Saturday: Breakfast at Pemberton

It is still uncomfortably dusty out here. All photos by Chris Kornelis.

The last time I went to a concert in Canada, my car was towed to a lot in the red light district, I had to pay a fee, and I was issued a parking ticket. That was in 2002, and I've always had something of a chip on my shoulder toward the country where I got dinged for leaving my car in "temporary" parking. (Can anybody explain to me what "temporary parking" means???) Yesterday I decided it's time for me to get over myself.

We've been on-site for almost 18 hours and we haven't met a single other American (other than journalists). We've been offered countless joints, bottles and other festival condiments, and I'm further humbled by the local hospitality every hour. The Canadians have come from all over. Last night, no sooner had we thrown meat on the grill, we were joined by a handful of our neighbors. Many came in from Vancouver. One kid took the Greyhound for a day and a half from Winnipeg.

The view from our camp site this morning.

After the main stage closed down with NIN's set at 11 p.m., the Bacardi B-Live tent stayed open with various DJs until at least 2 a.m. As I said yesterday, there's really no delineation between the venue grounds and the campground. So, we were experiencing the DJs into the morning along with the ravers, and I fell asleep to soothing house music.

We awoke around 7 a.m. to the sound of the nearby porto-potties being cleaned out. My friend was in line when they were being emptied and the guy doing the dirty work said ours were the only cans not overflowing this morning.

Yes, there were showers, too. Or you could opt for the sponge/mud bath situation.

At 9 a.m. the campground was serenaded by Tom Petty's "Honey Bee" (soundcheck???), coming from the main stage, and the whistle of a nearby train. On their feet, thousands of campers made their way to breakfast at the concessionaires, serving a plate eggs, potatoes, sausage, etc., for $10. Mini-donuts are going for $5.

We're lucky enough to have excellent neighbors who invited us over for a breakfast of eggs, veggies, sausage, Bailey's and bud. I don't smoke pot, but I do love eggs. We contributed a half-dozen eggs and said thank-you with a pack of Camel Lights, which they promptly took down.

And the award for the best camping accessory goes to ...

Final note: On my way to the media tent to file this story, I witnessed a security guard dumping out a bottle of Smirnoff. The rules say no outside booze in the campground, so if you bought a bottle of Wild Turkey at the Duty Free shop coming across the border, keep it hidden.

On the agenda for today: Sam Roberts, My Morning Jacket, Black Mountain, Petty, and The Tragically Hip, which the locals just call "The Hip."