS BEFORE! After the Disco Biscuits, we went back to the Eclipse Stage for Of the Trees. His set was very chill but very good. During this set, they brought out drones that lit up the sky with awesome designs, like a UFO, astronaut, a unicorn, a snail, and their version of the Eclipse. The stage ended with my all-time favorite, Zeds Dead. Though, this was not my most favorite performance, I still danced my heart out because I knew all the songs. The drones came out again at the end of the set (really should of thrown up a ZD HANDS, if ya know what I mean ;) ) and was a perfect ending to the night.
Monday, we woke up to total disappointment. A severe storm was coming our way, and the last day of the festival was cancelled. We were told to pack up and leave before the storm got there. I woke Paul up to tell him the very sad news. I was soooooo excited for Monday’s acts like Tripp St. and CLOZEE who I have been dying to see in a festival setting. But, we began to pack up. While packing, we put on our eclipse glasses and began to see the moon, slowly make its way past the sun. About 1:34, totality happened and it was the most breath taking thing I have ever seen. The whole campground filled with hoots and howls and everyone was in awe. About 4 minutes 23 seconds of darkness, and pure beauty. Though the festival ended early, we were able to see something we may never get to see again, and that was totally worth it.
There were very long lines leaving the campground so we actually didn’t get out until about 7pm, Monday night. We drove about an hour away to a hotel that had a hot tub. We played cribbage and made the best of a shitty situation. Tuesday, we drove to Wichita and met up with our rave brother Edgar and his brother Angel. We finished the final stretch Wednesday and made it home from South Dakota.
Despite the festival ending early, it was an experience I will never forget. The terrain was tougher than I expected in Texas, but I am so glad we were able to make the journey. There was hail, tons of rain, and a lot of chaos that we avoided by leaving early. I am grateful we made it out of there happy and healthy. There has been a lot of negativity coming from the festival goers, but I also see a lot of positivity from people as well. I think it was the right call, and I will still be looking for that Clozee set sometime soon.