"What IS a Rainbow Gathering?" To me it is Woodstock with amateur musicians and I'm in the band. Every year about 10,000 hippies and freethinkers go backpacking for a week on July 1st thru 7th. The location is always different and not revealed until about two weeks before it starts.

Visit rainbow gathering Facebook pages to see where it is at. I have attended four Rainbow Gatherings. The first gathering I attended was in Pennsylvania in 1987 then Idaho, California and Utah.

http://gvan42.blogspot.com/p/what-is-rainbow-gathering-to-me-it-is.html
This is a description about my trip to The Rainbow Gathering in California 2004… I wrote this to help me remember…

Thousands of People chant OM. This photo was snapped just before I decided it was time to put away the camera and experience the event… Yes, it’s important to remember to LIVE LIFE instead of DOCUMENTING LIFE.

http://gvan42.blogspot.com/2017/06/rainbow-gathering-idaho-2001.html
I went to the gathering with a goal in mind. I wanted to play my guitar and sing in public. Yes, mission accomplished. Living in Chico, California and working at the plastics factory when there was a layoff, my wife suggested that I borrow the car and drive over to the gathering. My friend Mike Jensen wanted to go and so we checked the oil, brake fluid, transmission fluid and water and set out on a classic American road trip. We made it as far as Reno the first day and slept by the side of the road.

http://gvan42.blogspot.com/2017/06/rainbow-gathering-712014-heber-city.html


Main Circle: I feel positive with the meeting between the Mormon Youth of Salt Lake City and the Rainbow Gathering people...

http://gvan42.blogspot.com/2017/06/rainbow-gathering-photographs-utah-2014.html

Greg Vanderlaan in Heber City, Utah


Often, there is a divide between performer and audience... It's better when the audience is the performer.


http://gvan42.blogspot.com/2017/06/grateful-deadhead-art-and-mystory.html
My experiences following the Grateful Dead...


It became apparent that there was something ELSE going on in addition to "rock and roll/show business". Some times I would not bother to buy a ticket to the concert at all but was happy to play music in the parking lot. Many people DID NOT attend the concerts. They went to experience the scene that surrounded the DEAD. There was a philosophy that the band was not the center of attention.

Dancing at the Rainbow Gathering in California... Dun Dun Village...

The Rainbow Gathering is the logical outgrowth of this feeling. The people from the audience (and other like minded individuals) meet in a National Forest and have a wonderful camping trip. At this level, the band does not even attend at all.

http://gvan42.blogspot.com/2017/06/grateful-deadhead-tribute-webpage.html

In 1972, a friend of mine went to San Francisco and went to the Fillmore West and came back to our high school and said... LET"S BUILD OUR OWN.

That was the beginning of Forbes Mill in Los Gatos California... We had a light show and electric rock music every weekend at an abandoned stone flour mill in the center of town... On Wednesday nights we performed folk music. My band performed... I was the head of security and did advertising posters.

Since we had Town sponsorship of our "Teen Club" thru the organization Youth Unlimited, we had to make sure no laws were being broken or the police would shut us down. Certainly no drinking or illegal drug use or housing of runaways. My take on law enforcement was to direct potential lawbreakers to the nearby hole in the fence that lead to the wooded area next to the freeway. I admit that a lot of laws were broken on State of California property, but that was NOT MY CONCERN. I was responsible for making sure that OUR property was crime free.

The light show was created by using four slide projectors and two spinning wheels with variable speed motors that blocked the light from reaching the white wall behind the bandstand. Each cardboard wheel had holes cut into it so that the slides would be projected in a stroboscopic manner. Some slides were abstract art created by "crystal craze" paint and others were photographs.
We also owned a strobe light and I learned to not point it at the electric organ player because the blinking light made it impossible to see which keys were black and which were white...

Trump is not a Baby Boomer... He's from an earlier generation... We grew up listening to The Beatles, the Grateful Dead And The Beach Boys and his generation loved Elvis...

The baby boom generation started when American soldiers came back from World War II, got married and had children... but Trump's family never participated in World War II... not even fighting for the Germans! Trump's from that generation of men whose fathers stayed safely at home and took advantage of the lonely women whose boyfriends went to war...

When Trump says "Make America Great Again", the "Again" part of that slogan is referring referring to the 1950s as the era when America was greatest... and he wants to take us back to the 1950s... 

I think America was greatest in 1969... We walked on the moon, we danced at Woodstock and we rioted at Stonewall... Trump wants to take us back to a Time before civil rights, before women's lib,  before gay rights and before hippies... But he has not invented a magical time machine... it's all lies... there's no possibility then he will actually take us back in time to when he was a young man...

and his father could get him out of any trouble he got into... Fred, his father, would just show up with suitcases full of $100 bills and magically fix All of Donald's problems... Well, none of that's going to happen... Fred's dead... And Donald's going to have to face up to all of his problems... after he loses this election he's going to go to trial and get sentenced to prison and then spend the rest of his life crying in a jail cell... unless he flees to Venezuela!

It's obvious that Trump had never taken psychedelic drugs... Just look at his outlook on life, his fundamental beliefs... Obviously he comes from a Time before the Psychedelic experience... The Dark Ages...

Popular Posts:

Here are some music videos Mocking Donald Trump and Praising Walz & Kamala - please share these widely on social media... it's fun, it's free, and everybody's doing it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEnHiW1oIOE Music video: we're not going back - inspired by Kamala https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB33d...


On 9/25 Trump MAY Sell His DJT Stock... Currently Worth about 2 Billion Dollars... It's at $16.98 per Share on 9/5... "Of Course" if He Sells Large Amounts of Stock That Will Make the Price Go Down Even Faster!
but After Trump sells his shares, he won't give a damn if the price goes down to one penny per share... He got his and he doesn't c...


As a Nation, We Need to Forgive Each Other and Work Together to Build a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow... Red and Blue People Coming Together to Make Purple.
Staff Locator for the EPA including EMAIL Addresses and Phone Numbers. https://cfpub.epa.gov/locator/index.cfm What IF You Wanted t...


The Violet Overgrow - An Eco-Warrior's Journey by Gregory Vanderlaan - [ FICTION ] Not One Word is True... It's all LIES!
"The Time Has Come for the Violet Overgrow of the Ruling Class!" Shouted Suzy into the Megaphone. "Will You Shut The F*CK UP...


Class War! Hilton, Hyatt & Marriott Hotel Employees on Strike for Higher Wages. Hotels that I have never stayed at. not even once. I guess this will inconvenience the ruling class...
As they won't be able to get the excellent hotel rooms that they love... and they'll be forced to stay at the "No-Tell" Mo...


Wall Street Dumps Trump - Why Does the Smart Money Reject Madness? Global Economic Collapse! They Believe That He Will Declare Bankruptcy for the Entire USA and That will Cause a Worldwide Financial Disaster...
"The Debt Ceiling is just one more thing Trump doesn't know very much about." - Said JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon https://ww...


New Futurama episodes on Hulu. Sadly. The quality of the shows is not very good... I got a one month free trial of Hulu and then canceled after I Finished all the New Episodes...
The main reason I was disappointed with the quality of the shows is they don't seem to have any endings to the plots... Time runs out an...


Trump Ought to Retire because His BRAIN is FRIED! - Let the Young People do the Work...
I remember that Trump was giving a press conference in the town of Paradise, California right after it burned to the ground and he called th...


Trump is confused about the Vice President's duties. The main job is to BE THERE in case the President Dies. Rarely does the Vice President offer their opinion about public policy... the President makes those decisions...
Trump and the GOP are attempting to blame Kamala Harris for policy decisions made by Joe Biden. The US government doesn't work like that...


Massive Anti-War Protests in Israel. Great! NET & YAHOO is INSANE! Those people far away ought to solve their own problems! or not... WhatEVER...
Did you notice that the country of Israel is currently at War with Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Iran... basically, all their neighbors....

LONG STRANGE TRIP is an Excellent Movie about the Grateful Dead. Four Hours Long, it Traces their History from the Very Beginning thru Jerry Garcia's Death.

https://www.amazon.com/Long-Strange-Trip-Season-1/dp/B086HXZFL2

Made with the help of Tricia Garcia and Justin Kreutzman, it shows Many Films that I Have Not Seen Before... Being Family, They Had Access to Everything in the Vault. 

Interviews with Musicians, Roadies, Sound Techs, Girlfriends, Children, Deadheads, Record Company Executive, etc etc etc... This is a Insightful Film... I was especially Moved by the Filmed Interview With Barbara Meier... A Girlfriend of Jerry Garcia's from the Bluegrass Banjo Years of his Youth and then Again During his Scuba Diving Era in Late Life... 

The Movie Does Not Document the Post Garcia Years... My Last Concert was the "Fare Ye Well" Shows in Santa Clara, CA - and it was a Truly Epic Event! 

Long Strange Trip is a 2017 American documentary film about the Grateful Dead. 

Long Strange Trip was directed by Amir Bar-Lev, and has a running time of almost four hours. Martin Scorsese was one of the executive producers. Justin Kreutzmann, the son of Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, was one of the producers.

The film features newly conducted interviews with living band members and friends including Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and his wife Natascha, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, John Perry Barlow, Robert Hunter, Donna Godchaux, Dennis McNally, Barbara "Brigid" Meier, Nick Paumgarten, Steve Silberman, and Alan Trist. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Strange_Trip

Personnel

• Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals
• Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
• Phil Lesh – bass, vocals
• Bill Kreutzmann – drums, percussion
• Mickey Hart – drums, percussion
• Ron "Pigpen" McKernan – organ, harmonica, percussion, vocals
• Tom Constanten – keyboards
• Keith Godchaux – keyboards
• Donna Jean Godchaux – vocals
• Brent Mydland – keyboards, vocals
• Vince Welnick – keyboards, vocals

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Project MKULTRA: The CIA Mind Control Experiment That Escaped The Laboratory and Got Out Onto The Dance Floor! Was "The Sixties" Really a Test to Just Find Out What Would Happen IF A Million People Took LSD?

READ MORE: 

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-cia

-project-mkultra-was-wildly.html

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Grateful Dead Tech History - Podcast Interviews with the Electronics Engineers that Built Their Amazing Sound... Ned Lagin: Seastones - 
John Perry Barlow: Electronic Frontier Foundation
Good Ol' Grateful Deadcast: Long Strange Tech:

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2023/01/
grateful-dead-tech-history.html

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American History: "The Thunder Machine" 

made by Ron Boise was used by Ken Kesey at 

the Acid Tests. It was a Giant Sheet Metal 

Sculpture that you Got Inside and Played like 

a Drum.

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/09/american-history-

thunder-machine-made.html

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"A Spiral of Deadheads" Science Fiction Story 

by gvan42 - and - "Ceremony and Ritual" 

- Psychedelic Poetry

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2017/06/flying

-heart-art-mkultra-cia-mind.html

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Grateful Dead... My Story... American History... 
and Original Deadhead ART... 

My Sugar Cube Painting...

like the cover of 

"The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test" 

by Tom Wolfe.

I first noticed the Grateful Dead in 1968 in 

English class at junior high school. Our teacher 

had put up posters on the wall of the classroom

and we wrote essays about them. He was 

attempting to stimulate creative WRITING 

but more importantly, creative THINKING.

One was an American flag made out of 

swastikas and another was a solarized/

negative photo of 5 hairy men 

standing in front of "LITTLE BOXES" type 

suburban tract homes... I Did Not Recognize 

them...

READ MORE:

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2017/06/grateful-

deadhead-art-and-mystory.html

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Grateful Deadhead Tribute Webpage. 

Pictures and Tall Tales. Many thanks to all that 

made the Grateful Dead an American Miracle... 

Just remember, if our lives together were 

written as a fiction story, everyone would 

dismiss it as being unbelievable... 

Yet it all really happened! ART, Poetry and 

MyStory... I'm Gr8ful 

READ MORE:

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2017/06/grateful-

deadhead-tribute-webpage.html

Grateful Dead psychedelic art files for your 

viewing pleasure...

The wonderful Winterland Arena in San 

Francisco was the home to many Grateful 

Dead Concerts... It was the ONE PLACE where 

the Wall of Sound really worked! 

They had days to set up the equipment and 

tweak it to perfection... 

The Movie with the cartoon at the 

beginning was filmed there... 

and it was a fine show! They included fire on 

stage and ladies dancing with silk scarves...

and I Went to That Concert... I Remember Many

People With Movie Cameras... 

and I Went to 39 Concerts Total... 

Virtual Journey: West Coast USA - A Drive North From San Francisco on Highway #1 and #101 - Photos and Maps of the Pacific Ocean, Redwood Trees... Plus Links to Many Other Virtual Journeys!

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco as Viewed From Marin County... 

Click on the Pictures to See Them Bigger!

The Lone Sailor sculpture Marin County, CA. 

Rest stop near the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County. We always Stop Here when Driving North because of the Great View of the Bridge and City... and We Can Finally Relax because WE ESCAPED THE CITY! and We're Going Home... 

 

https://goo.gl/maps/5JFtfWDxWTwMKSwf8

Map: H. Dana Bowers Rest Area & Vista Point 

Robin Williams Tunnel in Marin County on Highway 101 going North from San Francisco

Marin County Courthouse Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

The Highway #1 Exit from Highway #101... 

Muir Beach in Marin County, CA 

Map of Muir Beach and Muir Woods

Path in Muir Woods. Marin County, CA

Sign announcing Muir Woods

Slice of Redwood Tree showing Significant Dates in Human History.

View from the Top of Mount Tamalpais

Stinson Beach - Marin County, CA - Bolinas Bay

Hand Painted map of Marin County CA

Olema, California Crossroads... near Point Reyes...

Song: Hippie From Olema #5 -- Youngbloods 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OimAEdj7Qa0

Link to the Map of Olema...

https://goo.gl/maps/UhPGBr7ShNLyTRBGA

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many more photographs to upload

but I'm Done for today!

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OTHER Virtual Journeys!

LINK: Set of Photographs of a Drive from San Francisco to Santa Cruz on Highway #1... 

Sutro Tower... Located In San Francisco: High on a Hill in the Center of the City, It Broadcasts ALL forms of Wireless Signals... TV, AM Radio, FM Radio, Police Radio, Military and Cell Phones... It has a Line of Sight Visibility from My Father's House in Los Gatos, CA - 50 Miles Away.

Another View of Sutro Tower... Taken from the Beach at the End of Judah Street.

LINK: Set of Photos of Our Journey From Arcata, CA to a Cabin in the Woods of Mendocino... Hand Built by a Friend... Whole Lotta Hippies Live in those Woods!

Pacific Ocean Near FT Bragg

Back Deck on a Mendocino Cabin

LINK: Photos of the Yurok Loop Trail - Wetland near the Klamath River in Northern California - and Photos of the Golden Bear on the Klamath River Bridge on Highway 101 (near Oregon)

LINK: Virtual Journey: Eureka, Arcata, Trinidad - Visit Northern California's Coast. We Have Our Own Little World Here Behind The Redwood Curtain!

Duane Flaymo Mural showing The Pink Lady House and other Victorian Mansions in Eureka.

St. Francis of the Redwoods Mural in Willits.

On Highway 101 Half Way Between 

Santa Rosa and Eureka.

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PBS had a TV Show Called "Great Drives" - Actress Teri Garr Drove the Pacific Coast Highway from The Start South of San Diego all the Way North to Fort Bragg... Worth Watching! a Beautiful Woman in a Convertible Sports Car on the Most Beautiful Road EVER! That's Entertainment!

I Can't Find a Free Copy Online... Sorry! 

But Here is a Drone Video of Highway 101... 

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Other Journeys

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Virtual Journey: Canada Tourist Guide & Autobiography. We Went on our Honeymoon to Vancouver, BC. We Rode a Bicycle built for Two in Stanley Park... and Many More Wonderful Places to Visit.

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2022/05/canada-tourist-guide.html

Virtual Journey: Trinity Alps, CA, USA - Drive the Bigfoot Highway (299) From Arcata on the Coast to Redding in the Central Valley. White Water Rafting! Gold Rush Ghost Towns!

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2022/04/highway-299-virtual-journey.html

Virtual Journey: to the Star Wars Flying Motorcycles Redwood Forest on Hwy 36 in Remote Humboldt County, CA, USA - and the Bridgeville UFO Festival, The Town of Mad River. 

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2022/03/virtual-journey-hwy-36-remote-humboldt.html

Virtual Journey: Lost Coast, CA, USA on Highway 211 - From Victorian Ferndale to The Beach, the Mountains of Mateel to the Avenue of the Giants. Humboldt County. 

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2022/03/a-virtual-drive-thru-remote-humboldt.html

Virtual Journey to San Francisco - Boat Ride on the Red and White Fleet. Under the Golden Gate Bridge and Around Alcatraz Island... and MORE!

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2022/04/journey-to-san-francisco.html

Virtual Journey: The Smithsonian and Washington DC. Instead of Buying Gasoline and Driving There, Take this Magic Trip Instead! A Guided Tour to the Places My Family Wanted to See... 

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2022/05/virtual-journey-smithsonian.html